River Runs Red

River Runs Red

The 31st day of December
Three thousand dressed in blue and grey
All sons of the heavenly father
Lay in a watery grave
And the river runs red, the river runs red

One shot woke the Tennessee morning...
Soon fire and smoke filled the sky...
Then rain it came down with no warning...
As sorrow fell down from all sides

Chorus:
The river runs red the river runs red
No winners or losers when you count the dead
We watch it roll by we all bow our heads
The Guns have gone silent...but the river runs red

Now Rogers was from Alabama
And Thomas from old New York town
But soon they would die like blood brothers
In the stream where their souls would flow down

Chorus:
The river runs red the river runs red.
No winners or losers when you count the dead
We watch it roll by and we all bow our heads
The Guns have gone silent...but the river runs red

Some say you could see red for miles – and it flowed that way so many years
Though the water looks clear and untainted – the Stones River will never run clear…

Chorus