Mr. Confederate Man - Rebel Son

I was just a little boy

in elementary school

English and Math and Science class

learning the golden rules

I learned how to add and how to subtract

and how to multiply and divide

I learned about bugs and I learned about plants

and I learned how to read and write

but my most favorite class of all

was the last class of the day

when my history teacher would tell us tales

of old times long gone away

I was amazed at the way she knew all the people

and their names and the places and the dates

that’s when I first learned about General Lee

and his 13 rebel States

One day she came to school

with a big brown grocery bag

she opened it up, we all helped her hold up

this great big «X"shaped flag

she said class

now only a fool will tell you

this flag is a symbol of hate

It represents the men who fought and died

with pride for our Confederate States

Your assignment tonight

I want you to write

I want you to pretend

that one of these brave men came back to life

now what would you say to him

Well the school bell rang

and I thought and I thought

as the bus carried me across town

I got out my pencil and my notebook pad

and this is what I wrote down

I wrote

Mr. Confederate man

I’d like to shake your hand

for giving your life for Dixieland

Mr. Confederate man

The next day in History class

I put my paper on the teachers desk

then she called me up in front of everyone

because she said she liked mine the best

as i walked up to the head of the class

my teacher smiled and she nodded at me

then I saw a tear roll down her cheek as I began to read

I read

Mr. Confederate man

I’d like to shake your hand

for giving your life for Dixieland

Mr. Confederate man

Well I was at home reading through the news

just the other day

when I ran across my old teachers name

and I saw where she had passed away

with a bitter-sweet smile

I looked up at my wall

a wrinkled paper in a old wood frame

where underneath penciled words almost faded away

she had marked a grade big red «A»…plus

Mr. Confederate man

I’d like to shake your hand

for giving your life for Dixieland

Mr. Confederate man

I wrote

Mr. Confederate man

I’d like to shake your hand

for giving your life for Dixieland

Mr. Confederate man