Ricky Skaggs - Charlie & Johnny Reb lyrics

Looking back at a page in time The year was 1859 We ran deep in the souther pines 'Neath that Alabama Clay Charlie and Johnny were brothers in blood Nothing stronger than family love The cotton was short and times were tough So they went through seperate ways Charlie moved north to work in corn But Johnny he stayed south And after being apart a couple of years Civil war broke out Well both of the brothers they were volunteers After fighting each other for all those years But if it came to fighting they had no fears They had seen their share of fists Then they got the news how it would be The brothers had agreed to disagree Is like taking an axe to the family tree Never dreamed it would come to this Charlie put on the union blue And Johnny the rebel grey But each one pray his brother'd live The fight another day As dawn was breaking on the battle field Through the canon smoke and the foggy hills A shot rang out from the cold blue steele Charlie held in his shakin' hands And after the fight while countin' the cost There was more that day than a battle lost When under a tree line in the moss Charlie came upon a young man And as he wiped the mud and blood away It took more than his breath 'Cause the soldier in his sights that day Was his brother Johnny Reb