A daughter of a bigoted southerner marries a black man and is estranged from her father.
folk
country
stage
bluegrass
austin
fort worth
harris
Story behind the song
This is a song about race relations in the South starting with the death of Martin Luther King in April of 1968 and ending with the fall of Saigon in 1975. A rebellious young lady learns to forgive her father for being a bigot. A father learns to to love his grandson and to stop fighting the Civil War.
This song was written for EmmyLou Harris but is sung in third person because I am not female.
Lyrics
Only love survives
Exclusively for Emmy Lou Harris
© 2006 by Samuel Joseph Harris
(V1) Daddy was the son of a Rebel’s son but his world was dying fast
With the Stars and Bars stuck in the front yard and his head stuck in the past
When I walked home with a black man’s son
with his arm around my waist
Daddy stopped us in the driveway and slapped me in the face
(PC) I said “Daddy, that was senseless
They just shot Martin down in Memphis”*
(Ch) A rebels born when a hero dies
I just stood in the Dixie rain and cried
Oh, It took me years to realize……
Only love survives
(V2) Daddy never spoke another word after I moved away
When I married that young black man there was nothing left to say
We planned to move to Baton Rouge but he was sent to Viet Nam
And when the stars and stripes lit up the night, I knew that he was gone **
(PC) The day that Neil walked on the moon,***
I felt the baby move
(Ch) Somebody’s born, somebody dies
I just stared at the Dixie moon and cried
Oh, It took me years to realize….
Only love survives
(Bridge) Now I wonder where the years have gone
But this old world just keeps moving on
I’m moving on
……instrumental…
(V3) I took my little boy to see my daddy on our way to Birmingham
My son said, “Are you my grandpa” and Daddy said, “Yes I am”
“I’m just a stubborn old rebel son, but your momma’s a rebel too”
And when he squeezed that little brown hand
Our Civil War was through
(PC) On the day that Saigon fell,****
Daddy said his last farewell
(Ch) A spirits born when a rebel dies
I just stood in the Dixie rain and cried
It took me years to realize
Only Love survives
Only Love survives
* April 4, 1968 **July 4 1969 ***July 20, 1969 ****April 30, 1975