Larry Stephenson - Patches lyrics

I was born and raised down in Alabama On a farm way back up in the woods I was so ragged that folks used to call me Patches Papa used to tease me about it 'Cause deep down inside he was hurt 'Cause he'd done all he could My papa was a great old man I can see him with a shovel in his hands, see Education he never had He did wonders when the times got bad The little money from the crops he raised Barely paid the bills we made For, life had kick him down to the ground When he tried to get up Life would kick him back down One day Papa called me to his dyin' bed Put his hands on my shoulders And in his tears he said He said, Patches I'm dependin' on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you Two days later Papa pa**ed away, and I became a man that day So I told Mama I was gonna quit school, but She said that was Daddy's strictest rule So every mornin' 'fore I went to school I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on I wanted to leave, just run away from home But I would remember what my daddy said With tears in his eyes on his dyin' bed He said, Patches I'm dependin' on you, son I tried to do my best It's up to you to do the rest Then one day a strong rain came And washed all the crops away And at the age of 13 I thought I was carryin' the weight of the Whole world on my shoulders And you know, Mama knew What I was goin' through, 'cause Every day I had to work the fields 'Cause that's the only way we got our meals You see, I was the oldest of the family And everybody else depended on me Every night I heard my Mama pray Lord, give him the strength to make another day So years have pa**ed and all the kids are grown The angels took Mama to a brand new home Lord knows, people, I shedded tears But my daddy's voice kept me through the years Sing, Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you Oh, I can still hear Papa's voice sayin' Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son I've tried to do my best It's up to you to do the rest I can still hear Papa, what he said Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you