Byrd From West Virginia

Born in Carolina to a family of miners The flu of 1918 took his mother away He couldn't go to college, it was the depths of the Depression The valedictorian pumped gasoline instead He found himself a sweetheart In Irma Ora James The coal miner's daughter with the odd middle name He labored in the shipyards during World War II Welding Liberties and Victories For me and for you Byrd from West Virginia Byrd from West Virginia Byrd from West Virginia Senator Byrd He burned the cross of Jesus in the West Virginia night The darkness of America blinded his sight Baptized in the blood of our national sin The ghosts of the Conquest rise again and again As a young man in Congress He studied law at night For ten long years he burned a different light Presented with his J.D. by John Fitzgerald Kennedy Just before the young president Was escorted into history Byrd from West Virginia Byrd from West Virginia Byrd from West Virginia Senator Byrd Fifty years in Washington just passed before his eyes The building of the empire, its burdens and delights Did the suffering of the world or the folly of the day Change a stubborn old heart to see a better way? And when a reckless new President came calling for war Old Byrd from West Virginia Sang out the score: "The doctrine of pre-emption is radical and deadly" Now who will sing the song when this bird flies away Vanished o'er the hillside It's the end of the day Byrd from West Virginia Byrd from West Virginia Byrd from West Virginia Senator Byrd A lone voice a cryin' A lone voice a cryin' A lone voice a cryin' Senator Byrd