Sweet sunny south
Take me back to the place while I first saw the light To the sweet sunny south, take me home Where the mocking birds sang me to sleep in the night Oh why was I tempted to roam Oh, I think with regret of the dear friends I left Of the dear hearts that sheltered me there Of my wife and my family of whom I'm bereft For the old place again do I sigh The path to our cottage they say has grown green And the cabin quite mossy around And I know that the faces and the forms I have loved Now lie in the cold mossy ground But still I'll return to the place of my birth For the children have played around the door So I know that no matter how long I may live They will echo our footsteps no more Take me back to the place where the orange trees grow To me plot in the evergreen shade Where the floweres from river's green margin did grow And spread their sweet scent thru the glade Take me back to the place where my little ones sleep Poor Massa lies buried close by O'er the graves of my loved ones I long for to weep And among them to rest when I die