Story Behind The Song

To gain a real understanding of a land, in this case rural America, you must look to its history, and the stories of the people who have lived there.

Song Description

A history of the people who have inhabited a country mile, from an Idian princess, to a Revolutionary War hero, veterans of WWII, Korea, Viet Nam and current times.

Lyrics

Walking Dove was born beneath that giant Chestnut tree,
The daughter of a mighty Indian Chief.
When the white men came and drove her people far away
Down by the river, there, they say she died of grief.
And Danny Atkins was our first to follow Washington.
The British came and burned his homestead to the ground.
All that remains is that old chimney and a patriot?s grave,
And there, beside him, where they laid his Mary down.

CHORUS
This country mile, a thousand stories in this little stretch of sand,
This country mile, a thousand souls have left their marks upon this land!
This Country Mile

Verse 2:
Billy Miller was killed at Appomattox;
Blue or gray, our country?s children bled the same,
And over there young Billy came to find his final rest
Beside a hundred slaves who died, without a name.
Jimmy Hutchinson sailed off to fight the Nazis.
In Korea, brother John shot down in flames,
And Jimmy Jr. left his leg somewhere in Viet Nam
He gave his little boy his uncle Johnny?s name

(REPEAT CHORUS)

(BRIDGE)
Come and walk along with me and feel the power of this land
There?s magic in a simple country smile
You can fly across this country and never understand
America, until you walk this country mile!

Verse 3:
There?s a tire swing where little Tommy used to play
?Seems like yesterday, he?s only seventeen!
He enlisted on his birthday, like his Daddy did
He just became our country?s proudest new Marine.
And, as the years go by, what happens to the faces?
What becomes of all the tears, and all the smiles!
Lest we forget who pays the constant price of freedom,
Won?t you come along and walk with me awhile?

(REPEAT CHORUS)