On night guard, I'm a ridin'
'Round a thousand bedded steers
And tonight my thoughts are slidin'
Down the trail of distant years
Coyotes howlin' in the darkness
Chills my weary bones
Varmints prowl around the campfire
Makes the cowboy feel at home
Now the cold north wind is blowin'
Snow comes fallin' down
Wrapped in my saddle blanket
Sleepin' on the cold cold ground
I used to ponder over my luck
Wondered why it never changed
I was happy and free
Around my mammy's knee
Pullin' on her apron strings
Now I long to see the sun come shinin'
Stealin' through my kitchen door
Just to see my dear old mammy cookin' ham
On that old kitchen stove
Where the mockingbird sings you to sleep at night
The moonbeams playin' through the trees
Some like the climate out in New Mexico
But give me back my sunny Tennessee