Twas a Prairie Life

There are clouds on the horizon Winds are blowing in from the east The washing's still out on the line And the Sunday's best is all creased The cows are waiting on their feed For the prairie grass in long gone We can see they're growing restless And they'll need milking come the dawn The eldest now talks of college It's a doctor he wants to be From the time he was ten years old He would say "farming's not for me" Mary passed away last August The youngster was thrown from her horse Her memory is precious Though we live with the remorse The winter is fast approaching Now's the time to stockpile supplies We'll begin gathering those things On which the whole family relies Eventually spring will come As the cycle of life renews Calves will be at their mother's side As, too, spring lambs to the ewes Even though I love this hard land I know one day I will retire I hope I get a chance to live A long time before I expire I'll open the gates, set herds free And I'll let the land go its way Since there's no one to follow on This farm belongs to yesterday