Tom Paxton - A Rumblin' in the Land lyrics
[Tom Paxton - A Rumblin' in the Land lyrics]
I can hear the rumblin’ river
As it rushes underground
I can hear the breakers crashing I
Can hear the breakers pound
I can stand beneath the waterfall and
Shout with all my might
I can hear a thousand voices
Making ready for a fight
I can ride through Colorado in
A semi trailer cab
I can hang around the truck stops
And hear them joke and gab
I can hear them tellin’ stories of
The lives that they must lead
As they wonder how they’ll make it
With so many mouths to feed
I can see the little hobo as
He shuffles down the street
I can hear him in the diner as
He bums a bite to eat
For ten years he stoked the furnace
‘til the factory whistle blowed
Got laid off by automation boys and
It put him on the road
And I met another fellow as
I wandered all about
He was mining down at Heyser till
His union sold him out
Yes, they worked him in the coalmines till
His back and arms were sore
Then they put him on the blacklist boys
And he can’t go back no more
I can see the sharecrop farmer as
He wipes his sweaty brow
He can see the crop is failing
But it ain’t his anyhow
I can see the dust cloud swirling
On his played-outfarmin' land -
See him hunker down
And let it trickle through his hand
I met a fine young negro
Lad about seventeen or so
He didn’t like those southern jails but he
Felt that he had to go
Saying, "Mom and dad were Negros and
My son will be one too
And I guess it’s up to me
Because we’ve given up on you"
And as I passed an air force base
A young man I did meet
With his shiny wings of silver
And his uniform so neat
Saying, "I don’t wanna bomb them sir
It fills me with dismay
But orders they are orders and
You know I must obey"
Well I’ve been walking through this country
And my eyes are open wide
And the things I’ve seen and heard
You couldn’t imagine if you tried
I’ve been listening to some people and
One thing I understand -
A great flood is a-rising fast and
There’s a rumblin’ in the land
As it rushes underground
I can hear the breakers crashing I
Can hear the breakers pound
I can stand beneath the waterfall and
Shout with all my might
I can hear a thousand voices
Making ready for a fight
I can ride through Colorado in
A semi trailer cab
I can hang around the truck stops
And hear them joke and gab
I can hear them tellin’ stories of
The lives that they must lead
As they wonder how they’ll make it
With so many mouths to feed
I can see the little hobo as
He shuffles down the street
I can hear him in the diner as
He bums a bite to eat
For ten years he stoked the furnace
‘til the factory whistle blowed
Got laid off by automation boys and
It put him on the road
And I met another fellow as
I wandered all about
He was mining down at Heyser till
His union sold him out
Yes, they worked him in the coalmines till
His back and arms were sore
Then they put him on the blacklist boys
And he can’t go back no more
I can see the sharecrop farmer as
He wipes his sweaty brow
He can see the crop is failing
But it ain’t his anyhow
I can see the dust cloud swirling
On his played-outfarmin' land -
See him hunker down
And let it trickle through his hand
I met a fine young negro
Lad about seventeen or so
He didn’t like those southern jails but he
Felt that he had to go
Saying, "Mom and dad were Negros and
My son will be one too
And I guess it’s up to me
Because we’ve given up on you"
And as I passed an air force base
A young man I did meet
With his shiny wings of silver
And his uniform so neat
Saying, "I don’t wanna bomb them sir
It fills me with dismay
But orders they are orders and
You know I must obey"
Well I’ve been walking through this country
And my eyes are open wide
And the things I’ve seen and heard
You couldn’t imagine if you tried
I’ve been listening to some people and
One thing I understand -
A great flood is a-rising fast and
There’s a rumblin’ in the land