[Intro: Banjo] . [Verse: Banjo] Oh, I'm an old rebel soldier That's all I'll ever be The war took everythin' I had And left no trace of me I left my plow for muskets I left my wheat for led And all I brought back home again Was scars upon my head [Verse: Banjo] I fought against the Yankees For four long years or so I starved in winter camps And watched my brothers go I gave my youth to Dixie My health to mud and rain And now I'm back to farm this land That's never looked the same [Verse: Banjo] I don't hate the man in Washington Nor the flag they fly so high I just don't care to sing their songs Or watch their parades go by I've got my corn to plant again My fence to mend and set The North can have its victory I've got my own regrets [Verse: Banjo] Three hundred thousand Yankees Are buried in our ground And just as many Southern boys Are sleepin' all around I don't wish them any harm now Their widows weep the same But I can't toast their Union And I won't play their game [Verse: Banjo] So let 'em build their monuments To glory and to pride I'll tend my rows of cotton And let the years go by I've hung my gray coat in the barn My rifle's cold and still I won't be reconstructed But boys, I've had my fill [Verse: Banjo] So I'm an old rebel soldier That's all I'll ever be The war took everythin' I had But not the South in me I'm glad it's over, mostly Though I wish we'd had our way But I won't ask for a pardon I just live from day to day [Outro: Banjo/Fade Out] .
