Mr. Confederate Man

I was just a little boy
 in elementary school
 English and Math and Science class
 learning the golden rules
 I learned how to add and how to subtract
 and how to multiply and divide
 I learned about bugs and I learned about plants
 and I learned how to read and write
 but my most favorite class of all
 was the last class of the day
 when my history teacher would tell us tales
 of old times long gone away
 I was amazed at the way she knew all the people
 and their names and the places and the dates
 that's when I first learned about General Lee
 and his 13 rebel States
 One day she came to school
 with a big brown grocery bag
 she opened it up, we all helped her hold up
 this great big "X" shaped flag
 she said class
 now only a fool will tell you
 this flag is a symbol of hate
 It represents the men who fought and died
 with pride for our Confederate States
 Your assignment tonight
 I want you to write
 I want you to pretend
 that one of these brave men came back to life
 now what would you say to him
 Well the school bell rang
 and I thought and I thought
 as the bus carried me across town
 I got out my pencil and my notebook pad
 and this is what I wrote down
 I wrote
 Mr. Confederate man
 I'd like to shake your hand
 for giving your life for Dixieland
 Mr. Confederate man
 The next day in History class
 I put my paper on the teachers desk
 then she called me up in front of everyone
 because she said she liked mine the best
 as i walked up to the head of the class
 my teacher smiled and she nodded at me
 then I saw a tear roll down her cheek as I began to read
 I read
 Mr. Confederate man
 I'd like to shake your hand
 for giving your life for Dixieland
 Mr. Confederate man
 Well I was at home reading through the news
 just the other day
 when I ran across my old teachers name
 and I saw where she had passed away
 with a bitter-sweet smile
 I looked up at my wall
 a wrinkled paper in a old wood frame
 where underneath penciled words almost faded away
 she had marked a grade big red "A"...plus
 Mr. Confederate man
 I'd like to shake your hand
 for giving your life for Dixieland
 Mr. Confederate man
 I wrote
 Mr. Confederate man
 I'd like to shake your hand
 for giving your life for Dixieland
 Mr. Confederate man