An "oldie", in honor of Memorial Day. Columbus, MS is one of the spots to claim to have had the first Memorial Day when Mothers placed flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers.

Kevin

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Old and Gray (rally 'round the flag)
© Emmrich/Leach 2009

(V) Saddle up the horses and count those who fell
and boost me up so I can ride
The spirit’s willing, but the ammo and food are low
And we’re on the losing side

(Ch) But rally ‘round the Flag, boys
Cause we’re all gonna die some day
I hope it will be back in Mississippi, yea
When I'm old and gray

(v) Oh to be back in Mississippi, surrounded by my wife and sons
the deep rich earth and the clear blue sky
Heaven's worth fighting and dying for
so let's show those bluecoats what hell is like

(Ch) Rally ‘round the Flag, boys
Cause we’re all gonna die some day
I hope it will be back in Mississippi, yea
When I'm old and gray

(Br) We whooped ‘em on up at Manassas
and I thought it would be over fast
And I'd be home soon

(Ch) So, rally ‘round the Flag, boys
Cause we’re all gonna die some day
I hope it will be back in Mississippi, yea
When I'm old and gray
I hope it will be back in Mississippi, yea
When I'm old and gray

Kevin: Vocals
Bethan Mathis: Backing Vocals
BIAB: drums, bass, fiddle, resonator guitar, acoustic guitar, piano

Kevin, Nice song for Memorial Day Weekend. It's a keeper. The only change I would make is the first line in the 2nd verse. Perhaps "Back in Mississippi surrounded by family. Less syllables. Tom

Quote:

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Kevin, Nice song for Memorial Day Weekend. It's a keeper. The only change I would make is the first line in the 2nd verse. Perhaps "Back in Mississippi surrounded by family. Less syllables. Tom

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Thanks for the comments here and over at songramp! You are right about that line -- I am wondering if I should pick a city in Mississippi that has 1 or 2 less syllables than the state name.

From a lyrical standpoint, "surrounded by family" is too open-ended. Is it the opening book scene from the Godfather where 20 people are piled around the bedside? (ha, ha). In the more general case you've recommended, the listener has to decide what kind of family scene there is (which means you might lose them) -- but if you say wife and sons, then the path to visualization is much shorter.

Most of the time in verses, you want to be specific to get that mini-movie cranking in the listeners mind. Using general phrases and non-descriptive items can sometimes defeats that purpose.

Kevin