Folklife 2009: Part IV

Okay, one more video from Folklife and that will finish this series up.  The last off-center video from Folklife is called "High Cotton."  It features Ben singing lead and Clark and Clayton singing the harmonies.  It is an old Alabama song. The words in this song talk about a simple lifestyle full of hard work and gentle memories.

Now, I didn't grow up around cotton, but I did grow up around a lot of dairy and corn farmers back in the Midwest.  Where Ben and I grew up in IL, most people were either farmers themselves, or came from families that farmed.  It always amazed me when we left the Midwest that most of the new people we met were not from farming families.  I just thought everyone had farming in their background.

Ben's family grew up farming, and then later, his dad worked with farmers as a dairy nutritionist.  "High Cotton" reminds me a lot of Ben's dad--especially, the last verse....

            When Sunday mornin' rolled around,
            We dressed up in hand-me-down,           
            Just in time together with the church.
            Sometimes I think how long it's been,
            And how it impressed me then,
            It was the only day my Daddy wouldn't work.

Ben comes from a family of ten children and you can imagine that there was a lot of hand-me-downs being passed around.  Also, with all those kids, you can imagine that getting to church in time was quite a challenge.  Ben's dad would always say, "Oh, we're just a shade late."  Yes, and my family carries on that tradition, only I think we are more than a shade late usually.  Let me tell you, it is so hard to quietly shuffle eight people into a pew after the service has started.

Finally, the last line is also a reminder to me of Ben's dad.  My father-in-law was the hardest working man I ever knew personally.  And yet, with all that he had to do, he still paused on Sundays out of reverence for his Lord.  It impressed us all. 

Ben's dad passed away almost three years ago and we miss him so much.  He was a very, very dear man.  And, every time I hear this song, I think of him.  So with that, here is "High Cotton."

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Comments

[gordon]

You've just given me one more reason to love "HIGH COTTON"

[Katie Ross]

You guys do this one so well! The harmony is wonderful. :D