I been workin on the farm Just me and my brother Jack Choppin a sea of cotton Till I thought I'd break my back Everything changed When my daddy got hurt Our lives were so connected To that brown ol flatland dirt
When the government man from Austin Come sniffin around our land Askin a bunch of questions That we did not understand There's more to farmin cotton Than just tendin to your seed The ones who set the policy Don't give a damn about our needs
Sow the seed in the ground below Fall to your knees and pray real slow That rain will come and kiss the seed And Bless you with all that you need
Mama says to Jackie Would she bring the car around? Shes wearin her finest dress That's how I know she's goin to town I wish I'd never seen that letter That I found there in her room They're sellin the farm on the courthouse step This Saturday afternoon
Me and Jack moved into town To a shack by the train depot Jack got a job as a bouncer At a Bar on Paradise Row Mama got a job in the cotton gin Grading cotton by the bale She cried when a trailor full of cotton come in From the farm we had to sell
Sow the seed in the ground below Fall to your knees and pray real slow That rain will come and kiss the seed And Bless you with all that you need
Me, I ended up in jail Sick of livin on welfare And the hardest thing ever happend to me Is when mama come to vist me there Don't you worry your pretty little head I said as I buttoned my shirt When I get out of this Iron Hotel Im goin back to that Dryland dirt
For some it's just a livin But for Us it's our whole life If it kills me Im gonna rake that dirt And make a livin out of toil and strife The ways of the cities makes no sense Strapped to dependency Id rather be sweatin aneath a clear blue sky Plantin cotton with my family
Sow the seed in the ground below Fall to your knees and pray real slow That rain will come and kiss the seed And Bless you with all that you need