Washed tables for 50 cents
Used warm water and the air to dry
But cleaning stables took common sense
And a good wheel barrow that I could drive
The morning paper has all the news
Of the fortune that's theirs to lose
As this coffee warms my hands
That have grown as hard as this broken land
Here in Alkali
All I have to do is survive
In Alkali
I just have to stay alive
They gave me a rifle and 40 rounds
And a chance to save their crown
When the cotton that grew up all around
Turned red they called it sacred ground
And the merchants all rubbed their hands
Would we save their fertile lands?
When the general drew up his sword
He spilled the blood of the simple man
Jeremiah would you carry my body home
Don't let the sun bleach these Cold Harbor bones
Tell Hell's fire it can't have this southern soul
I'm going back to my Tennessee mountain home
Used warm water and the air to dry
But cleaning stables took common sense
And a good wheel barrow that I could drive
The morning paper has all the news
Of the fortune that's theirs to lose
As this coffee warms my hands
That have grown as hard as this broken land
Here in Alkali
All I have to do is survive
In Alkali
I just have to stay alive
They gave me a rifle and 40 rounds
And a chance to save their crown
When the cotton that grew up all around
Turned red they called it sacred ground
And the merchants all rubbed their hands
Would we save their fertile lands?
When the general drew up his sword
He spilled the blood of the simple man
Jeremiah would you carry my body home
Don't let the sun bleach these Cold Harbor bones
Tell Hell's fire it can't have this southern soul
I'm going back to my Tennessee mountain home