Song Lyrics
FARMERS DAUGHTER
Written and arranged by Ellen Harper, June 24th 2009
(G modal tuning on banjo)
My daddy is a farmer
That makes me the farmer’s daughter
But it’s no joke we’re always broke
Can’t live on dirt and water
Can’t live on dirt and water.
We can’t plant and we can’t grow
We can’t reap and we can’t sew
Don’t own the seed can’t plant our rows
It all belongs to Monsanto
All belongs to Monsanto.
Dupont, Dow and Monsanto
We are what we eat
They own the pollen own the seeds
Own us from head to feet
Own the air we breath.
Sister shed her overalls
put on heels and skirt
City bound she fled the ground
To strike her own pay dirt
Strike her own pay dirt
My brother donned a uniform
To keep us safe from harm
But terror is as terror does
The bank foreclosed our farm
Foreclosed the family farm.
Jesse James he robbed the banks
They shot that boy to death
Now the banks are robbing us
Til’ we got nothing left, we got nothing left,
We got nothing left.
Hearts on the Line
Written and arranged by Ellen Harper, 2011
You were black I was white.
You weren’t African American yet
The times were a-changing it was real
But it wasn’t love at first sight
Nobody thought it was right
This was back before Benneton
When Loving versed the law*
We were a sign of the times
Then I looked at you and you looked at me
We put our hearts on the line
Hearts on the line, yours and mine
We were a sign of the times, you and I
Oh what a couple we caught everyone’s eye
We were judged and scrutinized
We took a stand against the laws of the land
We kept our eyes on the prize
Eyes on the prize, yours and mine
We were ahead of our time, you and I
All we wanted like everyone does
Is to love and be loved in return
But the course of love never runs smooth
That’s the lesson we learned
A hard lesson to earn
It wasn’t easy it never is
Trying to get by
We were just lovers not symbols not others
Decided to share our lives,
Share our lives, yours and mine
We were ahead of our time, you and I
*Richard and Mildred Loving Verses the State of Virginia. Landmark Civil Rights case, 1967.