What is your favorite song that reminds you of homesteading?

Been listening to a YouTube playlist by a signer I really like and one my favorite songs came up. It really reminds me of homesteading and working the land. The song is Another Time by Dougie MacLean - I was introduced to his music while living in England and never stopped listening

Do you have a song that reminds you of homesteading or being out working the land? Please comment and share it below so we can all enjoy the music.

Spent part of the morning pulling stunted okra and eggplants that didnt make it. At one point found myself humming Another One Bites the Dust by Queen.  With all the extra rain this year it seems to be part of my garden theme...

I always think of permies when I hear 'Ukiah' by the Doobie Brothers



People rushin' everywhere
If they'd only slow down once they might find something there
Green trees and timber land
People workin' with their hands
For sure a different way to live
Gonna keep my cabin at hand
Retreat and live off the land
All around Ukiah, woah

Gotta be Thank God I'm a Country Boy. Or girl.

These crustpunk bluegrass kids said it true, for those of us who think of homesteading as resistance.

For me at least...I can't pretend to speak for anyone ok



"There's a necessary sadness and a necessary pain
A nervous isolation and a misery today
We suffer all the symptoms that they might choose to claim
Their meddling involvement; their medical disdain
I’ll try to save the sound of it, the words bespake unspoken
Where every word’s a poem, and every poem’s golden
But if you think its wrong or if you think its over
Its just a law of gravity and laws they must be broken

I hate them and I hate us and I hate me and we hate them
So try to keep it conflict but it always sounds the same
We talk our trash we cut us down we even say our names
We beat us, the cops and break their windowpanes
I want to bring destruction to this thing we call our life
This engineered facsimile of what we’ve been deprived
But someones always failed at what I try to try
And everytime I make a plan I want to stay inside

Past is in the afterlife the present’s overrun
We’re not waiting for tomorrow that's just never gonna come
Whether waiting for the hangings or waiting to be hanged
We’ll just hang around courtyard kicking dust against the rain
I want to say I’ve had it, and fuck what might have been
I want to say the battle’s done and we just couldn't win
That we could not prevail verse the world we’ve been given
I didn't just not ask for this, I wasn't asked permission

The grey will stay until the day we find a way to send it all away
The way to win this war is battle asymmetrical
This fight will take the lives the hearts and minds of many many brave people"

This one


Arlo Guthrie - The Garden Song

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground

Inch by inch, row by row
Please bless these seeds I sow
Please keep them safe below
'Til the rain comes tumbling down

Pullin' weeds and pickin' stones
We are made of dreams and bones
Need a place to call my own
'Cause the time is close at hand

Grain for grain, sun and rain
Find my way in nature's chain
Till my body and my brain
Tell the music of the land

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground

Plant your rows straight and long
Season with a prayer and song
Mother Earth will make you strong
If you give her loving care

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground

Slug by slug, weed by weed
Boy this garden's got me t'd
All the insects come to feed
On my tomato plants

Sunburt face, skined up knees
The kitchen's chocked with zucchinis
I'm shopping at the A&P's
Next time I get the chance

Old crow watching from a tree
He's got his hungry eye on me
In my garden I'm as free
As that feathered thief up there

Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground

Home grown.....


Homegrown's all right with me.
Homegrown is the way it should be.
Homegrown is a good thing.
Plant that bell and let it ring.

The sun comes up in the morning,
Shines that light around.
One day, without no warning,
Things start jumping up from the ground.

Well, homegrown's all right with me.
Homegrown is the way it should be.
Homegrown is a good thing.
Plant that bell and let it ring.

The only two that come to mind are the theme songs to Little House on the Prairie, and Bonanza. Not quite what you were looking for I suppose.

Be Free by Loggins and Messina

I can see the world's changing,
I can see it re-arranging,
Happening before my very eyes.
Everywhere the cements growing,
In the street the traffic's flowing,
Ruining the air up in the skys,
Is no surprise.
I want to get away and live my life,
In the rivers and trees,
I want to spend the days making wine and be free,
Be free (Be free, be free)
I can hear the cities calling,
Come on down i can feel you falling,
Happening for all of us to see.
See the deepening cement hollow,
Reaching out for those who follow,
hunkering on far too many lies,
Its no surprise.
I want to get away and live my life,
In the rivers and trees,
I want to spend my days making wine,
And be free (be free, be free) and be free.
From the winds so far away,
Ive had an inner vision,
Ive seen the universe unfold.
I can hear the school bell ringing,
From the yard the children singing,
Merily life is but a dream.
In the street there go the brothers,
Selling slow and ship to others,
Aiding those whos songs have turned to crys,
Is no surprise.
I want to get away and live my life,
In the rivers and trees,
I want to spend my days making wine,
And be free, and be free, and be free(be freee...)
Songwriters: Jim Messina
Be Free lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

