Charlie Poole recorded it in 1925

Lyrics from http://www.jerrydallal.com/charlie_poole.htm

THE GIRL I LOVED IN SUNNY TENNESSEE

On one morning bright and clear
My old homestead I drew near
It's a village down in sunny Tennessee
I was speeding on a train
That would carry me back again
To that girl I loved in sunny Tennessee

    You could hear those darkies singing
    As she bid farewell to me
    Far across the fields of cotton
    My old homestead I could see
    But as the moon rose in the glory
    There I told the saddest story
    To that girl I loved in sunny Tennessee

It has been but quite a few years
Since I 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 nearer to my heart
As the night I asked of her to be my bride

As the train run in at last
Those familiar scenes I passed
When I kissed my mother at the station door
When the crowd gathered round
Tears on every face I found
But I missed the one who I'd been waiting for

As I whispered "Mother dear
Where is Mary?" "She's not here."
All the world seems lonely, sadness came to me
As she pointed to a spot
In the little churchyard lot
Where my sweetheart sleeps in sunny Tennessee