On a morning bright and clear, to my old home I drew near Just a village down in sunny Tennessee I was speeding on a train that would bring me back again To my sweetheart who was waiting there for me
We could hear the old folks singing As she said farewell to me Far across the fields of cotton My old homestead I could see When the moon rose in its glory Then I told life's sweetest story To the girl I loved in sunny Tennessee
It was but a few short years since I'd kissed away her tears As I left her at my dear old mother's side And each day we've been apart, she's grown dearer to my heart Than the night I asked of her to be my bride
As the train drew up at last, old familiar scenes I passed And I kissed my mother at the station door But as old friends gathered 'round, tears on every face I found But I missed the one that I'd been longing for
As I whispered, mother dear, where is Mary, she's not here All the world seemed lost and sadness came to me For she pointed to a spot in the churchyard's little lot Where my sweetheart sleeps in sunny Tennessee.