Calloused hands and empty pockets

Sun comes up with a debt to pay

Rooster crows like a bill unpaid

Coffee’s black and so’s my luck today

Third shift ended, still got first shift to make

Bank man calls, says the farm’s on the line

But the bank don’t know about sweat in the pines

I got calloused hands and empty pockets

Prayers in the dust where the crops wouldn’t grow it

Diesel’s high, but my head stays low

Just keep diggin’ ‘cause it’s all I know

Hardship’s a hound that won’t leave the porch

But I’m too damn stubborn to drop the torch

So I work with calloused hands and empty pockets

Mama’s Bible’s got more tape than pages

Daddy’s truck got more miles than wages

Doctor said “rest” like rest pays in cash

While the winter wind cuts right through the ash

Sold the saddle just to fix the plow

Pride’s the only thing I can’t sell right now

I got calloused hands and empty pockets

Holes in my boots, faith in my locket

Corn didn’t rise, but the bills sure did

Still teach my boy that God ain’t quit

Hardship’s a hammer that’s forged my bones

But it ain’t yet turned my heart to stone

So I stand with calloused hands and empty pockets

They say what don’t kill you makes you strong

Must be why my back’s like iron and my years feel long

But I seen a sunrise break after a hailstorm hit

So I’ll bet my last dime that hope’s still legit

Yeah, I got calloused hands and empty pockets

But a love that the reaper can’t take to the market

Kids need shoes, and the well’s runnin’ dry

Still thank the Lord for the ground and the sky

Hardship’s a shadow that walks by my side

But it ain’t ever gonna be my guide

I’ll die with calloused hands and empty pockets

And a rich man’s soul in a poor man’s jacket

Sun goes down with a debt unpaid

But I’m still standin’ in the shade I made