G
I was born and raised down in Alabama
Bm
On a farm way back up in the woods
G7
I was so raggedy, folks used call me, 'Patches'
C Bm Am
Papa used to tease me 'bout it
G E
Of course deep down inside he was hurt
Am
'Cause he'd done all he could
D
My papa was a great ol' man
C
I can see him with a shovel in his hand
D
See, education he never had
C
But he did wonders when the time got bad
D
The little money from the crops he raised
C
Barely paid the bills we made
G Bb
Oh, life it kicked him down to the ground
C G
When he tried to get up, life would kick him back down
G Bb
One day papa called me to his dyin' bed
C G
Put his hands on my shoulders and in tears he said
G
He said, 'Patches
Bm
I'm dependin' on you, son
G7
To pull the family through
C Bm Am G E Am
My son, it's all left up to you'
D
Two days later papa passed away
C
And I became a man that day
D
So I told mama I was gonna quit school
C
But she said that was daddy's strictest rule
D
So every morning 'fore I went to school
C
I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too
G Bb
Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on
C G
I wanted to leave, just run away from home
G Bb
But I would remember what my daddy said
C G
With tears in his eyes on his dyin' bed
G
He said, 'Patches
Bm
I'm dependin' on you, son
G7
I tried to do my best
C Bm Am G E Am
It's up to you to do the rest'
G
But then one day a strong rain came
Bm
And washed all the crops away
G7
And at the age of 13
C Bm Am G E
I thought I was carryin' the weight of the whole world on my shoulders
Am
And you know mama knew what I was going through
D
'Cause every day I had to work the fields
C
'Cause that's the only way we got our meals
D
You see, I was the oldest of the family
C
And everybody else depended on me
D
Every night I heard my mama pray
C
Lord, give him strength to face another day
G Bb
4 years have passed and all the kids have grown
C G
The angels took mama to a brand new home
G Bb
God knows people, I she'd tears
C G
But my daddy's voice kept me through the years
G
Sayin', 'Patches
Bm
I'm dependin' on you, son
G7
To pull the family through
C G E Am
My son, it's all left up to you'
G
I can still hear papa when he said, 'Patches
Bm
I'm dependin' on you, son
G7
I tried to do my best
C Bm Am G E Am
It's up to you to do the rest'
G
I can still hear papa when he said, 'Patches
Bm
I'm dependin' on you, son
G7
To pull the family through