The night is black without a moon The air is thick and still The vigilantes gather on The lonely, torchlit hill Features distorted, in the flickering light Faces are twisted and grotesque Silent and stern in the sweltering night Mob moves like demons possessed Quiet in conscience, calm in their right Confident their ways are best The righteous rise with burning eyes Of hatred and ill-will Madmen fed on fear and lies To beat and burn and kill They say there are strangers who threaten us Our immigrants and infidels They say there is strangeness too dangerous In our theaters and bookstore shelves Those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves Quick to judge, quick to anger Slow to understand Ignorance and prejudice And fear walk hand in hand