Story Behind The Song

While visiting Gettysburg and other Civil War sites, I drew inspiration from the stories and sites converting them to songs.

Song Description

On the fields of Gettysburg, soldiers think about their lives before going into battle and wonder about the families left behind they may never see. These are the prayers they might have lifted up.

Lyrics

In the deadly quiet of an early morning dawn, leaning on my rifle, the dew is on my arm
A breeze is gently blowing, crackling through the leaves
All that waits before me drives me to my knees...

Take care of my wife; Lord, she's the love of my life...And my dear children, protect them
Give me the strength I'll need for this day
Lord, are you listening to the prayers of the blue and the gray?

Mossy stone on mossy stone built this ragged wall
Fence posts lean like crosses, like littered leaves in fall
An orchard stands behind me, the pastures lie below
All that waits before me, God only you can know

Lord, I've never known the love of a girl; so many things I've never seen in this world
Who'll help my mama to take in the hay?
Lord, are you listening to the prayers of the blue and the gray

In the volleys of the rifles, you could hear our hearts' despair
In the agony of battle, a world beyond repair
In the mottled canvas of the blue and gray and red
Your landscape stained and littered with the dying and the dead

What was it for? We've learned it for years
For freedom, for honor, bought with these tears
These are the fields where broken dreams lay
Lord are you listening to the prayers of the blue and the gray

What was it for? We've learned it for years
For freedom, for honor, bought with these tears
These are the fields where broken dreams lay
Lord are you listening to the prayers of the blue and the gray


© 2011 Char Seawell