Patches (Carter Clarence)

I was born and raised down in Alabama On a farm way back up in the woods I was so raggedy, folks used call me, “Patches” Papa used to tease me ‘bout it Of course deep down inside he was hurt ‘Cause he’d done all he could My papa was a great ol’ man I can see him with a shovel in his hand See, education he never had But he did wonders when the time got bad The little money from the crops he raised Barely paid the bills we made Oh, life it kicked him down to the ground When he tried to get up, life would kick him back down One day papa called me to his dyin’ bed Put his hands on my shoulders and in tears he said He said, “Patches I’m dependin’ on you, son To pull the family through My son, it’s all left up to you” Two days later papa passed away And I became a man that day So I told mama I was gonna quit school But she said that was daddy’s strictest rule So every morning ‘fore I went to school I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too Sometimes I felt that I couldn’t go on I wanted to leave, just run away from home But I would remember what my daddy said With tears in his eyes on his dyin’ bed He said, “Patches I’m dependin’ on you, son I tried to do my best It’s up to you to do the rest” But then one day a strong rain came And washed all the crops away And at the age of 13 I thought I was carryin’ the weight of the whole world on my shoulders And you know mama knew what I was going through ‘Cause every day I had to work the fields ‘Cause that’s the only way we got our meals You see, I was the oldest of the family And everybody else depended on me Every night I heard my mama pray Lord, give him strength to face another day 4 years have passed and all the kids have grown The angels took mama to a brand new home God knows people, I she'd tears But my daddy’s voice kept me through the years Sayin’, “Patches I’m dependin’ on you, son To pull the family through My son, it’s all left up to you” I can still hear papa when he said, “Patches I’m dependin’ on you, son I tried to do my best It’s up to you to do the rest” I can still hear papa when he said, “Patches I’m dependin’ on you, son To pull the family through