"I'm Nothing But a Plain Old Soldier" (1863)
Patriotic Ballad
Written & Composed
(Poetry and Music) by
Stephen Collins Foster, 1826-1864

1.
I'm nothing but a plain old soldier,
  And old revolutionary soldier,
But I've handled a gun
  Where nobles deals were done,
For the name of my commander wasd George Washington.
  My home and my country to me were dear,
And I fought for both when the foe came near,
  But now I will meet with a slight or sneer,

[REFRAIN]
For I'm nothing but a plain old soldier,
Nothing but a plain old soldier.
An old revolutionary soldier,
But I've handled a gun
Where noble deeds were done,
For the name of my commander was George Washington.


2.
The friends I loved the best have departed,
The days of my early joys have gone,
And the voices once dear
And familiar to my ear,
Have faded from the scenes of the earth one by one.
The tomb and the battle have laid them low,
And they roam no more where the bright streams flow,
I'm longing to join them and soon must go,

[REFRAIN]
For I'm nothing but a plain old soldier,
Nothing but a plain old soldier.
An old revolutionary soldier,
But I've handled a gun
Where noble deeds were done,
For the name of my commander was George Washington.

3.
Again the battle song is resounding,
  And who'll bring the trouble to an end?
The Union will pout, and Secession ever shout,
  But none can tell us now which will yield or bend.
You've had many Generals from over the land,
You've tried one by one and you're still at a stand,
But when I took the field we had _one_ in command,

[RERAIN]
Yet I'm nothing but a plain old soldier
Nothing but a plain old soldier.
An old revolutionary soldier,
But I've handled a gun
Where noble deeds were done,
For the name of my commander was George Washington.