I woke up this morning to the hummin' of the engines Haulin' nature's finest from the Gulf of Mexico Riding this ol' river is peaceful but it's lonesome And it makes me wonder how the old folks are at home Now the years have blown by me like the wind through the pines But the song of the south is ever sweet as homemade wine Oh, how I miss those mountains when the laurels are in bloom And the southern stars are dancin' 'round the North Carolina moon Just rolled through Memphis, I could hear them guitars palyin' They had the blues so so bad it almost broke my heart But it don't sound nothing like a band of tree frogs singin' When every now and then they get in tune with grandpa's harp Now the years have blown by me like the wind through the pines But the song of the south is ever sweet as homemade wine Oh, how I miss those mountains when the laurels are in bloom And the southern stars are dancin' 'round the North Carolina moon Now when I die boys, make me this promise You'll send my body back up North Carolina way I don't want no tombstone, just lay me next to mama And let the honeysuckle grow wild upon my grave Now the years have blown by me like the wind through the pines But the song of the south is ever sweet as homemade wine Oh, how I miss those mountains when the laurels are in bloom And the southern stars are dancin' 'round the North Carolina moon Yeah, the southern stars are dancin' 'round the North Carolina moon North Carolina moon