Flat Nose and Black Skin
The Quote “You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, un-comely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind… The Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin.” — Brigham Young, JoD 7:290-291 (October 9, 1859) Lyrics [Intro: Somber acoustic guitar, fingerpicked, haunting] [Verse 1: Speak-sing, testimony voice] October morning, eighteen fifty-nine Brigham stood in the Tabernacle, said he'd gather truth divine "God has created of one blood," he told the gathered crowd "All the nations, black and white, copper-colored" — spoke it loud [Pre-Chorus: Building] But then he taught intelligence And what the Lord had shown About the classes of the human race And curses set in stone [Chorus: Full voice, letting horror speak] Flat nose and black skin That's the mark the Lord put on Uncouth, un-comely, disagreeable The curse of Cain lives on Flat nose and black skin Deprived of blessings from above This is what the prophet taught In the name of God's own love [Verse 2: Measured, each word weighted] "Cain slew his brother Abel, committed odious crime He'll be cursed the longest of any child of Adam's line The Lord put a mark upon him" — Brigham made it plain The flat nose and the black skin is the curse upon that stain [Bridge: Sparse, haunting, space between lines] One hundred nineteen years The priesthood was denied One hundred nineteen years While Black Saints testified Children couldn't be sealed To mothers and to fathers One hundred nineteen years Of theological slaughter [Verse 3: The reckoning] Nineteen seventy-eight, June The revelation came Black members could hold the priesthood now But no apology for shame Twenty thirteen, an essay Disavows the theories taught "Black skin is not divine disfavor" But what about what it wrought? [Final Chorus: Quieter, bearing witness] Flat nose and black skin That's what Brigham Young declared The mark of Cain, the curse of God One hundred nineteen years they bared The church disavows it now Says racism in any form But for a century and more This teaching was the norm [Outro: Instrumental, fading, unresolved] Historical Context The Setting: October 9, 1859, in the Tabernacle at Great Salt Lake City. Two years before the Civil War began. ...