Our land is filled with mourning, from Bourbon to Malone
And many wives and mothers are weeping, sad and alone
For many youthful heroes are among the noble slain
On a blood-red field near Richmond
Fair Richmond on the James
A soldier boy at Richmond lay gasping on the field
The battle strife was over and the foe was forced to yield
But fell one noble hero before the foe-man's aim
On the blood-stained field at Richmond
Fair Richmond on the James
A comrade stood beside him as his lifeblood ebbed away
They had been chums together since boyhood's early day
Together they had struggled 'mid strife and grief and pain
But to part that night at Richmond
Fair Richmond on the James
He said, "My noble comrade, you will miss me for awhile
But the faces that once loved us, again on you will smile
Again you will be foremost in all the village games
While I lie here at Richmond
Fair Richmond on the James"
Take the sword home to my brother, and the star upon my breast
To my young and gentle sister, the one that I loved best
And a brown lock from my forehead to my mother who still dreams
Of the safe return of her soldier boy
From Richmond on the James
