A Little Rain Will Do

There was powder dust on the section line road
Like flower spilled on the kitchen floor
It ain't rained since early spring
Over a hundred thirty days or more

That little pond at the foot of the hill
It was dryer than a July wind
Loaded up the cows and we took em to town
Brought nothin' took em home again

It was dry in 1930
It was dry in 32'
I don't need a new deal hand out
A little rain'll do

My grandpa set beneath the shade of a post oak
Pulled out his watch and he looked at the sky
Wondered out loud will it ever rain
I can't remember when it was this dry

He looked at his wife and his dusty children
And he pondered the fate of a farmin' man
You make a crop and it ain't worth nothin'
Next year the weather got him again

Well my grandpa said that Hoover tried to starve them to death
Just because they were poor
They held on to one another
One another's all they had before
He finally gave and swallowed his pride

Made a mark for credit at the general store
Cost a penny a pound for cotton
The next year it costs two cents more

Well he told me once you better stick to your business
Don't be drinkin' and actin' a fool
I spent the best years of my life
Lookin' at the backside of a mule

And he told me once you better get you some schoolin'
Take a look at me and these callused hands
Don't forget where you were raised
Keep a tie to the land

No, I don't need a new deal hand out
A little rain'll do