In The Distance

I watch the moonlight hit her window.

It weaves bright diamonds through her hair

But I have taried in these shadows,

in hopes she will not see me here

I don't know what I've been thinking,

I should move on to other business

I've promised I would be strong,

and only watch her in the distance

I know the war claimed her young husband,

and so her life's been mighty rough

And she doesn't need more sorrow,

I have given her enough

So I will try to keep my mind off

my poor aching heart's insistence

She must learn to live without me,

so I'll just watch her in the distance

I recall the fight in Franklin,

a Yankee bullet laid me down

That night, I watched her in the graveyard

where they put me in the ground

That's when I heard the angels calling

and felt the pul of love's resistance

So the Good Lord let me linger

so I could watch her in the distance

If I wrapped cold arms around her,

if I gently spoke her name

She couldn't bare my haunted whisper,

and so there's nothing to be gained

Perhaps my time has come for leaving,

time to lay down all my defenses

and be content with having loved her

even in the distance

For I've been blessed for having loved her

even in the distance.