Patches
Clarence Carter Lyrics

I was born and raised down in Alabama
I spent my whole life living in Alabama

On a farm way back up in the woods
The farm where I grew up was located in a remote, wooded area

I was so ragged that folks used to call me Patches
I was so poor and had such shabby clothing that people gave me a nickname - Patches

Papa used to tease me about it
My father used to make fun of my nickname, but it was clear that it hurt him to see me struggle

'Cause deep down inside he was hurt
My father was really saddened by our family's poverty and his inability to provide more for us

'Cause he'd done all he could
My father had put forth his best effort to support our family, but it wasn't enough to lift us out of poverty

My papa was a great old man
My father was a wonderful man

I can see him with a shovel in his hands, see
I can still picture my father working hard in the fields

Education he never had
My father never had the opportunity to go to school

He did wonders when the times got bad
Despite his lack of education, my father was an incredibly resourceful person who knew how to make the best of a tough situation

The little money from the crops he raised
The money my father earned from selling our crops

Barely paid the bills we made
Wasn't enough to cover all of our expenses

For, life had kick him down to the ground
Life had been really hard on my father

When he tried to get up
Every time he tried to improve our situation

Life would kick him back down
Something else would come along to make things even tougher

One day Papa called me to his dyin' bed
As my father lay on his deathbed, he asked to speak with me

Put his hands on my shoulders
He placed his hands on my shoulders as if to impart an important message

And in his tears he said
Through tears, he spoke

He said, Patches
He addressed me by my nickname

I'm dependin' on you, son
He told me that he was counting on me to step up and provide for our family

To pull the family through
To help us survive and maybe even thrive

My son, it's all left up to you
He made it clear that I was the only one who could make a difference for our family now that he was gone

Two days later Papa passed away, and
My father died two days after our conversation

I became a man that day
I was forced to grow up and take on adult responsibilities

So I told Mama I was gonna quit school, but
I informed my mother that I planned to drop out of school

She said that was Daddy's strictest rule
My mother reminded me that education was important to my father

So every mornin' 'fore I went to school
I had to work around the farm before heading to school every day

I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too
Some of my chores included feeding the livestock and gathering firewood

Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on
There were times when I felt overwhelmed and doubted my ability to keep going

I wanted to leave, just run away from home
There were moments when I wished I could escape the pressures of my life

But I would remember what my daddy said
I would think back to my father's words of encouragement

With tears in his eyes on his dyin' bed
I recalled the emotion in his voice as he spoke to me before he passed away

He said, Patches
My father addressed me by my nickname once again

I'm dependin' on you, son
My father reminded me once again of my responsibility to our family

I tried to do my best
He acknowledged that he had done all he could while he was alive

It's up to you to do the rest
He emphasized that it was now my turn to step up and be the provider

Then one day a strong rain came
A particularly heavy rainfall hit our farm

And washed all the crops away
The rain ruined all of our crops

And at the age of 13 I thought
I was still very young and had a lot of responsibilities placed on my shoulders

I was carryin' the weight of the Whole world on my shoulders
I felt completely overwhelmed and unable to handle the burdens in my life

And you know, Mama knew What I was goin' through, 'cause
My mother understood the difficulty of my situation

Every day I had to work the fields
I spent most of my days doing manual labor around the farm

'Cause that's the only way we got our meals
Our survival depended entirely on the success of our crops

You see, I was the oldest of the family
As the oldest child, I had more responsibilities than any of my siblings

And everybody else depended on me
My entire family was counting on me to take care of us all

Every night I heard my Mama pray
I would listen to my mother's prayers every evening

Lord, give him the strength to make another day
She prayed that I would be able to find the strength to keep going

So years have passed and all the kids are grown
Time has passed and my siblings and I have all grown up

The angels took Mama to a brand new home
My mother passed away and is now in heaven

Lord knows, people, I shedded tears
I was incredibly sad and cried a lot during this time

But my daddy's voice kept me through the years
Despite the loss of my parents, I was able to remember my father's words of encouragement

Saying
He spoke to me in my mind

Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son
My father's voice echoed in my mind, reminding me of my responsibilities

To pull the family through
To be the one to lift my family up when times were tough

My son, it's all left up to you
I was the only one who could make a difference for my family, just like my father had said years before

Oh, I can still hear Papa's voice sayin'
My father's voice still resonates with me today

Patches, I'm dependin' on you, son
Once again, my father's words encourage me to keep going and do my best for my family

I've tried to do my best
My father knew that he had put forth his best effort when he was alive

It's up to you to do the rest
But now it was my turn to take the reins and try to make things better for us all