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Lyrics

Written by: Ben Bedford

Riding down to Chancellorsville on a horse with eyes of blue,
Giving up my daily bread to see what I can do.
My bayonet is sharpened up, my musket barrel's clean,
I'm scared to death but trying to look formidable and mean.

I left my home in Charlottesville to join the AOP,
Against the will of my old man and most the family.
They don the gray and sing the tune of merry dixieland,
I wear the badge of honor lost and traitor on my hand.

Chorus:
There are things I do and don't believe.
You better bet that I still have some tricks shoved up my sleeve,
With a lover's note, a mother's prayer, and a father's curse,
But I'm Lincoln's man, I'm Lincoln's man for better or for worse.

Jackson, he's a man of God my father said aloud,
He speaks of Christ and family like a wall of stone so proud.
Points his saber at the blue as beard in wind does wave,
Saying let our brothers pluck the speck when their plank is drawn away.

The men been down since Fredericksburg and Burnside's been replaced,
We're at each others throats all day with blood and time to waste.
I bruised my hand and lost a tooth at dinner yesterday,
On some young Boston private making fun of southern ways.

Chorus

Hooker's down from Washington, he's been whoring with the rest,
He'll take the reins of the command of what he calls the best.
Reorganized and confident, he brags 'bout what it takes,
To lead this army clad in blue of gentlemen and rakes.

We crossed the Rappahannock and chasing Jackson close,
Like fools we fortified our lines along the river road.
But momentum boys is not a thing that's easily regained,
Jackson and his men escaped and they'll turn to fight again.

Chorus

Instrumental break

Hooker in his confidence has dug his heels in tight,
He says reinforcements are sure to come in the middle of the night,
They'll turn their tails and retreat along the quickest Richmond line,
There'll be plenty time for women, gambling and wine.

But they didn't flee, those troops of Lee, they stood their ground and glared,
Half our size and half our guns they didn't have a prayer.
And I wondered was my brother there below the glowing sky,
As Jackson like an iron fist drove into our right side.

Where's my mother, is she safe was pounding in my head,
Will she find my unmarked grave among this swirling sea of red.
As the fusiliers with mortar shot divorce the eyes from light,
The Devil's out there pickin' bones along the timber line.

Chorus modified:
There are things I do and don't believe.
As the musket balls rip through my coat and drop me to my knees.
No noble death to drown in blood of brothers in the dirt,
But I swore to God I was Lincoln's man for better or for worse.
I'm Lincoln's man, I'm Lincoln's man for better or for worse.

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