Growing Trade Lyrics

Levon Helm

I worked the land to raise a family
‘til I was weary to the bone
But hard labor never bothered me
Lord, it's all I've ever known

Too many seasons of calamity
And too much interest on the loan
I'm half the size that I used to be
And half of that is stone

The crops ain't worth the seeding
10 will only get you 5
The livestock I'm a-feeding
I can hardly keep them alive
I've got to do what I can to survive

I know the law won't be forgiving
But that'll be the choice I make
I used to farm for a living
And now I'm in the growing trade

The summer beauty of the cotton field
Was like a view from heaven's door
My granddaddy said that harvest time
Was what the good lord made us for

I guess he'd wonder where's the dignity
In a crop you raise to burn
But this land is my legacy
I got nowhere else to turn

Shotgun on my shoulder
Where a tote sack ought to be
The thieves are getting bolder
And the feds may be watching me
I've got to quit this eventually

I know the law won't be forgiving
But that'll be the choice I make
I used to farm for a living
But now I'm in the growing trade

Helicopters in the distance
Coming closer everyday
They're going to meet some resistance
Ain't no price too big to pay
There won't be any difference
When they take it all away
Between a cot in the jail house
And a bed beneath the clay
I guess there's nothing to do now but pray

I know the law won't be forgiving
But that'll be the choice I make
I used to farm for a living
And now I'm in the growing trade

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