The Blue and the Gray
(or, a Mother's Gift to Her Country)

Performed by Victor Mixed Chorus
Recorded c.1920
Written by Paul Dresser

A mother's Gift to her country's cause
is a story yet untold
She had three sons, three only ones,
each worth his weight in gold
She gave them up for the sake of war,
while her heart was filled with pain
As each went away, she was heard to say,
He will never return again

[chorus]
One lies down near Appomattox,
Many miles away
Another sleeps at Chickamauga
And they both wore suits of gray
'Mid the strains of "Down in Dixie"
The third was laid away
in a trench at Santiago
The Blue and the Gray

She alone tonight while the stars shine bright,
with a heart full of despair
On the last great day I can hear her say,
My three boys will be there
Perhaps they'll watch at the heav'nly gates,
on guard beside their guns
Then the mother true, to the gray and blue,
may enter with her sons

[repeat chorus]