The blue coats and grey.
Fallen men and fallen dreams
gather now in peace.

THE BLUE COATS AND GREY

The men in the blue coats
And the men in the grey
Lay dead on our farmland
Staining red the golden hay.
And brother fighting brother
And father fighting son.
And they knew in their hearts
The war couldn't be won.
Where did we go wrong?
Tell me who is to blame
For this killing of soldiers
In a war fought in vain.
From Atlanta to Vicksburg
To the Gettysburg hills
The men in the blue coats
And the grey coats lay still.

In five years of battle
And a half million dead,
They wore blue and grey coats
And now they wear red.
So what can we do
To honor them all?
Walk softly on hallowed ground
Where brave soldiers fall.
So what can we do
To honor them all?
Walk softly on hallowed ground
Where brave soldiers fall.

©Copyright May 1999 by Alan L. Winters

Author’s Note: There was no reason to have written it that morning. Although I was interested in the Civil War, nothing set me off that night. An hour after writing it I was on the platform waiting for my train when a man stepped out onto the platform across from me. He was in full Union regalia and on his way to a re-enactment. The song was meant to be written.