That newspaper story that I linked to up yonder previous sez MitchellFeller ain't makin' any pologees fer shortchangin' the farmerfellers. As soon as I read what that minister sed, I thought mebbe he ain't workin' fer the farm folks like he's sposed t' be an' mebbe he don't get the pitcher that farmers's the fellers an' gals who put the dinner on ol' Andyboy's dinnerplate.
That there news story an' that dumbass anti-agri-minister's stoopid words brought t' mind this here old-timey song from away back in the 1890's.
THE FARMER IS THE MANNobuddy seems too sure who wrote that there song elsewise I'd o' give credit where credit's due an' a whole heap o' credit's due. If I ever figger out this here podcastin' thingamajig, mebbe I'll sing it fer you an' mebbe that Andyboy Mitchellfeller'll get hisself an earful, too.
Oh the farmer comes to town
With his wagon broken down,
Oh the farmer is the man who feeds us all;
If we'd only look and see, well I think that we'd agree
That the farmer is the man who feeds us all.
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man.
Lives on credit 'til the fall,
Then they take him by the hand,
And they lead him from the land,
And the middleman's the one who gets it all.
When the lawyer stands around
While the butcher cuts a pound,
He forgets that it's the farmer feeds 'em all.
And the preacher and the cook
Go a-strollin' by the brook,
They forget that its the farmer feeds' em all.
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man.
Lives on credit 'til the fall,
With the interest rate so high, its a wonder he don't die,
And the middleman's the one who gets it all.
When the banker says he's broke,
And the merchant's up in smoke,
They forget that it's the farmer feeds 'em all.
If he'd only take a rest,
He could put 'em to the test,
Cause the farmer is the man who feeds 'em all.
The farmer is the man,
The farmer is the man.
Lives on credit 'til the fall,
His condition it's a sin,Cause his pants are gettin' thin,
We forgot that he's the one who feeds us all.
Yores trooly,
JimBobby
4 comments:
It's a little depressing that the song is just as true today as it was 125 years ago.
While we wait for you to master podcasting, the more impatient among your readership could hear Ry Cooder's version of the song, from his second album "Into the Purple Valley". Ry adds the following verse:
We worked through Spring and Winter,
through Summer and through Fall;
But the mortgage worked the hardest and the steadiest of us all.
It worked on nights and Sundays, it worked each holiday;
Settled down among us and it never went away...
Can't believe I'm going to do this, but....Whoooooooeeeee! that was good history repeating itself all over again.
Whorin' a little here, but I figure if anybody can see the parallels between neoSeussians and neoStraussians 'round here it might be you JB.
Whooee! Thankee fer them comments, fellers. I heard tell that RyeBread Cooder has hisself a version an' ol' Petey Seeger sung it, too. I even think one o' my favourite singerfellers, Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, put it on a 78 back in the 30's or 40's.
That's a good piece you wrote up, Gazettefeller. I'll do sum lookin' inta what these neoStrassians are all about. Strauss was the feller who wrote all that waltzin' music, right? These neoStraussers mebbe mix that 3 step waltzin' with break-dancin' or funky chicken dancin' or else sum other new kinda dance.
Bloogerfeller, thankee fer stopping by. I see you got a new post up onta yer boog an' you gimme a tip o' yer toque. I'm startin' t' feel like I almost know them folks yer always writin' 'bout. The Hogg twins sure sound like nice, friendly gals.
Yores trooly,
JimBobby
Cooder can do them blues. He can take you inside. Make you feel like you've lost every thing you've worked for and your woman.
I had a painful discussion over much rye with a cousin last summer. Losing everything. He's tried diversification but how diverse can a farmer who's grown up on his land be?
The NDP government only gave false hope. The Liberal governemt only gives false hope. Keep going the way you are. We will step in and subsidize you.
Subsidies don't cover this much loss. False hope.
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