PICKIN' COTTON

© 2001 James D. Pearce

Hertford County cotton fields of 1937 beginning to look pretty good 'bout now ~

all you needed was a tow-sack with a tied-on shoulder sling ~ didn't even need any shoes ~

you'd throw that sling over your shoulder and drag that bag down the row ~ stoop and pick ~ stoop and pick ~

takes a lot of cotton to fill a tow-bag ~

get it 'most full and so heavy you can hardly drag it ~ leave it at the end of the row and get another one ~

you, and everybody else, pick 'em up at the end of the day and pull 'em down to the man with the balance-scales ~

picked a hundred and sixty pounds today ~ did good ~

a penny a pound ~ cripes ~ a dollar and sixty cents ~

pay you right there ~ right on the spot ~ a dollar bill, two quarters and a dime ~

we'll eat tomorrow ~ and pick some more ~ good times are comin'

frank d roosevelt's in the White House ~ and happy days are here again ~

good to think about the bygone days ~ the good old days ~ back when we couldn't find a single thing to fuss about ~

we couldn't sing so well ~ but we sang a lot ~ back then ~

don't sing so much any more ~ now we have CDs ~ and computers ~

we're busy, important people ~ now ~ lots of important things to do ~

lots of important things to fuss about ~