My name is Charlie Porter
I was a union soldier
In '61, I signed up to fight
And it was a great adventure
But I have to tell you
Not the fairytale I had in mind
And when General Lee surrendered
And victory finally arrived
I heard no one hoot or holler
No hip-hurray for the stars and stripes
We only cried
Back when it started
Proud and foolish hearted
I thought I had a taste for rebel blood
But we were only children
They killed us and we killed them
And the misery and the dying made us numb
By then, holding back the sorrow
Was kind of like holding back the tide
The men did not hoot or holler
Nor hip-hurray for the stars and stripes
We only cried
And oh, victory seems hollow
At the price of half a million lives
A cold and weary stillness follows
You hear no hip-hurray for stars and stripes
You only cry
