Just the Chair
by Bill Leyden
About this track
A Midwestern farmer moves through a difficult growing season knowing his ground, his weather and his crop well enough to read what each day is giving him. Thoughts of the woman he loves move through those calculations just as naturally. Only on a late harvest pass do we understand why: for a moment, he sees her sitting where she used to watch him work. By the time the combine comes around again, there's just the chair. lyrics [VERSE 1] May stayed wet too long. Lost the low ground near the creek. Worked it up and planted it again. You always liked that field. [VERSE 2] By July the corn was firing. Too early on the south eighty. Could smell rain across the county. We never got a drop. [CHORUS] I know what an inch would do. I know what this ground can take. I know you loved me. I loved you too. Never had to think about that. [VERSE 3] August gave us half an inch. Beans greened up almost overnight. Corn held on along the north side. Better stand than I expected. [BREAK] [VERSE 4] October, twenty-two percent. Another day should bring it down. West field running better than expected. Sun maybe an hour from gone. [CHORUS] There's weather north of here. Won't reach us before dark. I was thinking how you used to sit And watch me from the edge. [OUTRO] Last pass toward the road. Dust hanging behind me. There you were. In that chair At the end of the field. I turned around. Header down. One more pass. Looked up. Just the chair.