Oh Lord, don't let them shoot us!
Oh Lord, don't let them stab us!
Oh Lord, don't let them tar and feather us!
Oh Lord, no more swastikas!
Oh Lord, no more Ku Klux Klan!
Name me someone ridiculous, Dannie!
[Dannie:] Governor Faubus!
Why is he so sick and ridiculous?
[Dannie:] He won't permit integrated schools!
[Mingus:] Then he's a fool!
Boo! Nazi fascist supremacists!
Boo! Ku Klux Klan!
Name me a handful that's ridiculous! Dannie Richmond?
[Dannie:] Bilbo! Faubus![Unintelligible] Rockefeller! [Unintelligible] Eisenhower!
Why are they so sick and ridiculous?
[Dannie:] Two, four, six, eight,
[All:] They brainwash and teach you hate!
- Original Faubus Fables by Charles Mingus, 1960
Fables of Faubus is a composition written by jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus. One of Mingus's most explicitly political works, the song was written as a direct protest against Arkansas governor Orval Faubus, who in 1957 sent out the National Guard to prevent the racial integration of Little Rock Central High School by nine African American teenagers, in what became known as the Little Rock Crisis.
The song was first recorded for Mingus' 1959 album, Mingus Ah Um. However, Columbia Records refused to allow the lyrics to the song to be included, and so the song was recorded as an instrumental on the album. It was not until October 20, 1960 that the song was recorded with lyrics, for the album Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus, which was released on the more independent Candid label. Due to contractual issues with Columbia, the song could not be released as Fables of Faubus, and so the Candid version was titled Original Faubus Fables.
The personnel for the Candid recording were Charles Mingus (bass, vocals), Dannie Richmond (drums, vocals), Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone), and Ted Curson (trumpet). The call-and-response vocals are between Mingus and Richmond.
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