I agree with most of this, but the freedom the singer is talking about is freedom of the soul. I'm not sure if it's a black man here, here's the story in a nutshell (as I see it):
Some sexual activity
Accusation of rape
They're going to hang him
He tells his dad that he didn't do it, but assures his father that God knows the truth, and when he dies, in the eyes of God, he will be exonerated
Consider that if this were a lynching of a black man, he wouldn't say "when the men take me..." They would just take him on the spot. He seems to be talking from jail here.
Despite this, he has a very calm and cool "I know something you don't know" attitude. What he knows is that "the men" can kill him, but not take his "word of God" freedom.
I agree with most of this, but the freedom the singer is talking about is freedom of the soul. I'm not sure if it's a black man here, here's the story in a nutshell (as I see it):
Consider that if this were a lynching of a black man, he wouldn't say "when the men take me..." They would just take him on the spot. He seems to be talking from jail here. Despite this, he has a very calm and cool "I know something you don't know" attitude. What he knows is that "the men" can kill him, but not take his "word of God" freedom.