There is trouble in the darksome sky, he saw it as a boy
From great-grandad's covered wagon
from the crux of Illinois
For the promise of the daffodils amongst the hard limestone
They carved the die of fortune out of buffalo bones


They all wandered o'er the salty seas
the prairies wide and more
Just to make a foolish man like me
that's darkenin' your door
If the Great Depression made us, therе is no need to despair
I won't waste a single momеnt
of the work that brought us here

From the needle-prickin' mothers
who were never taught to read
To the barefoot hungry soldiers that enlisted at sixteen
Oh in my dumb debasement, I still find great relief
That on the lam and on the dole they counted themselves free

I have hustled towards the overpass
to sleep there in the rain
I have settled with my pocketknife
and carved out all their names
If the Great Depression made us
there is no need to despair
I won't waste a single moment of the work
that brought me here

From the jailhouse on the border
to the hold beneath the ship
To the weed-fields out in Oregon
to the first night that we kissed
From the dungeon of the coalmine
to the brightest factory floor
To win our kin a better life is still worth dying for

I still cry my eyes out every time
I dare to touch the spirit
And if this is our small lot in life
I'll love it like I mean it
The blood is strong with victory that brought us our despair
I won't waste a single moment of the love that's buried here

If the great depression made us, there is no need to despair
I won't waste a single moment
of the love that brought me here