Tara

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It’s a jewel by the river
Left by the swirling foam
Washing oh so gentle on the shore
Give praise to the Giver
For the harvest coming home
Growing just outside the red dirt floor
She dances with her suitors
‘Neath the torches shining bright
And it seemed the song would never, ever end
But those thieving Yankee looters
Came howling in the night
They took the only thing she trusted in

[chorus]
Bless your soul, my little darling daughter
I swear you’ll never go hungry again
They burned down Atlanta,
But they stopped when they saw Savannah
It’s up to you to build it all again
It’s up to you to build it all again

Like a stone-eyed eagle
She stood there in the dark
In the shadows of a lonesome, dying fire
Yankees made the whole thing legal
And then they stole the spark
They stole the flame that drove her heart's desire
(she said) “I’ll think about it tomorrow”
Haul that child in tow
Travel a little down further south
Taking nothing for the sorrow
She pays back what she owes
Ain't never gonna live from hand to mouth

The old man died last autumn
I guess he went insane
With every damn thing gone but the hurt
The kids remembered what he’d taught ‘em
That what was flowing in their veins
Was blood made outta red clay dusty dirt
Carve the granite stone
Let it lie secure
Place it squarely just above his old head
We can’t let him lie alone
And come next spring for sure
We’ll plant cotton where the old man fell down dead