Dirt Bed Dreams

My daddy used to say you ain’t nothing 
If you don’t own a piece of land
This line he kept repeating, repeating to beat the band 

Come hell or high water
He swore he’d own that plot
Even if he had to sell us and the whole damn lot

We lived on taters, pork and beans
While he squirrelled away his money to own his dream
People ask me do I miss the old man
I smile and say like the back of his hand.

My daddy used to say you ain’t nothing 
If you don’t own a piece of land
This line he kept repeating, repeating to beat the band 

Come hell or high water
He swore he’d own that plot
Even if he had to sell us and the whole damn lot

Years went by and one by one we left 
Mama said he didn’t care
Three less mouths to take away his share.

Never owned a home or a trailer in a rundown lot
Kept his savings in a Folger can 
Never cared if his got his dinner served or not

We lived on taters, pork and beans
While he squirrelled away his money to own his dream
When daylight left and the shadows ran 
My old man pointed to his coffee can
 
There’s my future in that rusted can
Should be enough to buy some land
Where you can lay me down to rest

We tucked that can in our old pickup truck
Loaded his body in its bed
And dropped him off on a county road 
Pinned a note to his dirty old coat
Bury him, burn him, don’t matter to us now he’s dead

The can had enough spare change 
 To buy us dinner and ice cream 
We raised our glasses and made a toast 
To our old man and his lost dream

My daddy used to say you ain’t nothing 
If you don’t own a piece of land
This line he kept repeating, repeating to beat the band 

Come he’ll or high water
He swore he’d own that plot
Even if he had to sell us and the whole damn lot

People ask me if I miss my old man
I smile and say like the back of his hand

Lyrics By E.David Brown

With Peter Alves on Drums