The Ballad of Joseph Martin

The Ballad of Joesph Martin (5:39)
My name is Joseph Martin. I hail from Prospect, Maine.
I was raised down in Connecticut, where I learned the farmer’s trade.
My father was a preacher man, but I took up my gun,
In the War for Independence ’till that bloody fight was done.
… ’till that bloody fight was won.

I left to fight the Redcoats when I was just fifteen.
I saw what eyes should never view in battle and in siege.
From Morristown to Mifflin, White Plains to Valley Forge,
Saw traitors hanged and heroes die, as they went to meet their Lord.
Oooo, they went to meet their Lord.

We salute our citizen soldiers; raise your glasses high.
They left their homes and families, looked the devil in the eye.
We salute our citizen soldiers; we’ll drink a toast to thee,
Who suffered for our freedoms, preserved for you and me.

When surrender came at Yorktown, our victory bittersweet,
I settled down near Sandy Point and raised a family.
I served as Justice of the Peace, and farmed the land I owned,
And recalled my veteran brothers and the debts that they were owed.
Oooo, the debts that they were owed.

Chorus

Soaked to the bone, froze near to death, and marched for 30 miles,
My belly ached from hunger, longed for a lover’s smile.
We struggled through those dangerous days, the times that tried men's
souls,
And stood our ground with hearts on fire, as the cannon thunder rolled.

And so, my friends, through much fatigue and many dangers past,
I lived to say this war-worn soldier’s braved his way at last.
Don’t take freedom for granted. Don’t forget the price we paid,
And remember me a patriot when you look upon my grave.

We salute our citizen soldiers; raise your glasses high.
They left their homes and families, looked the devil in the eye.
We salute our citizen soldiers; we’ll drink a toast to thee,
Who suffered for our freedoms, preserved for you and me.

We salute our citizen soldiers; raise your glasses high.
They left their homes and families, looked the devil in the eye.
We salute our citizen soldiers; we’ll drink a toast to thee,
Who suffered for our freedoms, preserved for you and me,
Suffered for our freedoms, preserved for you and me.