The Field Behind the Plow
Composed by Stan Rogers | © Fogarty’s Cove Music

Watch the field behind the plow turn to straight dark rows
Feel the trickle in your clothes, blow the dusk cake from your nose
And hear the tractor’s steady roar, O you can’t stop now
There’s a quarter section more or less to go

And it figures that the rain takes it’s own sweet time
You can watch it come for miles, but you guess you’ve got a while
Ease the throttle out a hair, every rod’s a gain
There’s victory in every quarter mile

Poor old Kuzyk down the road
The heartache, hail and hoppers got him down
He gave it up and went to town
And Emmett Pierce, the other day took a heart attack and died at 42
You could see it comin’ on, ‘cuz he worked as hard as you

Well in an hour, maybe more, you’ll be wet clear through
The air is cooler now, pull your hat brim further down
And watch the field behind the plow turn to straight dark rows
Put another season’s promise in the ground

And if the harvest’s any good, the money might just cover all the loans
You’ve mortgaged all you own
Buy the kids a winter coat, take the wife back east for Christmas if you can
All summer she hangs on when you’re so tied to the land

For the good times come and go, but at least there’s rain
So this won’t be barren ground when September comes around
And watch the field behind the plow turn to straight dark rows
Put another season’s promise in the ground
Watch the field behind the plow, turn to straight rows
Put another season’s promise in the ground

I like this song.  It's fairly recent but it reminds me songs that were being released during the "back to the land" movement of the late 60's and early 70's.  On edit: it has the ring of familiarity, so I wonder if I didn't hear it long ago.  This group performs the songs of other songwriters sometimes.



The Middle of Nowhere by Urban Blue

I'll build you a house by the bend in the river
Where the cool muddy waters turn to white
We'll walk under trees that run from our meadow
And we'll count a billion stars each night.

I'll buy you a horse we can ride together
Faster than the western winds
Where the full moon bears witness to a love that is growing
Deeper than the desert sands.

Life was hard and cold in the city
When you gotta go, you gotta go
Livin' out here so wild and pretty
In the middle of nowhere, but never alone.

Long frozen nights spent huddled together
Sometimes we thought we'd die
Now we spend our days watching our children
Running barefoot under endless skies.

Life was hard and cold in the city
When you gotta go, you gotta go
Livin' out here so wild and pretty
In the middle of nowhere, but never alone.

(repeat last verse)

Sadly, yes. As a lifetime farmer I have seen so many farm-neighbors and family fail that I often think about the song..."Rain on the Scarecrow (blood on the plow) by John Mellencamp. In my family alone, 4 of 5 dairy farms have failed. The song brings a tear to my eye sometimes on all that has been lost here.

Along the same lines as before, Jethro Tull's "Farm on the Freeway" is another sad song that represents so many lost farms as well. If there seems to be a theme, it is because farming is so tough to pull off, taking a VERY sharp pencil.

But on a better front, there are good times being a farmer as well, and here on this hill, when a blizzard blows in, a Gale or a Hurricane the song, "Riding the Storm Out" by REO Speed Wagon resounds with me as well.

Note: Despite being a next-generational farmer, you might have noted that there is not ONE country song I can relate to in terms of homesteading or farming. I would rather listen to static then country music!

A Country Boy Can Survive - Hank Williams Jr.

The Ballad of Jeremiah Johnson

Though the idea of song specific to homesteading come to my mind. However, the Ballad of Jeremiah Jonson does jump right to mind for me because the theme of the song is the idea that things don’t turn out like we originally plan. If that’s not relevant to homesteading, I don’t know what is.

Can homesteading be lonely? Sure, like the mountain man.
Should life have been different so we didn’t want to homestead? Of course.
Do we leave things behind to homestead? You bet we do.

“The story doesn’t always go the way you had in mind.
Jeremiah’s story was that kind.”

Enjoy

John Williamson pretty much sums up Aussie country living:

My mom turned me on to this lovely song - she says it reminds her of me and my life.

https://cassandrarobertson.com/track/1172557/sister-lee

SISTER LEE

She walked into her garden
Feet sink in rain drenched earth
Soil and seed its all she needs
She’ll feed her family from this dirt

I watch her from the window
Through flowers on the sill
She knows the planting timing
When to sow and when to till

She’s a woman, she’s a child
Her life reflects her hearts desire
She’s everything I could ever want to be
She’s a mother, a friend, she’s my sister Lee

She smiles at those she meets
In line waiting patiently
New chickens for the farm
And new feed to feed them on

I see her car coming up the road
We all welcome her home
Unload get the dinner going
Work’s never done and she’s never alone

She’s a woman, she’s a child
Her life reflects her hearts desire
She’s everything I could ever want to be
She’s a lover, a friend, she’s my sister Lee

She carries her child in her arms
Hair falls across her cheek
As the sun deepens its colors
She sings him to sleep

Night falls and her work is done
A smile curves her lips
To sleep in arms of lover she gives thanks
For the life she leads

She’s a woman, she’s a child
Her life reflects her hearts desire
She’s everything I could ever want to be
She’s a mother a friend she’s my sister Lee

She always does her best
At everything she attempts
She loves all her life
And tries to live it right

When I was in Kenya, I saw many very poor, rural people scrambling to make a buck, selling their wares on the side of the road. It reminded me of the Stones song,  Salt of the Earth.

