Grapes Of Wrath
The Mission Lyrics

The sweat upon his brow and the dirt worked into his hands
The physical signs of labor that are both a chore and a symbol of man's connection to his own land.

The dignity of labor upon a man's own land
The honor of working on land that is a man's own and the respect that comes with harvesting the fruits of his labor.

The soil of his fathers passed on down through blood to hand
The ancestral connection to land that is passed from one generation to the next providing a sense of identity and roots.

A man's right of birth to reap the harvest from his land
The innate right of a farmer to reap the rewards of nurturing the land, something that is often overlooked by the wealthy or powerful others.

The breaking of his back to keep his dream alive
The sacrifices and pains taken by a farmer to keep his dreams and hopes alive by nurturing the land in the face of unpredictable weather and other challenges.

To work the change of season, his instinct to survive
The seasonal work that farmers do to make ends meet and stay self-sufficient with their natural instinct to survive amidst challenges and uncertainties.

The planting of his seed and to see his harvest grow
The feeling of pride and joy witnessing his hard work coming to fruition in the form of a bountiful harvest season.

Gives a pride to a man to reap the harvest that he sows
A sense of accomplishment that comes from nourishing the soil, planting and tending lovingly, and finally taking the final produce from the earth.

The land of the free, home of the brave
The pride in belonging to a nation that is built on the principles of independence and courage.

The heartland of pioneers, the heritage of flesh and blood
The deep-rooted values and cultural identity that is inherited from one's own pioneering ancestors who have inculcated their principles and culture into the land.

And along come the winds that blow through the land
The sudden change of circumstances that can impact the farmer's livelihood, such as natural calamities and other threats that loom over the land.

With a price to pay for the working man
The devastating consequences that the working-class has to endure due to circumstances beyond their control, leading to loss of jobs, homes, and even lives.

Money talks and changes hands
The power money wields and how it can dictate terms and conditions at the cost of the working-class, leading to an uneven distribution of resources and opportunities.

And money reaps the harvest, money demands
The innumerable ways in which money shapes the fate of people, with those who possess it compromising with their conscience at the expense of those who don't.

They can take away his freedom
The rights that can be taken away from a farmer, including his ability to freely cultivate his land and harvest his crops due to the injustice perpetrated by the ones in power.

They can beat him into the dust
The harsh treatment meted out to farmers to break their will and spirit, leaving them bereft of their possessions, rights, and livelihood, and leaving them to wallow in misery.

They can burn his home, run him from his land
The brutal actions taken by the powerful to oppress the defenseless, including destroying their habitats and forcibly evacuating them from their homes and lands.

And leave him out to gather rust
The after-effects of taking away someone's sustenance, leading to stagnation and loss of opportunities amidst a life of dejection and neglect.

But they can't take away his faith
The last vestige of hope that a farmer clings on to against all odds, including the belief in the essential goodness of humanity and the providence that nature offers.

And his honesty and pride
The ethics that a farmer stands for in the face of any adversity, including his own self-respect and honor that he guards zealously against any attempts to take away from him.

And the knowledge he holds inside
The invaluable knowledge a farmer possesses, something that only comes from his personal and generations-old relationship with the land, that is always at his disposal and can never be taken away.

One day they'll reap the harvest, the grapes of wrath
The day of reckoning when the oppressors will reap the bitterness and wrath of their misdeeds and injustices perpetrated against the farmers, leading to dire consequences and retribution.

There's hope in a man that nothing can destroy
The indomitable spirit of man that remains unbroken under all odds, leading to an unshakeable sense of determination and resilience amidst adversarial conditions.

A man will endure anything
The extreme physical and emotional resilience that a farmer showcases, no matter how formidable the challenges that he might face, leading to endurance beyond human imagination.

For the dream that he holds dear
The dreams and aspirations a farmer holds dear, including his love for his land and the people he serves, remain steadfast despite all odds, leading to the perpetuation of hope and faith.

And there's pride in a man who knows the truth
The sense of dignity and self-respect that arises from the knowledge of the ground realities and nothing but the truth, leading to a feeling of fulfillment and contentment.

His faith in the Earth he toils for
The stoic conviction and belief in the soil that he tills, and the land to which he has a primal connection, leading to his lifelong dedication and altruism towards the earth and its bounty.

His honesty for the air he breathes
The transparency and honesty that the farmer maintains in all his dealings, including the symbiotic relation between the air he breathes, the earth he tills, and the people he nurtures.

The truth of the harvest they will reap
The overarching truth that the oppressive ones will have to face, including the consequences that their injustices have wrought on an entire community, leading to final justice served, like reaping what one sows.

The grapes of wrath
The unstoppable wrath that arises from generations of oppression and injustice that a community had to suffer for centuries, leading to the culmination of all their struggles against an unequal system and the upending of the existing power structure and regime.