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 in 1963 by members of the Ku Klux Klan that killed four girls and injured 22 others . The melody of the song comes from a traditional Scottish ballad named " I once loved a lass "
bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
16th Street Baptist Church bombing
Birmingham Sunday