From the recording The Dealer
Lyrics
Just Before He Dies
He recalls an old teapot now lying in the weeds
With rusted cans, shovels, shoes, bed mattresses ‘n springs
A broken piece of porcelain half buried in the mud
The grip of an old leather glove
He recalls the wild bouquet she gathered on the hill
Of red sumac, bittersweet, and clover from the fields
The painted leaves falling as they ran down the path
She turned, he winked, they laughed
He recalls the pump handle that broke one winter morn
The Model A they drove to town the night their son was born
The magazine he read till dawn beside a kerosene lamp
Her rose-red dress as she danced
Chorus: The old man breathes a last lone sigh
And looks home once more
Ah, just before he dies
He recalls FDR and the deep Depression days
Photographs of harvest hands, his dark hair turning grey
The troop train that came to town ‘n carried off their son
So strong, so brave, so young
He recalls a lowing heifer, a coyote’s yipping call
His wife crying in the kitchen, the clock ticking on the wall
The ol’ dog asleep in the shadows, the dying embers glow
Their son’s name chiseled in stone
(chorus)
He recalls a crescent moon high above the setting sun
An autumn evening closing round when the planting work is done
The hayloft, gunny sacks, feeding horses grain
He recalls the sound of his own name
Her voice calling through the pain
Yes, he recalls the sound of his own name…