1949

It was 1949 and I was just a kid In that hot southern sunshine Work was all we did And that white cotton dust Would drift around our heels Them old combines would rust Just sitting in the fields I can still see his face old beyond his years Furrowed and traced with hard work and tears I watched him walk back from the barn And saw it shine in his hands But I knew he meant no harm He was a good and honest man Well I guess it was the war That turned around his mind Or the fact that we were poor With nothin' down the line Or mama's hungry eyes Every time we went to town For all the things she'd like to buy He'd have to turn her down I guess no one really cared Cause no one really knew All the darkness and despair That he was going through And now I walk this hillside With tombstones so pale And I'm wondering why I was left to tell this tale It was 1949 And I was just a kid