Ten Feet Back Lyrics

It took sickness, a brush with death

A ten-year drought, down on his homestead

To pull his hands away from that plow

He never held one hand out

No welfare checks, no he was too proud

He just wanted to be his own man and do what he knew how

Politicians, a greedy band

Briefcase cowboys with their sticky hands

Raped a million acres across the land

He fought hard, he fought strong, did everything

Right, when everything went wrong

It was all his family could stand

You're a prune picker, you're a city slicker

You ain't never coming back

But he was born and raised in the American way

He can't turn his back on that

As the day is long, He'll be coming home

He gonna reclaim his past

If you don't get out of his way

He'll knock you ten feet back

The paper said go west young man

They need hard workers so he made his plans

But when he left he felt a hot breath down his back

From people he once knew and loved

they said "you're never gonna rise above"

He said man if you don't know me

You don't know jack

You're a prune picker, you're a city slicker

You ain't never coming back

But he was born and raised in the American way

He can't turn his back on that

As the day is long, He'll be coming home

He gonna reclaim his past

If you don't get out of his way,

He'll knock you ten feet back

When he arrived to that new land

He met a man who put a hammer in his hand

Who said "Boy sure you can work like nobody can"

After thirty years he did well

Still thinking how his home folks gave him hell

Now it's time to go back, and finish what he planned

As he walked off that big jet plane

He said man things have surely changed

But I guess some things will just have to stay same

You better turn around he's back again

He's a prune picker and a city slicker

He ain't never coming back

He was born and raised in the American way

He can't turn his back on that

As the day is long, He'll be coming home

He gonna reclaim his past

If you don't get out of his way

He'll knock you ten feet back

If you don't get out of his way

He'll knock you ten feet back