“Lincoln? —
Well, I was in the old Second Maine,
The first regiment in Washington from the Pine Tree State.
Of course I didn’ t get the butt of the clip;
We was there for guardin’ Washington —
We was all green.
“I ain’ t never ben to the theayter in my life —
I didn’ t know how to behave.
I ain’ t never ben since.
I can see as plain as my hat the box where he sat in
When he was shot.
I can tell you, sir, there was a panic
When we found our President was in the shape he was in!
Never saw a soldier in the world but what liked him.
“Yes, sir. His looks was kind o’ hard to forget.
He was a spare man,
An old farmer.
Everything was all right, you know,
But he wasn’ t a smooth-appearin’ man at all —
Not in no ways;
Thin-faced, long-necked,
And a swellin’ kind of a thick lip like.
“And he was a jolly old fellow — always cheerful;
He wasn’ t so high but the boys could talk to him their own ways.
While I was servin’ at the Hospital
He’ d come in and say, ‘You look nice in here,’
Praise us up, you know.
And he’ d bend over and talk to the boys —
And he’ d talk so good to ’ em — so close —
That’ s why I call him a farmer.
I don’ t mean that everything about him wasn’ t all right, you understand,
It’ s just — well, I was a farmer —
And he was my neighbor, anybody’ s neighbor.
I guess even you young folks would ‘a’ liked him.”