Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)

Way back in my memory, there's a scene that I recall

Of a little run-down cabin in the woods

Where my daddy never promised

That our blue moon would turn gold

But he laid awake nights, wishing that it would

When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds

We lived our day-to-day in plain dirt fashion

With ol' overalls and cotton balls all scrapped across your back

Man, it's hard to make believe there ain't nothing wrong

But mama kept the Bible read

And daddy kept our family fed

And somewhere in between, I must have grown

'Cause someday I was dreaming

That a song that I was singing

Takes me down the road to where I wanna go

And now I know it's a long hard road

Sometimes I remember when I'd stay up late at night

When the saddle came, we got up and went

And the shadows of a workin' day, our moonlight hour spent

Singing songs along with grandma's radio

Now I've beaten down an old blacktop road, and sleeping in a sack

Living up my memories all in vain

'Cause those city lights ain't all that bright

Compared to what it's like

To see lightning bugs go dancing in the rain

Mama played the guitar then

And daddy made the saw blade bend

And raindrops played the tin roof like a drum

But I just kept on dreaming that a song that I was singing

Takes me down the road to where my name is known

Now I'm gone, and it's a long hard road

Yes, I know it's a long hard road