Farmer's Luck Songtext

von Jason Boland & The Stragglers

Well, my grandma read the phoenix
From the front page to the back
She read the editorials
And the farmer's almanac
One day she saw a headline
That filled her heart with fear
She said, "will, they're gonna dam the river.
They're gonna move us outta here."
Well, my granddad's name was will
He was a farmer by his trade
He grew soybeans and a cotton crop
For what little living he made
Ya know, he always paid his taxes
And he tried to do what's right
Raised up eight strong children
On that little bottom land site
They gonna dam the deep fork river
They're gonna build themselves a lake
They're gonna dam the south canadian
Whatever else it takes
They're gonna bring in here some tourists
They're gonna make themselves a buck
They're gonna dam the deep fork river
Damn the farmer's luck
Well, my granddad thought it over
The next time he went to town
He went to see the lawyer milam king,
He thought the smartest man around
Milam said, "will, you can't fight 'em,
The result will be the same.
I either sell your land, or they'll take it.
They call that eminent domain."
Then they had their meeting
In checotah on a hot summer day.
There were men there from the government
To say what the government had to say
Well, my granddad listened patiently
But it was more than he could hear
He said, "leave our rivers alone, boys,
And damn the corps of engineers"
Well, my granddad had his doubts
But ya know, milam king was right
You can't fight the rising waters
You can't fight the government's might
So they packed up their belongings
And they moved to higher ground
The water took that bottom land
For many miles around
When the dams were all completed
And the locks were closed up tight
They built a little podium
And shot fireworks that night
There were many speeches given
And dignitaries all around
Governor bellmon, carl albert,
And even lbj came to town
Well, u don't know nothing bout farming
And you don't know nothing bout soil
You live up there in tulsa
And make your living off of oil
But you're starved for entertainment
The pressures you can't take
So you load up the kids in the rv
And you head out to the lake
Now kick back in your lawn chair
Ya got steaks on a propane grill
A hard day of water skiing
Another water thrill
But down below the surface
A story's longing to be told
About cotton fields and bottom land
And the home place that was sold