Tom Paxton - Who Will Feed The People? lyrics

If they take away my farm If they pull me off the plough Tell me, who will feed the people Hell, the banker don't know how It's all pages in a mystery That he'll never understand Tell me, who will feed the people If they put me off my land If they call in all my loans If they call the auctioneer Tell me, who will bring the crops in With no farm folks living here Will the banker run the combine Will the agent bale the hay Tell me, who will feed the people If they take my farm away When my great-granddaddy Jakob Ninety-seven years ago Broke this sod behind two oxen Broke his back to make it grow Taught his sons by his example As they taught their sons in turn What this topsoil had to teach him Great-granddaddy tried to learn If they put us on the road If they tell us we must go Who will come to take our places Who'll know half the things we know Who'll know every inch of topsoil As it trickles through the hand Tell me, who will feed the people If they put me off my land When my great-granddaddy Jakob Ninety-seven years ago Broke this sod behind two oxen Broke his back to make it grow Taught his sons by his example As they taught their sons in turn What this topsoil had to teach him Great-granddaddy tried to learn If they take away my farm If they pull me off the plough Tell me, who will feed the people Hell, the banker don't know how It's all pages in a mystery That he'll never understand Tell me, who will feed the people If they put me off my land It's all pages in a mystery That he'll never understand Tell me, who would feed the people If they put me off my land