Cottonwood Farm by Jimmy Webb Lyrics
Workin' all day, workin' hard
Silver head, but never tired
He went home with a moon rise
He was more wise than the trees
Out on Cottonwood
On Cottonwood Farm
Raised a family, broke his back
Always drove the Pontiac
Workin' in the Winter
I see a splinter-covered man
Out on Cottonwood
On Cottonwood Farm
Church goin'
Cotton growin'
And the river flowin'
Through the trees
Hogs soarin'
Weevil borin'
And the rain pourin'
He was always on his knees
Pullin' a sack out in the sun
He never lied to no one
Fishin' with the young men
Was the old man's only fun
Out on Cottonwood
On Cottonwood Farm
We were running, always running
Through the snow, through the kitchen
Up the stairs
The foul runway
Through the summer, we were runnin'
With our horses in a river
And the sun
Out of time
Out of reach of tears
We were in years
We built a fort
Found a cave
We killed a monster
We went out and rove Pirate's Cove
The treasure above diamonds
We saw stars
We were runnin' off to school
We were older, we were faster
We were gone
By the break of day
Out of reach of tears
"Goodbye, Grandfather
Must be running
Gotta go and find my children
Where have they gone?
Don't they ever walk?
Don't they ever slow down?
Don't they ever walk?"
I used to think his eyes were melting
For gazing at the wind and weather
Now I know he cried sometimes
Now I know he cried
"You got it. Come, Daddy, let it go."
He wouldn't ever admit it though
He was not a backin' man
He bought Grandmama her radio
Every Sunday mornin', Listenin' Show
He was not a listenin' man
Dressed up like a scarecrow
He hid up behind a tree
He get 'bout growlin' like a grizzly bear
And frighten the life outta me
And I screamed runnin'
Takes us to town to see the show
Never ever wanna see it though
He was not a watchin' man
He was not a watchin' man, oh no, no
Not a watchin' man
He used to listen to my rock and roll
He never really liked it though
He was not a rockin' man
We were down at the fishin' hole
I was fishin' from an old junk chair
The fish pulled all 6 years of me
Head up to my hair
You'd had to be there
Milkin' cows on the 4th of July
Five crackers in the cattle pie
Out of the barn came an angry man
He was not a modern man, oh no, oh no
Not a modern man
They paid Granddaddy not to plant cotton
They paid Granddaddy not to plant corn
And they grew wheat 'til the wheat grew rotten
He hadn't seen the likes since he was born
They came out lookin' in their helicopter
They really didn't mean to do no harm
They came to grow wheat with a caterpillar
And paid hard cash for Cottonwood
They cut down the tree and they bowed down the cotton
They dammed up the river and they broke its arm
Old times there are not forgotten
Just lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Of Cottonwood Farm
Silver head, but never tired
He went home with a moon rise
He was more wise than the trees
Out on Cottonwood
On Cottonwood Farm
Raised a family, broke his back
Always drove the Pontiac
Workin' in the Winter
I see a splinter-covered man
Out on Cottonwood
On Cottonwood Farm
Church goin'
Cotton growin'
And the river flowin'
Through the trees
Hogs soarin'
Weevil borin'
And the rain pourin'
He was always on his knees
Pullin' a sack out in the sun
He never lied to no one
Fishin' with the young men
Was the old man's only fun
Out on Cottonwood
On Cottonwood Farm
We were running, always running
Through the snow, through the kitchen
Up the stairs
The foul runway
Through the summer, we were runnin'
With our horses in a river
And the sun
Out of time
Out of reach of tears
We were in years
We built a fort
Found a cave
We killed a monster
We went out and rove Pirate's Cove
The treasure above diamonds
We saw stars
We were runnin' off to school
We were older, we were faster
We were gone
By the break of day
Out of reach of tears
"Goodbye, Grandfather
Must be running
Gotta go and find my children
Where have they gone?
Don't they ever walk?
Don't they ever slow down?
Don't they ever walk?"
I used to think his eyes were melting
For gazing at the wind and weather
Now I know he cried sometimes
Now I know he cried
"You got it. Come, Daddy, let it go."
He wouldn't ever admit it though
He was not a backin' man
He bought Grandmama her radio
Every Sunday mornin', Listenin' Show
He was not a listenin' man
Dressed up like a scarecrow
He hid up behind a tree
He get 'bout growlin' like a grizzly bear
And frighten the life outta me
And I screamed runnin'
Takes us to town to see the show
Never ever wanna see it though
He was not a watchin' man
He was not a watchin' man, oh no, no
Not a watchin' man
He used to listen to my rock and roll
He never really liked it though
He was not a rockin' man
We were down at the fishin' hole
I was fishin' from an old junk chair
The fish pulled all 6 years of me
Head up to my hair
You'd had to be there
Milkin' cows on the 4th of July
Five crackers in the cattle pie
Out of the barn came an angry man
He was not a modern man, oh no, oh no
Not a modern man
They paid Granddaddy not to plant cotton
They paid Granddaddy not to plant corn
And they grew wheat 'til the wheat grew rotten
He hadn't seen the likes since he was born
They came out lookin' in their helicopter
They really didn't mean to do no harm
They came to grow wheat with a caterpillar
And paid hard cash for Cottonwood
They cut down the tree and they bowed down the cotton
They dammed up the river and they broke its arm
Old times there are not forgotten
Just lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Lost in dreams
Of Cottonwood Farm