St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-08-31
LEAVING THE OLD FARM.


Ivan I git up right airly, wife, wen tn dew i
on tn grass:
Tmorrer's tn only day well hev in tn dear Of,
home pass,
Fr then We mus say goodbye Z tn thing
we've held SO dear,
An somebody else IL take tn farm I've wor,,e,
fr many year.
iwent jest now Z yander church we wuz mar
RED in long ago,
an see tn grave in tn yard behind were W,
laid our leetle Joe;
An !, tibet never LAT sall tear on IN, dav the
baby died
IN thought O. leayin' here teched me Sc tibet
sot right down an cried
ITS forty five year ago, my wife-iest forty-ay,
We wuz movin' in an settlin' down ez chippe
ez birds in May
We hedT. no great amount o. cash, but W.
iv~ed to buy the farm,
Ff we put heap o. faith, ye know, in tn
strength o my right arm.
An didn't piow tn fields rale smart an didn'
you SOW and spin:
Ell hearty goodwill 'ud boost folks up I m sur,
we'd ha' made it win.
from airly mornin' till late at night we WI,
aiiers on tn race
A-tryin' with all our might an main pay r.
tn dear old place.
Sometimes we wuz down at TIL mouth, o. course
an sometimes rr q spell
Wed think We wuz loomin' right along. o dom
purity well.
But thar wuz thet blamed old mortgage, wife
a-weighin' down our feet,
tn int'rest ea,in' our profits up IKE the weev
does the wheat.
We frightened nm wen the hnh,es cum-,heu
rollickn gals an boys
How they made the old house ring, my dear,
with Their clattes an Their noise.
An We KEEP 'em coy an warm an snug e. lin
nets in a cage.
An we hoped they stay Z comfort us in the
time Nv our old age.
But arter awhile begun to see they cudn't be
content
FIR tn life wuz dull, an the work SO hard, an
one BY one they went.
An Jim an tn gals they're far away. an tn
twins WIZ lost at sea.
An Their han't one Nv all that flock that is left
toyou au' me.
But we staid on. an in spite O. tn work an
troubles. an tn care
Tibet hez brought tn silver threads SO thick in
your pretty soft brown hair
In spite q III fac tibet our life hez bin losin'
fight with debt,
We cling 1 tn old place yet, my dear, we cling
Z tn old place yet
We've just growed into I'll ground, We know,
like tn EN- trees in tn yard.
We're wonted now this sort Of life, an leavin'
il seems right hard:
oh, wall. it's a tough old world. my dear, an
toughest fer them thets poor,
Ell they hope at fust they soon mus learn Z
suffer an' L endure.
Thar wuz a time, eff We rekeleck, an it want so
long ago.
Wen / ust I cuss them fellers East that's
aueecin OF US so.
Alvin in style an guzzlin' wine on tn money
that they've lent.
w lie us poor fools is a-sweatin' here to pay 'em
big per cent
But now Tn a-gittin' too old my dear, sech
words don't bring relief.
Thar liant no room IN my heart II wealth-thar
is only room fr grief,
An I've foun' that it hant no sort o. use to-
grurible an complain
Th MN that works with his hands can't cope
with tn man that works his brain
An Jim hez writ US letter now a-telling Us
both L cum.
We never II want rr bread. he seq, s. long ez
he's so: crumb:
Yes, Jim wuz alters good. my dear but he's got
heavy load,
FIR thar han't a one o mis- seven gals that's
k;ee-high to toad.
He seq thar's . fact'ry stanin, near, an he's
sure he'll git me work:
An I'll try l. do my level best-he'll find that /
han'i no shirk,
But it's hard L teach old dogs new tricks, an
though Til work with Will,
It's puliin' load uphill. my dear, it's pullin'
load uphill.
So I wan t git up airly, wife, wen tn birds
beg;n I sing.
An we'll go all aroun' an say goodbye to ev'ry
wellknown thing.
r tn orchard thar. an garden. an tn grove
were we ust 4 walk,
An tn porch were We alters set at night hev
our leetle talk.
An we'll take stroll in the crooked lane be-
yond III maple tree.
Were tn Children ust to- cum troopin' down {
call me hum L tea.
An wen pat tn cows. an tn horses tool
hope they'll be well used:
flow I'd turn in my grave, my dear, CT Robin
shd tie abused.
1t han't Jest leav;n' house. ye know. or a barn
or bit o land.
But it's swervn OF from tn path we've trod SO
long, dear. hand in hand
An it seems so hard { 90, my wife, it seems so
hard L go.
I Almost wish We wuz both at rest by tn side o.
leetle Joe.
Nellie Booth Simmons, in Chicago Times