Janis Ian Caleb Brown Lyrics

Caleb Brown was a mighty fine man and his skin was the color of the good rich land He bought a slope-eared mule named dan and broke a little piece of ground Cleared the place with his own bare hands Made cotton grow in the rocks and sand Thought he'd found the promised land 'til the soldiers came to town

Gather by the river Light a fire in the old camp ground Stand and deliver They're burning Dixie down

Caleb Brown never took a side Always hoped that the war would pass him by Trouble came and he closed his eyes then he woke to the sound of the guns They stole his chickens and the old milk cow Left him nothing but a broken plow He cried out "what can I do now but to wait for the kingdom come?"
Gather by the river Light a fire in the old camp ground Stand and deliver They're burning Dixie down

Was a war, was a mighty fine war Was a war like the world never saw before The only one not keeping score Was a man named Caleb Brown No one knows what his eyes have seen How he washed his hands in a bloody stream Buried all his hopes and dreams down in the cold, cold ground

Gather by the river Light a fire in the old camp ground Stand and deliver They're burning Dixie down They're burning Dixie down