The Girl I Left in Sunny Tennessee


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

Chorus
I could hear the old folks singing
As they said farewell to me
Far across the fields of cotton
My old homestead I could see
As the moon rose in its glory
There I told my sweetest story
To that girl I left in sunny Tennessee

It has been since quite a few years
Since I kissed away the tears
And I left her at my dear old mother's side
And those days we've been apart
She comes near to my heart
As the night I asked her to be my bride (chorus)
As the train ran at last
Those familiar things have past
When I kissed my mother at the station door
When the crowd gathered round
Tears on every face was found
But I didn't see the one I was looking for
As I whispered "Mother dear,
Where is Mary? She's not here
And the world seemed lonesome to me
She pointed to a spot
In a lonesome church yard lot
Where my Mary sleeps in sunny Tennessee


Words and music by Harvey Braisted and Stanley Carter, 1899, PD....

for Erlin and Les Morse on New Year's Eve...hg