The Field Behind the Plow
Sowing Dreams: Harvesting Life's Promises Behind the Plow
Lyrics
Watch the field behind the plow turn to straight, dark rows
Observing the transformation of the field behind the plow into organized, dark rows.
Feel the trickle in your clothes, blow the dust cake from your nose
Feeling the soil moisture on your clothes, clearing dust from your nose as you work.
Hear the tractor's steady roar, Oh you can't stop now
Hearing the continuous sound of the tractor's engine, emphasizing the unstoppable nature of the task.
There's a quarter section more or less to go
Highlighting that there's still a considerable portion of the field left to plow (a quarter section).
And it figures that the rain keeps its own sweet time
Noting the delayed arrival of rain, which adds to the challenges of the work.
You can watch it come for miles, but you guess you've got a while
Anticipating rain but uncertain about when it will actually arrive.
So ease the throttle out a hair, every rod's a gain
Suggesting a careful adjustment of the throttle to optimize progress, with every rod (distance) covered being a victory.
And there's victory in every quarter mile
Emphasizing the sense of accomplishment with every quarter mile plowed.
Poor old Kuzyk down the road
Introducing the character Kuzyk, who faced challenges like heartache, hail, and grasshoppers, leading him to abandon farming for town life.
The heartache, hail and hoppers brought him down
Highlighting the hardships that forced Kuzyk to give up farming.
He gave it up and went to town
Expressing the tough decision of leaving rural life for an urban setting.
And Emmett Pierce the other day
Introducing Emmett Pierce, who suffered a heart attack at the age of forty-two, emphasizing the physical toll of hard work.
Took a heart attack and died at forty two
Noting Emmett's premature death and the predictability of it due to his strenuous labor.
You could see it coming on 'cause he worked as hard as you
Comparing Emmett's fate to the speaker's own hard work, implying the potential risks.
In an hour, maybe more, you'll be wet clear through
Anticipating getting completely soaked within an hour, as rain finally arrives.
The air is cooler now, pull you hat brim further down
Describing the cooling air and the need to pull down one's hat.
And watch the field behind the plow turn to straight dark rows
Reiterating the visual of the plowed field turning into straight, dark rows.
Put another season's promise in the ground
Symbolizing the planting of promises for another season in the soil.
And if the harvest's any good
Raising the prospect of a successful harvest covering the debts accrued through loans.
The money just might cover all the loans
Connecting the financial outcome of the harvest to the ability to repay loans.
You've mortgaged all you own
Emphasizing the extent of the mortgages on the farmer's possessions.
Buy the kids a winter coat
Suggesting using potential earnings to buy necessities for the children.
Take the wife back east for Christmas if you can
Considering the possibility of taking the family back east for Christmas if finances allow.
All summer she hangs on when you're so tied to the land
Highlighting the dedication of the wife who endures separation during the busy farming season.
For the good times come and go, but at least there's rain
Expressing gratitude for the rain, ensuring fertility for the land in September.
So this won't be barren ground when September rolls around
Emphasizing that the hard work will not result in barren land when the next season arrives.
So watch the field behind the plow turn to straight dark rows
Repeating the imagery of the plowed field as a metaphor for fulfilling promises for the upcoming season.
Put another season's promise in the ground
Reiterating the act of putting promises into the ground, connecting it to the cyclical nature of farming.
Watch the field behind the plow turn to straight dark rows
Echoing the visual transformation of the field behind the plow and reinforcing the cycle of promise and fulfillment.
Put another season's promise in the ground
Concluding with the repetition of the theme, underlining the continuous cycle of promise and fulfillment in farming.
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