Take me home to the place where I first saw the light
To the sweet sunny South take me home
Where the mockingbird sang me to rest every night
Oh, why was I tempted to roam
I think with regret of the dear home I left
Of the kind hearts that sheltered me then
Of the wife and the dear ones of whom I'm bereft
And I sigh for the old place again
Take me home to the land where the orange trees grow
To my cot in the evergreen shade
Where the flowers on the river's green margin may blow
Their sweet on the banks where we played
The path to our cottage they say has grown green
And the place is quite lonely around
And I know that the smiles and the forms that I've seen
Now lie deep in the dark mossy ground
Take me home, let me see what is left that I knew
Can it be that the old house is gone
The dear friends of my childhood indeed must be few
And I must lament all alone
But yet I'll return to the place of my birth
Where the children have played around the door
Where they pulled the white blossoms to garnish the hearth
That will echo their footsteps no more
Take me back to the place where I first saw the light
To the sweet sunny South take me home
Where the mockingbird sang me to rest every night
Oh, why was I tempted to roam
Tell me, why was I tempted to roam