This one has been reworked several times, by Joan Baez, Julie Andrews and others. Here's the original lyrics that Mick and Keith put together in 1968
..........
Rolling Stones – Salt Of The Earth Lyrics
M. jagger/k. richards)

Lets drink to the hard working people
Lets drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Lets drink to the salt of the earth

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth

And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
In fact, they look so strange

Raise your glass to the hard working people
Lets drink to the uncounted heads
Lets think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead

Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio

And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
Or don't they look so strange

Lets drink to the hard working people
Lets think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Lets drink to the salt of the earth

Lets drink to the hard working people
Lets drink to the salt of the earth
Lets drink to the two thousand million
Lets think of the humble of birth
..............
I've seen many abandoned homesteads, that are slowly crumbling back to the Earth. It reminded me of another of their songs , from the 70s
.........
Time Waits for No One ...
The Rolling Stones

Yes, star crossed in pleasure the stream flows on by
Yes, as we're sated in leisure, we watch it fly
And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
Time can tear down a building or destroy a woman's face
Hours are like diamonds, don't let them waste
Time waits for no one, no favours has he
Time waits for no one, and he won't wait for me
Men, they build towers to their passing yes, to their fame everlasting
Here he comes chopping and reaping, hear him laugh at their cheating
And time waits for no man, and it won't wait for me
Yes, time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
Drink in your summer, gather your corn
The dreams of the night time will vanish by dawn
And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
No no no, not for me....

These may not be what you're looking for exactly, but they work for me.

John Denver - Country Roads  

Tim McGraw - Where the Green Grass Grows  

I know you can technically homestead anywhere but I always associate homesteading with the country, and I hated living in the city when I was a kid (except for pizza delivery, that I loved).

"We Shall Overcome" by Nahko Bear and Medicine for the People

I find pretty much all of their music is about being interconnected with nature,  homesteading, sustainability, ect... This song in particular spoke to me when I read your post and this thread.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4QjyfkExlfg

"Got pennies in my pockets, but I'm picking fresh fruits
Yeah, whoa
Cause I live in a land of abundance
Where the rain off my roof is sacred and precious
And now we get to work and can be found riding horses
And normally with the courage that we like to front
Bringin' it back to the land when there was food to hunt"

I found sheet music to an old song.... it was called "Ten Miles To Town". I don't have the lyrics to it right now but it's a good song that speaks to homesteading. Not available on Google from what I have seen!!!

Can't say it's my favorite song or even directly homestead specific but was listening to some random music last night & as this was playing it caught my ear as seeming to be about the process of becoming a permie.




High Hopes
Pink Floyd

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begin

Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The night of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There's a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road we've been so many time

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

Tripped over a song I had forgotten, it's on my playlist now :)
Three Dog Night- Out in the Country


Whenever I need to leave it all behind
Or feel the need to get away
I find a quiet place, far from the human race
Out in the country

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

Whenever I feel them closing in on me
Or need a bit of room to move
When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last
Out in the country

Before the breathin' air is gone
Before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run
I stand alone and take back somethin' worth rememberin'

:)

Gir bot sent me here,

So this one is for Gir bot

About homesteading vs living in the city: Mother Mother - Dirty Town

This one is more about the movement and the greater picture: Rising Appalachia - Resilient  

https://youtu.be/yJq8e1mD3B4

When the oil stops, everything stops, nothing left in the fountain
Nobody wants paper money son, so you just well stop countin'
Can you break the horse, can you light the fire, what's that I beg your pardon
You best start thinking where food comes from and I hope you tend a good garden

Getting down on the mountain, getting down on the mountain

Read more: Corb Lund - Gettin' Down On The Mountain Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Travis Johnson wrote:Sadly, yes. As a lifetime farmer I have seen so many farm-neighbors and family fail that I often think about the song..."Rain on the Scarecrow (blood on the plow) by John Mellencamp. In my family alone, 4 of 5 dairy farms have failed. The song brings a tear to my eye sometimes on all that has been lost here.

Wow, that was powerful. I empathize with your loss. The quotes before the song were an odd throw back to when we could talk common sense without censorship.

Good love song about starting a life/home together - in my mind, that means a homestead.

