1) In the grim and final hour of the War between the States
HeÕd had enough dyinÕ, all the grief that he could take
From the Appamattox Courthouse, where the deed was sadly done
There was no place left for him to go but home
Ch) He walked all the way home to Southampton County
To carry all he owned and try to forget
Wearing sadness like a mantle for the friends he lost in vain
He walked all the way home to start his life again
Chorus
2) In the end he knew the reasons but so many had been lost
For years to come the fallen would sleep beneath the cross
What he held in angry silence time could never burn away
It was just the saddest price heÕd ever pay
Chorus
3) When he stopped to take some water at a little roadside place
A pretty southern widow sadly looked into his face
As they talked a while, his blue eyes seemed to ease her broken heart
One day he came back and took her home