Don't Send Your Child To War - Charlie Parr

I ain’t been but one little place and lived here all my life

I ain’t known but one woman and now she is my wife

Never been further than up the road to the town and back again

Never known but a handful of folks and them I call my friends

Now I’m going to leave here

Now I’m going away

Keep my fiddle tuned for me

I’ll need it some sweet day

Well the preacher said to my only son I’ll sign you up for war

You’ll fight for your life far from your home and never come back no more

Well my only son come home one day and we buried him up the hill

Next to his auntie and old grandma and dear old uncle bill

Now I’m going to leave here

Now I’m going away

Keep my fiddle tuned for me

I’ll need it some sweet day

Now I’m gonna go myself and see what’s it’s all about

Why’d they take a poor man’s son he was all I got

Who’s pockets are filled with gold and they don’t have to fight

Or leave home and say goodbye to their kids and worry on them all night

Now I’m going to leave here

Now I’m going away

Keep my fiddle tuned for me

I’ll need it some sweet day

I set up camp one day on the street where the rich man lived

He won’t come out and talk to me he don’t have the time to give

But’ll call the cops and say roustabout’s a-living on our place

So take him away and all his kind I don’t wanna see his face

Now I’m going to leave here

Now I’m going away

Keep my fiddle tuned for me

I’ll need it some sweet day

I wished I’d stayed to home and kept my son there too

You can give to the rich man all day long but he’ll never give back to you

So they can call me roustabout and do it all they please

Never will I stop for them or get down on my knees

Now I’m going to leave here

Now I’m going away

Keep my fiddle tuned for me

I’ll need it some sweet day