PATCHES (The saddest song I've ever heard.)

I was born and raised down in Alabama
On a farm way back up in the woods
I was so ragged the folks used call me patches
Papa used to teas me about it
But deep down inside
He was hurt because he done all he could do
My papa was a great old man
I can see him with a shovel in his hand digging
Education he never had
But he did wonders when the time got bad
A little money from the crops he raised
Helped pay the bills we made
For months he'd been sick and down in the dumps
When he tried to get up life would kick him back down
One day papa called me to his dyin bed
Put his hands on my shoulders And in tears he said
He said Patches, I'm depending on you son
To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you
Two days later papa passed away
I became a man that day
So I told mama I was gonna quit school
But she said that was daddys strictest rule
So every morning before I went to school
I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too
Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on
I wanted to leave and run away from home
But I would remember what my daddy said
With tears in his eyes on his dyin bed
He said, "Patches, I'm depending on you son
To pull the family through. My son its all left up to you
Then one day a strong rain came
And washed all the crops away
And at the age of thirteen I thought I was carrying
The weight of the whole world on my shoulders
And you know, mama knew what I was going through, Cause
Everyday I had to work the fields
Cause that's the only way we got our meals
You see, I was the oldest of a family
And everybody else depended on me
Every night I heard my mama pray
Lord, give him the strength to face another day
Though years have passed and all the kids have grown
The Angels took mama to a brand new home
But, No people,I never quit
My daddy's voice still rings through the fields
Sayin, "Patches, I'm depending on you son
To pull the family through My son, it's all left up to you
Patches, I'm depending on you son