Andersonville

In the spring of '61 I kissed my mother goodbye

I put on a blue uniform and I fought for Lincoln's side

Until I got caught by Johnny Reb in the woods near Chapel Hill

And I wish to God he'd have killed me then

But he sent me to Andersonville

My uniform is faded and there's no boots upon my feet

And I'm pulling worms out of the mud cause there's nothing else to eat

And the Rebs can't even feed their own so there's no way they can fill

The bellies of the Yankees starving in Andersonville

Some men are born to preach God's word

And some men are born to kill

And I guess that I was only born to die in Andersonville

I dug a hole with my bare hands in the red Georgia clay

Cause there ain't no shelter from the sun or the cold wind or the rain

And I'm too damn weak to stand up at all so I just lay quiet and still

And they can bury me in the hole I dug when I die in Andersonville

I dream the same dream every night of a woman I've never known

She's standing by her warm fireside

And she whispers that I've come home

In the morning when I wake I pray someday that she'll

Lay a flower on my grave when I die in Andersonville

Some men are born to preach God's word

And some men are born to kill

And I guess that I was only born to die in Andersonville

Lord I guess that I was only born to die in Andersonville