On a morning bright and clear, to my old home I drew near
Just a village down in sunny Tennessee
I was speeding on a train that would bring me back again
To my sweetheart who was waiting there for me

Chorus
We could hear the old folks singing
As she said farewell to me
Far across the fields of cotton
My old homestead I could see
When the moon rose in its glory
Then I told life's sweetest story
To the girl I loved in sunny Tennessee

It was but a few short years since I'd kissed away her tears
As I left her at my dear old mother's side
And each day we've been apart, she's grown dearer to my heart
Than the night I asked of her to be my bride

As the train drew up at last, old familiar scenes I passed
And I kissed my mother at the station door
But as old friends gathered 'round, tears on every face I found
But I missed the one that I'd been longing for

As I whispered, mother dear, where is Mary, she's not here
All the world seemed lost and sadness came to me
For she pointed to a spot in the churchyard's little lot
Where my sweetheart sleeps in sunny Tennessee