Patches Songtext
von George Jones

I was born and raised down in Alabama
On a farm way back up in the woods
Why I was so ragged folks used to call me Patches
Papa used to tease me about it
But deep down inside dad was hurtin′, 'cause he done the best he could

My papa was a great old man, I can see him with a shovel in his hand
Education that he never had, but he did wonders when the times got bad
The little money from the crops we raised
Barely paid the bills we made

Oh, life had whipped him down to the ground
When he tried to get up life would kick him back down
On the day papa called me to his dyin′ bed
Placed his hand on my shoulder and in tears he said
"Patches, I'm depending on you son to pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you"


Two days later papa passed away
And I became a man that day
Everyday I had to work the fields
′Cause that′s the only way we got our meals
See, I was the oldest of the family and everybody was depending on me

Long years have passed and everybody's grown
Mamas been living in a brand new home
Lord knows it took a lot of sweat and tears
And my daddy′s voice to help us through the years
He said "Patches, I'm depending on you son to pull the family through
My son, it′s all left up to you"

Daddy had been sick for a long time, flat on his back
Every evening after we'd finished our chores and eat our dinner
We′d all go into papa's room to cheer him up a little
And this particular day, Dad was in good spirits
Sitting on the side of the bed telling mama how good she looked
When all of a sudden papa had a pain in his chest
I was too young to understand, talking about a heart attack here
Mama rushed us all out of the room into the hallway
About ten minutes later she came out with tears in her eyes
She called out to me, "Patches, Patches get in here boy, your daddy want to see you"


I went running into papa's room, there papa laid
Daddy had tears in his eyes, I knew something was wrong
′Cause daddy was a poor man but all of my life he′d been a proud man
I knelt down on one knee beside the bed
Papa put his hand on my shoulder
He said, "Patches, Patches boy, the hammer of life done beat
Your papa down to the ground and I ain't got nobody to turn to
To take care of mama and the young′un
So, what I want you to do is promise me son is that
You're gonna do your best to help your mama as much as you can"

I said, "Papa, I′m gonna do my best"
But little did I know then like I know now
That trying to climb life's mountain
Searching for a top where there ain′t no top, sometimes you find yourself frustrated, lazy
But every time I feel like I can't live my life like I want to
My mind goes back to that day when I see those tears in my daddy's eyes
But most of all I remember his words
"Patches, I′m depending on you boy"
Every time I feel like giving up I hear his voice
"Patches, Patches, Patches, Patches"

"I′m depending on you son
I tried to do my best, it's up to you to do the rest
Patches, I′m depending on you son
I've tried to do my best, it′s up to you to do the rest
Patches, I'm depending on you son to pull the family through
My son, it′s all left up to you"

(Patches, I'm depending on you son
I tried to do my best, it's up to you to do the rest)
(Patches, I′m depending on you son to pull the family through
My son, it′s all left up to you)
(Patches, I'm depending on you son
I tried to do my best, it′s up to you to do the rest)
(Patches, I'm depending on you son to pull the family through
My son, it′s all left up to you)
(Patches, I'm depending on you son
I tried to do my best, it′s up to you to do the rest)