"The Blue and the Gray;
or, A Mother's Gift to Her Country" (1900)
by Paul Dresser, 1858-1906
As Sung Nightly by
R. J. Rose with
Wm. H. West's Big Minstrel Jubilee.

[Source: 145/086@Levy]

1.
A mother's gift
to her country's cause
  is a story yet untold.
She had three sons,
three only sons,
  each worth his weight in gold.
She gave them up
for the sake of war,
  while her heart was filled with pain.
As each went away,
she was heard to say,
  He will never return again.

CHORUS 2 times
One lies down near Appomattax, 
  Many miles away.
Another sleeps at Chickamauga
  And they both wore suits of gray.
'Mid the strains of "Down to Dixie"
  The third was laid away
In a trench at Santiago.
  The Blue and the Gray.

2.
She's alone tonight, 
while the stars shine bright, 
  with a heart full of despair.
On the last great day
I can hear her say,
  My three boys will be there.
Perhaps they'll wait
at the heav'nly gates,
   on guard beside their guns.
Then the mother true,
to the gray and blue, 
  may enter with her sons.

(CHORUS)