Black Texas Dirt

[Verse 1]
Mama and Papa spent the very best years
Of their life on a West Texas farm
Tryin' to scratch a livin' from the black land dirt
That treated them only with scorn

[Verse 2]
From way before sunup to way after sundown
Papa walked behind that ol' mule
And 'til the day that we laid him away
He lived by the golden rule

[Chorus]
Black Texas dirt, you're full of hurt
And you won't grow nothing but weeds
You took my mama and papa, it's true
But you ain't a-gonna get me

[Verse 3]
The sun and the rain, well, they took everything
'Cept the dirt that would fly in my face
I swore that someday that I'd find me a way
To take me away from this place

[Verse 4]
I packed my belongings for soon I'd be goin'
Far off to start a new life
And I'd better hurry or I'd have to worry
About those dark clouds in the sky

[Bridge]
As I reached the gate and turned to take one last look
At the old homeplace where I was born
I thought I could hear voices callin' to me
But then I thought, "No, that just must be the storm"
I couldn't get over the feelin' that something was wrong
That I was leavin' something behind
I couldn't put my finger on it
But I couldn't get that off my mind
It seemed as if the wind was Mama's and Papa's voices
And that they were pleading with me to stay
And that the rain was tears that the sky were shedding
Because I was goin' away
But then like a bolt of lightnin' from out the blue
Oh, that feeling swept over me like a flood
And for the very first time in my life, I knew
I had black Texas dirt in my blood

[Chorus]
Black Texas dirt, you're full of hurt
And you won't grow nothing but weeds
You took my mama and papa, it's true
And now you're a-gonna take me