Take me back to the place while I first saw the light
To the sweet sunny south, take me home
Where the mocking birds sang me to sleep in the night
Oh why was I tempted to roam

Oh, I think with regret of the dear friends I left
Of the dear hearts that sheltered me there
Of my wife and my family of whom I'm bereft
For the old place again do I sigh

The path to our cottage they say has grown green
And the cabin quite mossy around
And I know that the faces and the forms I have loved
Now lie in the cold mossy ground

But still I'll return to the place of my birth
For the children have played around the door
So I know that no matter how long I may live
They will echo our footsteps no more

Take me back to the place where the orange trees grow
To me plot in the evergreen shade
Where the floweres from river's green margin did grow
And spread their sweet scent thru the glade

Take me back to the place where my little ones sleep
Poor Massa lies buried close by
O'er the graves of my loved ones I long for to weep
And among them to rest when I die