The Sweet Sunny South

Take me back to the place where I first saw the light
 To the sweet sunny south, take me home
 Where the mockingbirds sing me to rest every night
 Oh, why was I tempted to roam?
 And I think with regret of the dear home I left
 Of the warm hearts that sheltered me there
 Of wife and of dear ones, of whom I'm bereft
 For the old place again do I sigh?
 ♪
 Take me back to the place where the orange trees grow
 To my plot in the evergreen shade
 Where the flowers from the river's green margins did grow
 And spread their sweet scent through the glade
 Oh, the path to our cottage, they say, has grown green
 And the place is quite lonely around
 I know that the smiles and the forms I have seen
 Now lie in the dark mossy ground
 ♪
 Take me back, let me see what is left that I knew
 Can it be that the old house is gone?
 Dear friends of my childhood indeed must be few
 And I must face death all alone
 But yet I'll return to the place of my birth
 The children have played round the door
 Where they gathered wild blossoms that grow round the path
 They'll echo our footsteps no more
 ♪
 Take me back to the place where my little ones sleep
 Poor Massa lies buried close by
 By the graves of my loved ones, I long for to weep
 And among them to rest when I die
 Take me back to the place where I first saw the light
 To the sweet sunny south, take me home
 Where the mockingbirds sing me to rest every night
 Oh, why was I tempted to roam?