He Was My Brother Lyrics

Lyric discussion by PHR 

Cover art for He Was My Brother lyrics by Paul Simon

This is about Andrew Goodman, who was murdered in Mississippi in 1964, along with James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. They were part of the Freedom Riders who worked in Mississippi to encourage voter registration amongst the Black community that summer. I believe Paul Simon knew him from school, so the raw emotion in his singing is very powerful.

Song Meaning