Lyrics

In answer to your question
Where do I come from
I died in Mississippi
In 1881
But let?s go back to the beginning
When no one knew what lay ahead
Before the mighty river
Ran red

I?ll paint for you a picture
Of that summer night
When a difference of opinion
Escalated to a fight
Dinner cold upon the table
Mother weeping close at hand
She said, ?Boys, a house
Divided cannot stand?

Across the amber waves of grain
We heard the cannons roar
The caissons rolling
And the cry of civil war
I?ve been sent to tell you
To find some common ground
I?m the ghost of Vicksburg
And I shot my brother down

So we both enlisted
Opposite sides
One to march with Sherman
One for Pemberton to ride
We donned the uniforms
That soon were torn and frayed
And pledged allegiance
To the blue and to the grey

On Chickasaw that morning
The light was dim
But by the slope of his shoulder
I knew that it was him
He raised up his rifle
And it chilled me to the bone
For his shot went wide
And mine, dear God, struck home