Song Description
The futility of war
Song Length |
3:48 |
Genre |
Folk - Contemporary, Folk - Country |
Tempo |
Slow (71 - 90) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
Mood |
Gloomy |
Subject |
Peace |
Similar Artists |
Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen |
Language |
English |
Era |
1800 - 1899 |
| |
Lyrics
The swords were drawn from their scabbards
That hot, faithless day in July
When the young should be laughing and swimming
Instead of just fixing to die
Thunder rocked from the hillside
Fireballs burst out their call
Bullets came out of nowhere
The screaming of death's cannonball
In Gettysburg, in Gettysburg
Caleb was crouched in a hovel
Hoped that its walls would protect
From the hate and hunger and misery
From the devil who was out to collect
When the door of his shack was blown open
By a wind that was shrouded in black
He cringed as it whistled right through him
He knew he was not coming back
To Gettysburg, to Gettysburg
Now I can't hear a sound in Gettysburg
The screams are long silent and cold
For the truths of those days
Are now buried in graves
With stories that were never told
The hills are aflame from this horror
Brother against brother on the land
Their daddy had worked for the both of them
Now they both draw a line in the sand
And the ghosts of their past are just speechless
As the blood rains down from the sky
Covers the birch and the beeches
And the cries of the young 'fore they die
In Gettysburg, in Gettysburg