I was thinking about my Papaw's farm and wrote a song about it. They're both gone now, so's the farm. My Life long dream was to run that farm, but the best laid plans of mice, men, and small boys... See Rock City Rock City’s gonna paint our new barn Rock City’s gonna paint our new barn Gonna paint it red, it’ll look real pretty Big white letters say “See Rock City” Rock City’s gonna pain our new barn My Papaw was a farmer, a school teacher, and a master millwright. He logged his forests, he plowed his fields with a mule. He built a beautiful home and they managed to raise pretty much everything they needed. Grocery shopping was every few months, where they'd go to Jackson and buy big bags of flour, sugar, and salt. He would buy us penny candy and sometimes we'd go to Nando Jone's Store and get new Redwing shoes. I remember one year, I was maybe five years old, papaw put a new tin roof on the barn. Rock City said they'd paint his barn if he'd let them put a sign on the roof. They paid him some money too. He liked that "See Rock City" on the roof and they'd send out a paint crew every several months to touch it up. The Kids are grown and they’re all out of school They got good jobs and live by the golden rule They’re on their own and doing fine They stop by for dinner when they got the time And Rock City’s gonna paint our new barn. Papaw gave me a hatchet and my job was to cut back the creek bank, a never ending task. The creek bordered our drive way for several hundred yards. It was mostly make busy work but I learned the value of hard work and that nature always wins. My Baby’s fixing greens and corn bread My baby’s cookin’ always keeps me fed Baby’s cooking greens for me With ham hocks and glass of sweet tea And Rock City’s gonna paint our new barn. Grandma would cook a big breakfast, while we milked the cow and gathered the eggs. She cooked on a wood stove and my last task of the day was see there was kindling in the box to start the morning fire. We got a good milk cow and some laying hens We got our garden out back and a pig in the pen We got a creek and time to catch some fish Momma can cook and she’s still a hot dish And Rock City’s gonna paint our new barn grandma would bring lunch (called it dinner) down to the big oak at the end of the field in a galvanized pail and Papaw and I would eat hot vegetables, side meat, maybe a fried chicken or some chicken and dumplings, corn bread, and big-mouthed gallon jug of ice water with a tin dipper. She didn't cook supper, made the house too hot. We would finish our day, tend the mule, clean our tools, repair harness, and wander back up to the house at sundown for a cold supper of wilted garden greens and left-over cornbread. Now I ain’t ever been to Rock City But I’ll them rocks are mighty pretty We got pretty much everything we need The time we got left is for you and me And Rock City’s gonna paint our new barn. We always had to remove our Redwings and wash our feet before Grandma would let us in the house. She said stinky feet we not something that belonged there.
Before my time, but could sometimes see from the air old tin roofed barns in the 50's with arrows and miles pointing to nearest airport. No radio navaids in 1930's. Pan Am and the airlines put first ones up on their own dimes from what I read. Burma Shave fences and Adds on barns all gone now, looks like TV news and newspapers are on their way out. Lots of memories in that song. Thank you. Big fight in Grand parents house, Gramp would start hot quick fire first thing in morning to make coffee quick, Gram wanted a bank of coals and a slower fire to cook and such, same discussion every morning, but it was just habit I am sure. Never had a coffee pot, boiled it in a pot and stirred an egg into it to settle grounds as I remember. They drank coffee black, but made tea that had enough sugar to hold spoon up and was strong. Never tasted better than that tea when working in the woods at about 0 degrees. Had a pail for the tea with a metal tray that fit into top, heated tea and heated dinner at same time, often pasties or other pot pies. They bought salt, sugar, coffee, and a few other things for canning etc, in those days could go to flour mill and trade 2 bushels of wheat for 1 bushel of flour and we did, fished in the mill pond as well and often took homes some good fish as well as flour. Flour mill is gone, dam is gone, subdivision where the lake used to be.
Rock City.... have flown over it in a hang glider, have driven by it, but “I ain’t ever been to Rock City” either. Nice lyrics, when can we hear them with the music?
I like your song. First trip to FL, Mom took us through the Smokies and I believe that was the first time I saw some of those signs. Mid-60's? Mom, Grandma, 3 boys, and 2 Great Danes in a station wagon. No wonder Mom wasn't all together in the head later.