The evening sun was going down, Weary soldiers on the ground,
Neath the embers of firelight, And brightness of stars,
Flew a tattered but proud, Remnant of the Stars and Bars,
Countless days and countless nights, Only the strong survived the fight,
“Be strong my son” he said to me, As I looked into the face of General Lee,
“Look she’s beautiful, even limp as a rag” “Once again you’ve defended the Confederate Flag”
Looking at him my eyes filled with pain, I knew that my fight had not been in vain,
Morning broke through with a drizzle of rain; not even the morphine could stop the pain,
A faint peek of sun broke through the sky, we had made it through till the 4th of July,
There was no watermelon, No fried chicken breast,
Just a word from the General, That we’d given our best,
Their rations of water, And a little back strap,
Then some settled down, For a much needed nap,
My thoughts were of Mama, and things back at home,
How Papa had told me, He knew I’d be strong,
Mama packed a few vittle’s, In an worn out bag,
For she knew I’d get hungry, Caring that Flag,
I shared with the fellows, and talked about home,
The best bunch of men, I would know getting grown,
They told of their children, and bragged about their wives,
Little we knew, How it’d change all our lives,
Day went into night, But time seemed to drag,
And I kept my hand, Wrapped around that old Flag,
For if death should visit, During the night,
I wanted Daddy to know, When I saw death’s “light”,
That I never gave up, The thing’s I was taught,
I stood my ground, No matter what it brought,
My fever ran high, My resistance ran low,
Holding on to that Flag, I refused to let go,
I saw Mama’s face, As she stood in the door,
Saying “Come on in son”, “I’ve cooked, there’s lots more”,
That Southern fried chicken, Sweet tater’ s and sweet tea,
Was just what I needed, To take the hurt out of me,
Papa stood by just nodding his head, And when I had finished,
They put me to bed, Morning broke with the sun a gleaming,
And I woke to discover, I’d only been dreaming,
Trying to get up, I fell with a thump, What had been my left leg, was now just a stump,
“Whoa there young feller”, he said with a grin, And there stood Forrest,
Where Lee had been, “You bucked and you snorted, but I’ll have to brag, You damn sure held on
to that Confederate Flag”
You talked of your Mama, and Daddy and such, “But I do believe, that we’ve found our good
luck, In a young man from Georgia,
With an old torn up bag, Who would even cheat death, Just to carry that Flag,
Well the years have come and years have gone, And I cherish that Flag, Even after I’m grown,
It meant so much during times of war, But now I believe that it means even more,
See your colors, your colors are red, to tell the world that you’re not afraid,
See your colors, your colors are blue, to tell the world that you’ll alway’s be true,
See your color’s, your color’s are white to tell the world you’re not afraid to fight,
Those words still mean, as much to me, as that tattered old Flag, neath that Georgia tree,
The bittersweet memories, Of days gone before, Still stay with me now,
As I fight even more, Tempers run high, And felling’s run deep,
For the “Star’s and Bar’s”, We are fighting to keep,
She’s just as important, As is our old “Glory”,
For through her own way, she has told her story,
They’ve torn her down, They’ve even let her burn,
But even in these times her colors won’t run,
Some folk’s claim that us war folk’s don’t care, But I know better for I was there,
They say I ride nightly, looking for places to hide,
I say I stand proud, For it’s with “Forrest” I ride,
I know my rights, and of this I will brag,
I’ll fight till I die, For that “Confederate Flag”.