The Old Man's Gone

The old man bought a mouldboard plough

That was back in '39

Two pound out, two to pay

He began to build a line

Sowed the seeds of a strong man's dream

When the plan was straight and true

Work hard for each and every yard

No exceptions to the rule

Now the old man's gone but the wheel turns still

With a furrow headed right uphill

You broke the back of a strong man's dream

For the rattle of change in the treasurer's tin

His dream was good, his plan was simple

He just wanted to raise a family

Have a boy to sit on his knee

And follow in his fall

When the wool came good, he made a handful

Just enough to pay his tax bill

In the mail that fall, oh well

They sent him off to war

Now the old man's gone but the wheel turns still

With a furrow headed right uphill

You broke the back of a strong man's dream

For the rattle of change in the treasurer's tin

Tax the land and break the country

Bleed us dry, leave us empty

Screw the folk who spend their lives

Just following your laws, your twisted laws

Well, we closed the old man's eyes last night

It's better that we hid from sight

The sad affair that it's become

And the death of all his dreams

For he would never understand

How people could be so demanding

Holding out their hands

And giving nothing in return

Now the old man's gone but the wheel turns still

With a furrow headed right uphill

You broke the back of a strong man's dream

For the rattle of change in the treasurer's tin

The old man's gone but the wheel turns still

With a furrow headed right uphill

You broke the back of a strong man's dream

For the rattle of change in the treasurer's tin