I am but a simple man
I got no command of the written word
I can only try and tell you
The things I seen and heard
Listen to this picture
Forever etched on my mind
The day that hell broke loose just north of Marietta
All along the Kennesaw Line.
The sun rose high above us that morning
On a clear and cloudless day
Peckerwood tapped on a tree that would
Soon be shot away
The heat blistered down through the leaves on the trees
The air felt hot enough to catch fire
The heavens seemed to be made of brass
As the sun rose higher and higher
Everything got real still and quiet
My old mess mate, Walter Hood
said "I believe them boys down there are up to something
I know it ain't no dang good."
The storm broke and swept down on us
Rumbled through the hills
Walter sighed and dropped his rifle
He said something to me about the whippoorwills
Sammy, can't you hear 'em singing
Singing for you and me
All the Maury Grays
Carry me back to Tennessee
God bless the 1st and the 27th
Grand Rock City Guard
Nobody ever told me
That dying would be so hard.
Sammy I think I been hurt real bad
Ain't this a hell of a day
Best go leave me be now
I think I need some time to pray
You know how bad I been wanting to go home
Couldn't see rightly how
Colonel Field ain't gonna have a choice this time
I think I'm gonna get my furlough now
Don't you tell me that you can't hear 'em
Singing for you and me
All the Maury Grays
Carry me back to Tennessee
