Come All ye Southern Soldiers

Melody -

Come all ye Southern Soldiers,
Come listen unto me
I'll tell you of some trouble
That happened unto me;
When I was the age of sixteen
I joined the jolly band
I marched from eastern Tennessee
To the old Virginia land.

2. Our captain did inform me,
Perhaps he thought it right,
Before we reached Manassas
He said we'd have to fight.
I heard the Yankee coming,
I heard them give command;
To arms, to arms, they shouted,
And by your colours stand.

3. I saw the smoke descending,
I thought it reached the sky,
The very next thought come over me,
Now is my time to die.
I saw the rifles glittering,
The bullets round me fell,
Such feeling as came over me
No mortal tongue can tell.

4. There's nine brave Texas soldiers
As ever trod the West
Was buried by the colours
With bullets in their breasts.
We fought for nine long hours
Before the strife was o'er,
The like of dead and wounded
I never saw before.

5. Perhaps you have a mother,
Likewise a sister too,
And maybe you have a sweetheart
To weep and mourn for you.
If such be your condition,
Although you like to roam,
I'll tell you by experience
You'd better stay at home.

From English Folk Songs in the Southern Appalachians, Cecil Sharp

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