Peddlin' Poppies

My father was the village blacksmith
He raised me up to learn the trade
But this broken body I came back with
Left me livin' on the soldier's aid
I've been sittin' at the legion
Every fall since forty-nine
Peddlin' poppies and feedin' pigeons
And nursing this old wound of mine

chorus:
But all the years of toil and trouble
Ever taller though they climb
Will be mowed down into brown stubble
Like golden ears at harvest time

Once a train ran through this valley
Sure as clockwork twice a day
Now there's just a trail of trucks and timber
And money movin' the other way
Back of here there ran a river
Pure as any that did flow
When I was young, but now I shiver
What's in there now, God only knows

chorus

My house is gone, my family scattered
Old friends are all in the grave
Every memory that ever mattered
There ain't a one that a man can save
Seems the highway just gets bigger
Now they're tearing all the orchards down
It's more than one old man can figger
What's left to love in my home town

chorus

Michael Glover requests this one every time. He's even learned it on the piano.
There is no greater compliment than someone else playing one of my songs.