Railroad Earth - The Good Life

I drove my tractor through your haystack last night
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
I threw me pitch fork at your dog to keep quiet
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
Now somethin's tellin' me, that you'm avoidin' me
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
Come on now darlin' you got somethin' I need

Cos I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key
Come on now let's get together in perfect harmony
Oh I got 20 acres and you got 43
Now I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key

She made I laugh, haha

I'll stick by you I'll give you all that ya need
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
We'll have twins and triplets I'm a man built for speed
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
And you know I'll love ya darlin' so give me your hand
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
But the thing I want the most is all the acres of land

'Cause I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key
Come on now let's get together in perfect harmony
I got 20 acres and you got 43
Now I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key

Phwoar, she's a lovely bit of stuff 'n' all

For seven long years I've been alone in this place
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
Pigs sleep in the kitchen, it's a proper disgrace
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
Now if I cleaned it up would ya change our mind
(Ooh ar ooh ar)
I'll give up drinkin' scrumpy and that lager and lime

'Cause I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key
Come on now, let's get together in perfect harmony
I got 20 acres and you got 43
Now I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key

Who loves ya baby, HA

Weren't we a grand couple at that last wurzel dance
I wore brand new gaiters and me corduroy pants
In your new sunday dress with your perfume smellin' grand
We had our photos taken, us holding hands

Now I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key
Now that we'm both past our 50s I think that you and me
Should stop this galivanting and will you marry me
'Cause I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key

Arrr, you're a fine lookin' woman and I can't wait to get me hands on your land!

The weather shifted hard here, was 86 yesterday, nasty cold front hit this morning, dropped us 20 degrees in about 2 hours. It's now 43, with a wind chill down to 31, and bites and feels like winter. My tomatoes are covered for the night. And my head is singing Rod Stewart's Mandolin Wind...

In 1982 I discovered that the bass line from Alan Parson's Psychobabble Rap has the perfect tempo for splitting wood with a maul.


For spiritual guidance, nothing beats Larry Groce's Junk Food Junkie:

You know I love that organic cooking
I always ask for more
And they call me Mr. Natural
On down to the health food store

I only eat good sea salt
White sugar dont touch my lips
And my friends is always
Begging me to take them
On macrobiotic trips
Yes, they are

Oh, but at night I take out my strongbox
That I keep under lock and key
And I take it off to my closet
Where nobody else can see

I open that door so slowly
Take a peek up north and south
Then I pull out a Hostess Twinkie
And I pop it in my mouth

Yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good Lord have pity on me

Well, at lunchtime
You can always find me
At the Whole Earth Vitamin Bar
Just sucking on my plain white yogurt
From my hand thrown pottery jar

And sip a little hand pressed cider
With a carrot stick for dessert
And wiping my face in the natural way
On the sleeve of my peasant shirt
Oh, yeah

Ah, but when that clock strikes midnight
And I'm all by myself
I work that combination
On my secret hideaway shelf

And I pull out some Fritos corn chips
Dr. Pepper and an Ole Moon Pie
Then I sit back in glorious expectation
Of a genuine junk food high

Oh yeah, in the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good Lord have pity on me

My friends down at the commune
They think I'm pretty neat
I don't know nothing about arts and crafts
But I give 'em all something to eat

I'm a friend to old Euell Gibbons
And I only eat homegrown spice
I got a John Keats autographed Grecian urn
Filled up with my brown rice
Yes, I do

Oh, but folks lately I have been spotted
With a Big Mac on my breath
Stumbling into a Colonel Sanders
With a face as white as death

I'm afraid someday they'll find me
Just stretched out on my bed
With a handful of Pringles Potato Chips
And a Ding Dong by my head

In the daytime I'm Mr. Natural
Just as healthy as I can be
But at night I'm a junk food junkie
Good Lord have pity on me

Elton John's  Yellow Brick Road.

This week we are experiencing unprecedented nice weather in the 60s (F).  True to form for 2020, however, the snow and cold arrived in October before Halloween.  

Staring out at the blanket of snow, I knew  "....the winds of November came early".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A

More about farmers than permaculturists, but the sentiment is the same.

Rough English translation:

Set your hand to the plow
In the sun you will toil
Because the farmer and his rudder blade
Never get tired

Chorus:
Because the farmer and his blade never get tired of plowing
When he stands, he stands stronger than a rock
When you put chains around his language
The devil come and get you
Leave his land alone
You're playing with a bomb's fuse

Keep plowing on young farmer
Nobody will come and take your land
Because the farmer and his blade never tire

Plant your corn, breed your cattle
You need not fear evil men
Because the farmer and his blade will never tire

With one eye on the weather
And his hand on his gun
The Boer will never tire

Call of the wild chris ledoux

https://youtu.be/fpdQs7FnMBc