Take me back to the place where I first saw the light To that sweet sunny south take me home Where the mockingbird sings me to sleep every night Oh why was I tempted to roam
I think with regret of the dear home I left Of the warm hearts that sheltered me there Of wife and of children of whom I'm bereft Of the old place again do I sigh
Take me back to the place where the orange trees grow To my plot in the evergreen shade Where the flowers from the river's green margins did grow And spread their sweet scent through the glade
Take me back let me see what is left that I know Could it be that the old house is gone Dear friends from my childhood indeed must be few And I must face death all alone
The path to our cottage they say has grown green And the place is quite lonely around I know that the smiles and the forms I once knew Now lie ‘neath the cold mossy ground
But yet I return to the place of my birth Where the children have played ‘round the door Where they gathered wild blossoms that grew ‘round the path Twill echo their footsteps no more
Take me back to the place where my little ones sleep Where poor massa lies buried close by O'er the graves of my loved ones I long for to weep and rest there among them when I die.