All the leaves were turning brown as we marched through Tennessee
Herding men like Moses did into the dusty sea
And though they cried to Jesus still we did as we was told
And Mother Mercy looked away and the sky was thick with crows

They say there's a difference 'tween the white man and the red
That though they pray and work like me they're something else instead
Well, President Jackson says it's best, but he ain't the one to go
And Mother Mercy looked away and the sky was thick with crows

And then I marched down the trail of tears with a rifle in my hand
With orders not to pick them up if anyone couldn't stand
And though the sun was shining down that trail to Hell still froze
And Mother Mercy looked away and the sky was thick with crows

Daniel Thorton held his tongue 'til he couldn't hold it back
He raised his voice to the Major's guns so they shot him in his tracks
Their bodies fed those feathered coats on blackened wings they rose
And Mother Mercy looked away and the sky was thick with crows

What do you tell a mother who can't feed her starving child?
How can you tell a boy of ten to march a thousand miles?
What do you tell your children when they ask what words you chose?
When Mother Mercy looked away and he sky was thick with crows