Hollis Brown lived in a shack far from the town
Hollis Brown lived in a shack far from the town
With his wife,
five children, under a roof of bad tiles
The life is so hard,
there are no longer the words to say
The life is so hard,
there are no longer the words to say
Your kids are so hungry
it’s made them lose their smiles
The rats eat your flour,
they’ve poisoned the well
The rats have eaten your flour
and poisoned the well
Even the sky means you can’t count on it
You ask the Lord all the same,
send me some help
You ask the Lord all the same,
send me some help
But no one is listening,
and no one comes running
It whistles between the boards,
it’s as cold as outdoors
It whistles between the boards,
it’s as cold as outdoors
Clutching at your sleeves,
none of the children sleep
You wife curses you and the rain pierces the roof
You wife curses you and the rain pierces the roof
your eyes fix on the rifle hanging on the wall
In the wild lands all about,
you hear a dog howl
In the wild lands all about,
you hear a dog howl
Your eyes fix on the rifle
that you hold in your hand
Seven gunshots rang out
and then it was silent
Seven gunshots rang out
and then it was silent
In the paper the following day
seven births are announced