| Well, they gave me this old coat |
| Said "It'll keep you mighty warm |
| It'll see you through the winter |
| It's your 'By God' uniform!" |
| So I wear it every day |
| And I sleep in it at night |
| Now it's twenty shades of ray |
| And the waist is shrunk too tight |
| And the bottom's caked and muddy |
| And the buttons are half gone |
| But just like you and me |
| This old gray coat wears on |
|
| And when I die in this gray coat |
| I'm gonna' march through heaven's door |
| I'm gonna' walk up to St. Peter |
| And tell him "Send me back for more" |
| Cause I'll be damned if I'll just sit around |
| While you boys win the war |
| Cause even when I'm dead |
| Shot full of Yankee lead |
| There'll be part of me keeps hangin' by a thread |
| Of this old gray coat |
|
| When I think of all the places |
| This old coat and me have been |
| Through the fat and lean and in between |
| Double-quick through thick and thin |
| From the ballrooms down in Richmond |
| To the top of Marye's heights |
| From Manassas to the Wilderness |
| And a hundred other fights |
| Now the collar's torn and tattered |
| And the elbow's worn clean through |
| But, buddy, in a pinch |
| This old gray coat will do |
|
| And when I die in this gray coat |
| And when they come to bury me |
| If they commence the speech of life |
| And singin' "Nearer, Lord, to thee" |
| Well, be damn sure I ain't just sleepin' |
| Cause I flat out guarantee |
| That even when I'm dead |
| Shot full of Yankee lead |
| That the toughest part lives on in every shred |
| Of this old gray coat |
|
| You can cut my throat |
| You can sink my boat |
| But you can never stop this old gray coat |
| Cause' when bones you tote |
| When that's all she wrote |
| I'll fight on inside this old gray coat |
|
| When I die in this gray coat |
| I'm gonna march through heaven's door |
| I'm gonna walk up to St. Peter |
| And tell him "Send me back for more" |
| Cause I'll be damned if I'll just sit around |
| While you boys win the war |
| Cause even when I'm dead |
| Shot full of Yankee lead |
| That the toughest part lives on in every shred |
| Of this old gray coat |
| This old gray coat |
| I'll go down in this old gray coat |
| This old gray coat |
|