I’ve been spending a lot of time lately writing sketches of songs—some more complete than others. I have found that it takes time for a song to evolve into its final form, so what I have posted here is more the end of the beginning, not the end. Denise gave me the idea for this song and gave me the first verse to have at it. She has a great way with words and an even greater way at finding enduring themes. I’d welcome any comments or helpful critiques. No worries… I have a pretty thick skin.
Share if you can!
I
I was just five years old
Sitting on grandpa’s lap;
Riding on his tractor
Before taking a nap.
Gramps bought that Farmall
Back in the day
When he said that he lived
On heartbreak and hay.
Heartbreak and hay
And turnips and corn—
An old diesel tractor
And hands rough and worn.
He didn’t need much,
And he never asked why;
When he died we all sang him
His diesel lullaby—
That diesel lullaby
Makes you love and makes you cry;
Says hello and says goodbye
When you’re alone…
In the field and on the plow
Or on the road you’re traveling now,
That diesel lullaby
Will always take you home.
II
Dad got the farm
When gramps passed away;
He traded his tool belt
For heartbreak and hay.
Mom started working
At the diner downtown;
Her tips bought more food
Than we got from the ground.
Dad traded ten acres
To change up his luck
He swapped for Jack Mattison’s
Freightliner truck.
On dark nights I’d stare
At a hole in the sky
And listen for the sound
Of my dads lullaby.
That diesel lullaby
Makes you love and makes you cry;
Says hello and says goodbye
When you’re alone…
In the field and on the plow
Or on the road you’re traveling now,
That diesel lullaby
Will always take you home.
III
I was fifteen-years-old
When we lost the farm;
Dad rolled the Freightliner
And shattered his arm.
He lived on oxy,
While Mom lived in pain;
While I just played old country songs
Again and again.
Now I’m a fancy guitar picker
In a traveling country band;
My bed’s on a bus
Rumbling through the heartland.
I hope my girls and my boys
Are staring at the sky
Because Daddy’s coming home
In his diesel lullaby.
That diesel lullaby
Makes you love and makes you cry;
Says hello and says goodbye
When you’re alone…
In the field and on the plow
Or on the road you’re traveling now,
That diesel lullaby
Will always take you home.
In the field and on the plow
Or on the road you’re traveling now,
That diesel lullaby
Will always take you home.
