Patches

I was born and raised down in Alabama

On a farm way back up in the woods

I was so ragged, folks called me Patches

Papa used to tease me about it

But inside he was hurtin' 'cause he'd done all he could

My papa was a great old man

I can see him with a shovel in his hand

See, education daddy never had

But he did wonders when the times got bad

But little money from the crops he raised

Just barely paid the bills he made

Oh, life had whipped him down to the ground

And when he tried to get up, life would kick him back down

That day, papa called me to his dying bed

Placed his hands on my shoulders and in tears he said

He said, "Patches, I'm depending on you, son

To pull the family through

My son, it's all left up to you"

Two days later papa passed away

And I became a man that day

So I told ma I wanted to quit school

But she said that was daddy's strictest rule

So every morning 'fore I went to school

I fed the chickens and I chopped wood

'Til sometimes I felt like I couldn't go on

I wanted to leave, just run away from home

Then I remembered what my daddy said

With tears in his eyes on his dying bed

He said, "Patches, I'm depending on you, son

I tried to do my best

It's up to you to do the rest"

"Patches, I'm depending on you, son

I tried to do my best

It's up to you to do the rest"

One day a strong rain came

And washed all the crops away

At the age of thirteen, I felt like I was carrying

The weight of the whole world on my shoulders

And mama knew what I was going through

'Cause every day I had to work the fields

'Cause that's the only way we got our meals

See, I was the oldest of the family

And everybody else depended on me

Every night I heard my mama pray

"Lord, give him strength to face another day"

Years have passed and everybody's grown

My mama is resting in a brand new home

Lord knows it took a lot of sweat and tears

And my daddy's voice to help me through the years

Saying, "Patches, I'm depending on you, son

To pull the family through

My son, it's all left up to you"

What would I have done without his voice saying

"Patches, I'm depending on you, son

I tried to do my best

It's up to you to do the rest"

I can still hear him saying

"Patches, I'm depending on you, son

To pull the family through

My son, it's all left up to you"