James McMurtry
Six-Year Drought
[Verse 1]
I guess you had your reasons
For the way you used to be
Don't why I couldn't please you
You just never had much faith in me

[Verse 2]
There's fine dust in the tire ruts now
Along the old feed road
They're workin' on a six-year drought
Just so you know

[Chorus]
I can pull my weight, I can hold my own
I can sling that blade all summer long
'Til the thistles fall and the pastures clear
And the work's all done for another year
I can hold my own

[Verse 3]
The world was like a distant storm
I could feel it on the breeze
But it made so little difference here
Just a whisper in the trees

[Verse 4]
Mending fence for room and board
Was mostly all I'd done
For I was still a prisoner here
In 1961
[Chorus]
I can pull my weight, I can hold my own
I can sling that blade all summer long
'Til the thistles fall and the pastures clear
And the work's all done for another year
I can hold my own

[Verse 5]
The sucker rod on the windmill creaks
Now and then, you hear a car
There's thunderheads across the southern sky
But they won't get this far

[Verse 6]
There's red ants by the graveyard gate
They're nearly all that moves
And they carry on despite this heat
I bet you'd tell me what that proves

[Verse 7]
There's fine dust in the tire ruts now
The creek no longer runs
But I am just a visitor here
The drought won't hurt me none