O Polly, O Polly,
It's for your sake alone,
I've left my old father,
My country and my home.
I've left my old mother
To weep and to mourn,
I am a Rebel soldier
And far from my home.

It's grape shot and musket,
And the cannons lumber loud,
There's many a mangled body,
The blanket for their shroud;
There's many a mangled body
Left on the fields alone,
I am a Rebel soldier
And far from my home.

Here's a good old cup of brandy
And a glass of nice wine,
You can drink to your [bad word] love,
And I will drink to mine;
And you can drink to your [bad word] love,
And I'll lament and mourn,
I am a Rebel soldier
And far from my home.

I'll eat when I'm hungry,
I'll drink when I am dry,
If the Yankees don't kill me,
I'll live until I die;
If the Yankees don't kill me
And cause me to mourn,
I am a Rebel soldier
And far from my home.

I'll build me a castle on the mountain,
On some green mountain high,
Where I can see Polly
As she is passing by;
Where I can see Polly
And help her to mourn
I am a Rebel soldier
And far from my home.