My dearest mother, I know it's been years
Since I wrote you a letter to quiet your fears
For the fate of your son on the lawless frontier
And to ask if you're well there in Richmond

When I came west at the end of the war
A man could get wealthy digging for ore
So I worked on a mining claim two years and four
But I never got much for my trouble

Tell the girls of the county to pin up their hair
Start making the pretty gowns they want to wear
To the ball that we'll throw just as soon as I'm there
For I want to come back home to Richmond

I started back home when my money ran short
So I stopped in Dakota at a calvary fort
I'm employed as a muleskinner and I report
To Custer of the 7th division

We march in the morning on the Cheyenne and Sioux But we won't be out long, a month maybe two
And upon our return I will come back to you
And the beautiful hills around Richmond

So tell the girls of the county to pin up their hair
Start making the pretty gowns they want to wear
To the ball that we'll throw just as soon as I'm there
For I want to come back home to Richmond

To the ball that we'll throw just as soon as I'm there
For I want to come back home to Richmond