B.B. King - Patches Lyrics
I was born and raised down in alabama on a farm way back up in the woods. ohI was so ragged folks used to call me patches. papa used to tease me aboutIt, but deep down inside dad was hurtin cause hed done the best he could.My papa was a great old manI can see him with a shovel in his handEducation that he never hadBut he did wonders when the times got badThe little money from the crops we raisedBarely paid the bills we madeOh life whipped himDown to the groundWhen he tried to get upLife would kick him back downOn the day papa called meTo his dyin bedPlaced his hand on my shouldersAnd in tears he saidPatchesIm depending on you, sonTo pull the family throughMy son, its all left up to youTwo days later papa passed awayAnd I became a man that dayEveryday I had to work the fieldscause thats the only wayWe got our mealsSee, I was the oldest of the familyAnd everybody was depending on meNow the years have passedAnd everybodys grownMamas been livinIn a brand new homeLord knows it tookA lot of sweat and tearsAnd my daddys voiceTo help us through the yearsHe said -PatchesIm depending on you, sonTo pull the family throughMy son, its all left up to youDaddy had been sick for a long time, flat on his back. every evenin afterWed finish our chores and eat our dinner, wed all go into papas room toCheer him up a little. and this particular day dad was in good spirits,Sittin on the side of the bed, tellin mama how good she looked. when allOf a sudden, papa had a pain in his chest. I was too young to understand,Talkin about a heart attack here. mama rushed us all out of the room intoThe hallway. about ten minutes later she came out with tears in her eyes.She called out to me, patches, patches, get in here, boy. your daddy wannaSee you. I went runnin into papas room, there papa lay. daddy had tearsIn his eyes. I knew something was wrong, daddy was a poor man, but all of myLife hed been a proud man. I knelt down on one knee beside the bed, papaPut his hand on my shoulder. he said, patches, patches, boy, the hammer ofLife done beat your old papa down to the ground, and I aint got nobody toTurn to to take care of mama and the younger. so what I want you to do isPromise me, son, is that youre gonna do your best to help your mama as muchAs you can. I said, papa, Im gonna do my best. but little did I knowThen like I know now, that tryin to climb lifes mountains searchin for aTop where there aint no top, sometimes you find yourself frustrated, lazy.But every time I feel like I cant live my life like I want to, my mind goesBack to that day when I see those tears in my daddys eyes. but most of allI remember his words, patches, Im dependin on you, boy. every time iFeel like givin up, I hear his voice. patches, patches, patches, patches -Im depending on you, sonIve tried to do my bestIts up to you to do the restPatchesIm depending on you, sonIve tried to do my bestIts up to you to do the restPatchesIm depending on you, sonTo pull the family throughMy son, its all left up to you
