Hoe Your Own Row

Daddy never left the farm where he was born

Here he will be buried on some sad morn

Here where he was raised

Right next to his dad, saints be praised

Like his daddy before him, my father grew corn

Yellow, tall, sweet, and not to be scorned

Row upon row planted out straight and true

Never once heard him say he wanted something new

He hit the fields in the morning and again after lunch

With me by his side humming a bunch

We grew tall stalks that smelled so great

Yet to leave one day I knew was my fate

…

When I spoke of other horizons afar

He’d sip his corn whiskey from an old jar

I told him of my friends leaving this place

He’d speak of the wonder on my mother’s face

Then when all was said and done

He’d hug me and say I love ya my son

…

Then ..

He’d just nod and say

Hoe your own row son

Hoe your own row

…

He’d move from row to row amongst the ears

His eyes full of happiness, never a single tear

As he moved that old cart on with nary a fuss

Hoe your own row from dawn to dusk

Still, I recall from the day I was able to listen

What my Dad told me as the morning dew glistened

Same as his daddy told him when he was still a boy

Told him as he hoed with a metal-tined toy

At breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in the swaying field

He just made me promise I would never yield

…

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

Always hoe your own row son…

Always hoe your own row

…

Make it your own son, water it with fun

Fertilize it with compassion, grow it with love

Hoe your own row with your own gardening gloves

Hoe it in the country, city, or a town

Hoe it your way and don’t ever look down

So long as you can whistle while you do your work

You’ll never be tempted a job to shirk

No need to stay in this one crop village

Too many other spots wait to be pillaged

…

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

Just do it side by side with someone you love

… hoe your own row son…

Don’t let anybody else cause push to come to shove

…

When I was sixteen and near graduation

He told me his vision with eyes of elation

This corn maze is mine and I truly love it fine

It suited my father before me like Mogen David wine

It suits me too and here with your Ma I’ll always be

But son, there’s a whole other world you can go and see

So, when it comes to corn, hoe your own row

…

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

…

Grow a crop of kids in a maze of your own

So long as you’re happy with whatever you’ve grown

Teach them to play outside or in a digital haze

Hoe what you love in the light of your days

Then beneath the moon on a cool spring night

Look at what you grew and be proud it’s right

…

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

Always hoe your own row son..

Always hoe your own row

Just do it side by side with someone you love

… hoe your own row son…

Don’t let anybody else cause push to come to shove

…

My first born lies there in his crib

Wailing, crying, spitting on his bib

As I kneel by his bed at night to pray

I always know exactly what to say

…

Hoe your own row son…

Always hoe your own row

Just do it side by side with someone you love

… hoe your own row son…

Don’t let anybody else cause push to come to shove