Take me back to the place where I first saw the light
To that sweet sunny south take me home
Where the mockingbird sings me to sleep every night
Oh why was I tempted to roam

I think with regret of the dear home I left
Of the warm hearts that sheltered me there
Of wife and of children of whom I'm bereft
Of the old place again do I sigh

Take me back to the place where the orange trees grow
To my plot in the evergreen shade
Where the flowers from the river's green margins did grow
And spread their sweet scent through the glade

Take me back let me see what is left that I know
Could it be that the old house is gone
Dear friends from my childhood indeed must be few
And I must face death all alone

The path to our cottage they say has grown green
And the place is quite lonely around
I know that the smiles and the forms I once knew
Now lie 'neath the cold mossy ground

But yet I return to the place of my birth
Where the children have played 'round the door
Where they gathered wild blossoms that grew 'round the path
Twill echo their footsteps no more

Take me back to the place where my little ones sleep
Where poor massa lies buried close by
O'er the graves of my loved ones I long for to weep
and rest there among them when I die

Verse:

—Harry C. McAuliffe and Bobby Gregory

Now don't forget me little darling while I'm growing old and gray
Just a little thought before I'm going far away
I'll be waiting on the hillside where the wild red roses grow
On the sunny side of the mountain where the rippling waters fall

Now don't forget about those days we courted many years ago
Don't forget all the promises you gave me and so
I'll be waiting on the hillside on the day that you will call
On the sunny side of the mountain where the rippling waters fall

Tell me darling in your letter do you ever think of me
Please answer little darling tell me where you can be
It's been so long dear since I've seen you but my love still lingers on
Don't forget me little darling though our love affair seems gone

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