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I was born and raised down in Alabama |
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On a farm way back up in the woods |
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I was so ragged that folks used to call me Patches |
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Papa used to tease me about it |
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'Cause deep down inside he was hurt |
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'Cause he'd done all he could |
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My papa was a great old man |
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I can see him with a shovel in his hands, see |
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Education he never had |
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He did wonders when the times got bad |
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The little money from the crops he raised |
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Barely paid the bills we made |
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For, life had kick him down to the ground |
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When he tried to get up |
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Life would kick him back down |
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One day papa called me to his dyin' bed |
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Put his hands on my shoulders |
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And in his tears he said |
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He said, "Patches |
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I'm dependin' on you, son |
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To pull the family through |
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My son, it's all left up to you" |
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Two days later papa passed away |
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And I became a man that day |
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So I told mama I was gonna quit school |
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But she said that was daddy's strictest rule |
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So every mornin' 'fore I went to school |
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I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too |
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Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on |
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I wanted to leave, just run away from home |
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But I would remember what my daddy said |
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With tears in his eyes on his dyin' bed |
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He said, "Patches |
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I'm dependin' on you, son |
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I tried to do my best |
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It's up to you to do the rest" |
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Then one day a strong rain came and washed all the crops away |
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And at the age of thirteen I thought I was carryin' |
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The weight of the whole world on my shoulders |
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And you know, Mama knew what I was goin' through, 'cause |
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Every day I had to work the fields |
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'Cause that's the only way we got our meals |
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See, I was the oldest of the family |
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And everybody else depended on me |
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Every night I heard my mama pray |
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Lord, give him the strength |
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To make another day |
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So years have passed and all the kids are grown |
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The angels took mama to a brand new home |
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Lord knows, people, I shedded tears |
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But my daddy's voice kept me through the years |
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Sing, "Patches |
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I'm dependin' on you, son |
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To pull the family through |
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My son, it's all left up to you" |
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Oh, I can still hear papa's voice sayin', "Patches |
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I'm dependin' on you, son |
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I've tried to do my best |
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It's up to you to do the rest" |
