Luther Jackson Green lived in the apartment above me.
We smoked cigarettes on the stairs, tell me stories that the white boys never hear.
Like when he found this sign, he moved North in 1949.
On his 10th birthday daddy took him to town to the Jackie Robinson play.
It was a picture perfect day, in the sunshine and the hate.
He didn’t understand why all those people would say such awful things.
His daddy said pay no attention to them, turnaround and watch the man play.
The one black man in the baseball field was better in every way.
My daddy said if you wanna win in this world, you gotta beat em at the wrong game.
Luther Jackson Green went to law school in 1963.
In the summer between he worked in Alabama with Martin Luther King.
He met a girl on a summer night; he fell hard when they saw each other’s eyes.
There were people in town that really didn’t like that he was black and she was white.
They found her in the ditch, a little outside of town; some stupid man was blastin about it,
so Luther beat him down. He looked him in the eye, spit in his face and turned and walked away.
He knew he was better than all the hate!
He knew he was bigger than all the pain!
He knew that there’s a time to fight and a time to walk away!
He knew until he changed the rules, ohh yeah they beat em at the wrong game!
He never did lose that feeling inside.
You could hear it in his voice; you could see it in his eyes.
Luther moved out West to live, when his wife passed away.
He lives right next door to his son, so he can watch his grandchild play.
Luther Jackson Green, watched election night with me.
We put a black man in the White House, a thing he never thought he’d see.
Even though he never cried, I could see tears in his eyes.
He had dreamed about this moment, every single day of his life.
Yeah Luther died that night in his sleep, but he lived long enough to see,
America become the kind of place he always wanted it to be.
He said you could never forget the day, that we beat em at the wrong game!
Yeah just like Jackie Robinson. (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
Gotta be bigger than all the hate! (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
Gotta be better than all the pain! (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
Gotta find a better way! (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
Gotta beat em at the wrong game! (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
Gotta beat em at the wrong game! (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
Gotta beat em at the wrong game! (Just like Jackie Robinson!)
(Just like Jackie Robinson!)