I was born and
raised down in Alabama
On a little farm
way back up in the woods
I was so ragged the folks
used to call me Patches
Papa used to tease me 'bout it
'cos deep down he was hurt
'cos he done all he could
My papa was a great old man
I can see him with his shovel
in his hand, see
Education he never had
But he did wonders
when the time got bad
A little money from
the crops he raised
Barely paid the bills we made
Oh life had 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 dying bed
Put his hands on my shoulders,
in tears he said
He said, Patches I'm depending
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 before
I went to school
I fed the chickens
and I chopped wood too
Some times I felt
that I couldn't go on
I wanted to leave it
run away from home
But I would remember
what my daddy said
With tears in his eyes
on his dying bed
He said, Patches I'm depending
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 thirteen
I thought I was carrying
the weight of the whole
world on my shoulders
And you know mama knew
what I was going through,
'Cos every day
I had to work the fields
'Cos that's the only way
I got our meals you see
I was the oldest of the family
And everybody just
depended on me
Every night I heard
my mama pray
Lord give him strength
to face another day
Oh years have passed
and all the kids are grown
The angels took my mama
to a brand new home
Lord knows people
I've shed tears
But my daddy's voice
helped me through the years
Saying, Patches I'm depending
on you son
To pull the family through
My son it's all left up to you
Oh I can still hear
papa saying
He said, Patches I'm depending
on you son
I tried to do my best
It's up to you to do the rest