Lyrics Ben McCulloch - Steve Earle

Ben McCulloch

We signed up in san antone my brother paul and me To fight with ben mcculloch and the texas infantry
Well the poster said wed get a uniform and seven bucks a week
The best rations in the army and a rifle we could keep
When I first laid eyes on the general I knew he was a fightin man
He was every inch a soldier every word was his command
Well his eyes were cold as the lead and steel forged into tools of war
He took the lives of many and the souls of many more
Well they marched us to missouri and we hardly stopped for rest
Then he made this speech and said were comin to the test
Well weve got to take saint louie boys before the yankees do If we control the mississippi then the federals are through
Well they told us that our enemy would all be dressed in blue
They forgot about the winters cold and the cursed fever too
My brother died at wilsons creek and lord I seen him fall
We fell back to the boston mountains in the north of arkansas
Goddamn you ben mcculloch
I hate you more than any other man alive
And when you die youll be a foot soldier just like me In the devils infantry
And on the way to fayetteville we cursed mcculloch`s name
And mourned the dead that wed left behind and we was carrying the lame
I killed a boy the other night whod never even shaved
I dont even know what Im fightin for I aint never owned a slave
So I snuck out of camp and then I heard the news next night
The yankees won the battle and mcculloch lost his life