Birmingham Sunday
"Birmingham Sunday" is a song written by Richard Fariña and most famously performed by both Fariña and his sister-in-law Joan Baez. The subject matter is the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on September 15, 1963 by members of the Ku Klux Klan that killed four girls and injured 22 others. The girls were Addie Mae Collins (14), Denise McNair (11), Carole Robertson (14), and Cynthia Wesley (14). The melody of the song comes from a traditional Scottish ballad named "I once loved a lass".
Baez's version was released on her 1964 album Joan Baez/5, and was used as the theme song of the 1997 Spike Lee documentary about the bombing, 4 Little Girls.
The song was covered by Rhiannon Giddens on her 2017 album Freedom Highway.
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