Born up on the blue ridge, at the Carolina line
Baptized on the banks of the new river
Brought up on bluegra** and clear moonshine
And tough as iron but a heart soft as leather
Levi, lord, lord, lord, they shot him down
Ten thousand miles from a southern town
Oh, Levi
Like a fire on the mountain, running wild in those days
Playing knights of the golden horseshoe
And Indian raids
Now it's parachutes and combat boots
And camouflaged airplanes
And a country boy who don't belong
In the desert anyway
Levi, lord, lord, lord, they shot him down
Ten thousand miles from a southern town
Oh, Levi
Well the sandbox sure gets lonesome
And it's a hundred and nine degrees
Singing carry me back to Virginia
Lord I'm down here on my knees
In the market square while the bells were ringing
Loud to fill the air
Levi gazed his eyes out, through the rocket's glare
Beyond the desert and the ocean
To the furthest fields of home
And when the bullets pierced his body
He was already gone
Levi, lord, lord, lord, they shot him down
Ten thousand miles from a southern town
Oh, Levi, lord, lord, lord, they shot him down
Oh, Levi, oh Levi.