Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)

(album: Plain Dirt Fashion - 1984)

Way back in my memory there's a scene that I recall
Of a little run-down cabin in the woods
Where my dad never promised that our blue moon would turn gold
But he laid awake nights wishing that it would.

When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds.
We lived our day-to-day in plain dirt fashion,
With ol' overalls and cotton balls all strapped across your back
Man, it's hard to make believe there ain't nothing wrong.

But momma kept the Bible read and daddy kept our family fed,
And somewhere in between I must have grown
Cause someday I was dreaming that a song that I was singing
Takes me down the road to where I want to go.
Now I know, it's a long hard road

Sometimes I remember when I stay up late at night,
When the sun-up came, we got up and went
In the shadows of a working' day, our moonlight hours spent
Singing songs along with Gramma's radio.

Now I'm beating down a ol' blacktop road, sleeping in a sack,
Living in my memories all in vain
'Cause those city lights ain't all that bright, compared to what its like
To see lightning bugs go dancing in the rain.

Momma played the guitar then, and daddy made the saw blade bend,
And raindrops played the tin roof like a drum.
But I just kept on dreaming that a song that I was singing
Takes me down the road to where my name is known.

Now I'm gone, and its a long hard road
Yes, I know, Its a long hard road.