Intro: 
D A Bm G D A 
D                   A          Bm
The news it came to me as a surprise
       G                D               A
And I knew that I would have to deal in time
           D          A                    Bm
And as the messenger walked right off the porch
     G           D                A
A memory came to me from times before

I remember when my dad was called away
My mother put his pictures all away
And now the time had come for me to go
To my love my tears I tried not to show

Chorus:
G                     A
With tear drops on my face
          D                Bm
Thinking 'bout that old homeplace
G                 A              D
Riding across the planes in the rain

Banjo Solo

    D               A                 Bm
The letters from my dad described the war
    G                D                       A
His food was canned, his boots they made him sore
        D              A              Bm
And one letter from my dad spoke of a friend
        G                D             A
Who got lost between the water and the land

Now I'm the one writing letters to my son
I'll be home as soon as the fightin's done
With my gun in hand I guess it's hard to see
What it was that used to be inside of me

[ Chorus ]

[Guitar Solo]

Bm                             F#
Today we moved in sight of the enemy
           A                             F#
Though I didn't even know what they had done
     Bm                   F#                                            
The general yelled to me, when I count to three
A                             Bm  F#  A
Get on your feet and start to run

D               A            Bm
That's the last event I can recall
     G               D                 A
The tent was big but could not hold us all
            D               A               Bm
Though I'll never know what got the best of me
  G               D                A
I swear I felt my dad looking over me