We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Don't Let Me Die In Tennessee

from Wisconsin River by Chris Richards

/

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD copy of Chris's 6th full-length album, Wisconsin River.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Wisconsin River via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 1000 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $17 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • Full Digital Discography

    10
    releases

    Get all 10 Chris Richards releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Waikīkī, Red Dog Saloon, Wisconsin River, Ellie The Polar Bear, Afterlight, The Magic Line, Goldenwest, Landlocked!, and 2 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $52 USD or more (20% OFF)

     

about

The 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, fighting in major battles in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. Made up of volunteers from around the state, the regiment’s finest hour may have been at the Battle of Chattanooga, where the 24th led the way to the stunning Union victory on Missionary Ridge. According to legend, the state’s rallying cry “On Wisconsin!” was born on that hill.

An eerie coincidence: The evening I finished writing this song, I was awakened just after midnight by the sound of an EF3 tornado shredding my neighborhood in East Nashville. My house was left untouched, but I packed up and left Tennessee a few months later.

lyrics

I stepped off of the M&M train
To cannon fire and a grand parade
We’d ridden all night from towns out west
To join a thousand of Milwaukee’s best

We marched through Kentucky in the autumn heat
Chased those Rebels into Tennessee
They whipped us good at the Georgia line
And we limped back to Chattanooga with our dead behind

Now we’re cold and starving on the valley floor
And the fever’s like I’ve never seen before
Buzzards are circling overhead
This was not how it was s’posed to end

I’ve read my bible and said my prayers
Forgiven you when you weren’t there
All I ask to make us square
Just do this one thing for me
Don’t let me die in Tennessee

We’re in trouble from the look of it
Must be 40,000 Rebels on that ridge
Nobody’s sure that we can break that line
But we’ve come this far and there’s a hill to climb

So rush the slope, boys, and duck the shells
“On Wisconsin!” a young man yells
As a bullet burns into my thigh
I raise my rifle and I close one eye

I’ve read my bible and said my prayers
Forgiven you when you weren’t there
All I ask to make us square
Just do this one thing for me
Don’t let me die in Tennessee

I’ve read my bible and said my prayers
Forgiven you when you weren’t there
All I ask to make us square
Just do this one thing for me
Don’t let me die in Tennessee


© 2020 Chris Richards / White Mare Music (BMI)

credits

from Wisconsin River, released April 22, 2021

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Chris Richards image

Chris Richards Palm Springs, California

Chris Richards is a critically acclaimed songwriter and recording artist from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

contact / help

Contact Chris Richards

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Chris Richards, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Saxophonist Isaiah Collier chats about his new LP and the influence of Pharoah Sanders.
listen now