Story Behind The Song
Since the 1980s the small family farmer had had trouble holding
onto his land; this is the story of one such man.
Song Description
Lament
| Song Length |
2:58 |
Genre |
Folk - Traditional, Folk - Rural |
| Lead Vocal |
Female Vocal |
Mood |
Poignant |
| Similar Artists |
Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson |
Language |
English |
Lyrics
Rising in the dark he pulls on his clothes & like his grand-daddy before him
Walks out through a Kansas dawn to let the fields restore him.
He's worked these fields for forty years and the good book he's followed.
Keep from debt, the scriptures say, yet for years he's borrowed.
And though his debts are crushing him when he holds earth in his hand
He holds the sweetness of his life. HE BELONGS TO THE LAND.
Used to be he could pay his way with the wheat and corn and barley,
Pay his way and carry on, then the rain stopped falling.
As he stands there in the field he knows the costs are rising.
He sees the crops begin to fail and he's left agonizing.
To hold the land he tries everything, but it's slipping from his hand.
How can he save what he loves most? HE BELONGS TO THE LAND.
Rising in the dark he pulls on his clothes. Today the land get s sold at auction.
But he'll never be in that crowd at noon 'cause he woke with the right solution.
He lays his insurance papers out, writes his wife a note saying,
"Here's enough to save the farm," and his face wears a look of praying,
He goes to the bedroom, sits on the bed, takes his rifle in his hand.
His account is closed forever; HE BELONGS TO THE LAND.