Boots in the Furrow

[Verse 1]
I break that earth at dawn
Boots sunk in the black
Drag steel through the ribs
Till the clods look back
Sun on my neck, hard rain in my mind
I turn that row like a debt I can’t hide
Plow line straight, jaw set tight
One more pass 'fore the crow takes flight
Hands all cracked, but they still know
How to make that poor ground grow
[Pre-Chorus]
I hear that dirt say
"Keep on, keep on"
Bread in the making
From the break of dawn
[Chorus]
I work that ground
I work that ground (I work that ground)
Plant my hope deep down
Plant my hope deep down (deep down)
I work that ground
I work that ground
Till it gives me back
What I put down
[Verse 2]
I lay them seeds in a careful line
One by one in the cold red mine
Then I walk on slow, let the furrows close
Like a secret kept by the rows I chose
Milk on my hands from the barn door light
Cow breath steam in the gray first light
Bucket low, and the buckets sing
Every drop’s a small, hard thing
[Pre-Chorus]
I hear that dirt say
"Keep on, keep on"
Bread in the making
From the break of dawn
[Chorus]
I work that ground
I work that ground (I work that ground)
Plant my hope deep down
Plant my hope deep down (deep down)
I work that ground
I work that ground
Till it gives me back
What I put down
[Bridge]
Eggs in the straw, warm as fire
Hay up high in the barn rafters
I’ve been poor, I’ve been proud
Still I sing to the field right now
[Chorus]
I work that ground
I work that ground (I work that ground)
Plant my hope deep down
Plant my hope deep down (deep down)
I work that ground
I work that ground
Till it gives me back
What I put down

Dark country rap with a cappella stomp-and-clap groove, swung and dusty; verses run tight and percussive, pre-chorus drops to close-mic solo voice with breathy hums, chorus hits with stacked group chants and handclaps. Add mouth-percussion fills, fence-post count-ins, and a low chant bed between lines. Mix is dry, intimate, and rough-edged, like porch singing in a grain shed., country, rap, a cappella