Arkansas Dirt

(c) 2004 Thom Shepherd/ CJ Hughes

In A cane back chair in a corner all alone
he stares out the window at the shady rest nursing home
And the nurses wonder bout that jar in his shaking hands
If he could talk he’d tell em just what it means to him

His daddy passed away in ‘39
left him the house and 40 acres, scrub brush on 25
had to learn real fast how to be a man
cause his brothers and his sisters and his maw were depending on him

so in his daddy’s overhauls in the hot summer sun
drivin’ that plow to get the job done
wipin’ his brow on the sleeve of a hand me down shirt
from dawn till dusk breakin' up the Arkansas dirt

bag on his back he planted every seed by hand
when he reached the last row it was all he could do to stand
for the next two weeks he hit his knees and he prayed for rain
he did a dance in the mud when the first shower came

In his daddy’s overhauls in the hot summer sun
pickin’ those pods to get the job done
wiping his brow on the sleeve of a hand me down shirt
from dawn till dusk kickin’ up the Arkansas dirt

He wound up here after his last stroke
He stares out the window, thinking bout the fields of home
That glass ball mason jar sittin’ in his lap
As he turns it in his hands it takes him back

In his daddy’s overhauls in the hot summer sun
Spent his whole life trying to get the job done
65 years of frustrating back breaking work
And all he’s got left is a jar,  of Arkansas dirt

Yeah all he's got left is that jar