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