Long Hard Road [The Sharecropper's Dream] lyrics

Way back in my memory there's a scene that I recall

Of a little run-down cabin in the woods

Where my daddy never promised that our blue moon would turn gold

But he'd lay awake nights wishin' that it would

When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds

We lived our day-to-day in plain dirt fashion

With old overalls and cotton balls all strapped across your back

Man, it's hard to make believe there ain't nothing wrong

But mama kept the Bible read, and daddy kept our family fed

And somewhere in between I must have grown

'Cause someday I was dreamin' that a song that I was singin'

Takes me down the road to where I wanna go

Now I know it's a long, hard road

Sometimes I remember when I stay up late at night

When the sun up came, we got up and went

In the shadows of a working day, our moonlight hours spent

Singin' songs along with grandma's radio

Now I'm beatin' down that old blacktop road, sleepin' in a sack

Livin' in my memories all in vain

'Cause those city lights ain't all that bright, compared to what it's like

To see lightning bugs go dancin' in the rain

Mama played the guitar then, and daddy made the saw blade bend

And raindrops played the tin roof like a drum

But I just kept on dreamin' that a song that I was singin'

Takes me down the road to where my name is known

Now I'm gone, and it's a long, hard road

Yes, I know, it's a long, hard road

• Artist:Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
• Album:Plain Dirt Fashion (1986)