Written early July 2016 on the way home from a final visit to my wife’s family farm in Orrtanna, Pennsylvania, outside Gettysburg. RIP, Aunt Suzanne…
This track also grieves not for an America that was – but for an America that could have been.
A few hours west of the City line
About 200 miles as the crow flies
Your family farm up on that hill
A place that made time stand stillWhere Saturday nights on the outskirts of town
and ways of life were hand-me-downs
Every sunrise let you know just where you standThere was love in this land
But time made other plans
In time you’ll understand
How much love was in this landNow we’re taking one last drive tonight
To say one long last goodbye
To the land that held your family name
Thru an America getting auctioned awayBy a world designed with no stop just go
That knows you never miss what you never know
That’s countin’ on you to forget where you standAnd all the love in this land
When the radio starts playing favorite songs
You can’t help (but) wonder where we went wrongThe moms and dads pass’d away
The kids flew away on the interstate
The farm is now in other hands
It’s up to you to still give a damn