I crossed the Green Mountain, I slept by the stream
Heaven blazin' in my head I... I dreamt a monstrous dream
Somethin' came up outta the sea
Swept through the land of the rich and the free

I look into the eyes of my merciful friend
And then I ask myself "Is this the end?"
Memories linger, sad yet sweet
And I think of the souls in Heaven who we'll (will?) meet

Alters are burning with flames far and wide
The foe has crossed over from the other side
They tip their caps from the top of the hill
You can feel them come, more brave blood to spill

Along the dim Atlantic line
The ravaged land lies for miles behind
The light's comin' forward and the streets are broad
All must yield to the avenging God

The world is old, the world is great
Lessons of life can't be learned in a day
I watch and I wait, an' I listen while I stand
To the music that comes from a far better land

Close the eyes of our Captain, peace may he know
His long night is done, the great leader is laid low
He was ready to fall, he was quick to defend
Killed outright he was... by his own men

It's the last day's last hour of the last happy year
I feel that the unknown world is so near
Pride will vanish and glory will rot
But virtue lives and cannot be forgot

The bells of evening have rung
There's blasphemy on every tongue
Let 'em say that I walch (walked? watch? wash?) in fair nature's light
And that I was loyal to truth and to right

Serve God and be cheerful, look upward... beyond
Beyond the darkness that masks the surprises of dawn
In the deep green grasses and the blood stained wood
They never dreamed of surrenderin'... they fell where they stood

Stars fell over Alabama, an' I saw each star
You're walkin' in dreams... whoever you are
Chilled are the skies, keen is the frost
An' the ground's froze hard... and the mornin' is lost

A letter to mother came today
Gunshot wound to the breast is what it did say
But he'll be better soon, he's in a hospital bed
But he'll never be better... he's already dead

I'm ten miles outside the city an' I'm lifted away
In an ancient light that is not of day
They were calm, they were blunt, we knew 'em all too well
We loved each other more than we ever dared to tell

Historical notes by CD Pinkerton:
By Spring of 1863, the United States was griped by fear of losing the Civil war. The Confederacy had out maneuvered them at every turn, and was now threatening to storm Washington DC. In the first few days of May 1863, The South won yet another decisive victory at Chancellorsville. Ironically, it was that battle, however, that perhaps cost them the war. Seventeen thousand Union soldiers died in that battle, but a crushing blow was dealt to the South when Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men. After several days of lying on a hospital bed, Stonewall Jackson died from his wounds on May 10, 1863. His final words were  "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."
General Robert E. Lee bemoaned "I have lost my right arm".
Indeed, the war that had been decisively going in the South's favor immediately turned. A few weeks later, Lee suffered a tremendous loss to the Union's brand new and unknown commander, General George Meade, at the battle of Gettysburg. The following day, Vicksburg surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, and the South lost it's bloodline Mississippi River. Though the war would rage for another two years, the Confederacy would no longer be the prevailing force that it once was.
© 2008 CD Pinkerton - bobsboots.com

From: Cover Songs Performed by Bob Dylan   http://www.bobsboots.com/info.html