Story Behind The Song
This song tracks the effect of two wars on friends and their family. Born and raised on the Mason-Dixon line that separated the north from the south politically, these friends were ultimately separated by that war. One was killed. The surviving friend contemplates the meaning of war, having lived to see several of them during his life: the Civil War, the constant wars with the native americans in the USA, and even the war in Cuba, which he describes wryly as "gattling guns and San Juan Hill." Those guns were a major part of that conflict, glorified by Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. War is a character in this personal story of faith and respect, where the first friend takes in the dead one's wife and sons and cares for them as his own.
Song Description
Just before the onset of the Civil Way, two male friends in Appalachia are separated by one of them getting married and moving away. Then the first friend gets a letter from the other's wife, telling him that his best friend, Raylan, was killed in battle. In the years that follow, leading up to the war in Cuba during the 1890s, the friend takes in the wife and her sons and cares for them out of respect for the fallen Raylan.
| Song Length |
3:48 |
Genre |
Country - Americana, Folk - Americana |
| Mood |
Content, Poignant |
Subject |
Regret, War |
Lyrics
FADE TO GREY
© 2020 words and music Grant Maloy Smith (BMI)
Raylan Cole was a friend of mine
We came up on the Mason line
He said war would come for us
He didn't know how right he was
We worked coal and lumbering
I was proud to call him my best friend
He found Claire and drove away
Took his bride down Green Hill way
She wrote me, she told me
That Raylan was gone
Her words shook
her tears stained the page
Well, he, like so many, they fell to the ground
And while we pray
They just fade to grey
So many years have gone since then
So many times I thought of him
The hands of war they can't keep still
Gatling guns and San Juan Hill
I found Claire and took her in
We both seen so much suffering
Raylan's boys are smart but loud
I know those boys would make him proud
She wrote me, she told me
That Raylan was gone
Her words shook
her tears stained the page
Well, he, like so many, they fell to the ground
And while we pray
They just fade to grey
I got as old as I could get
Not sure if I'm wiser yet
I'll find my final peace some day
Lay me down and fade to grey
She wrote me, she told me
That Raylan was gone
Her words shook
her tears stained the page
Well, he, like so many, they fell to the ground
And while we pray
They just fade to grey