Patches

Chapter 2. No explanation for ramblings.

Somewhere in my early adolescence a scene played out. It was amusing at the time, but it's not so amusing anymore. It's a sentimental moment in time. A memory I hope not to forget. It explains so much.

My dad and I were leaving Papa Don's (my father's father's) house in Lebanon, Missouri. I had already gotten in the car, Dad got in as a song began to play on the radio. It was an oldie. I had never heard it before and I was immediately amused by its hoakiness.

The tune was "Patches" by Clarence Carter.

Before I could burst into laughter, Dad grabbed a hold of the volume knob and turned it up while expressing, "It's 'Patches'; I haven't heard this in years." Dad then did something I'm not sure I had ever seen him do, we sat and listened to the entire song from the beginning to the end. At the time I had a very difficult time controlling the laughter, but this is how it played out...

He put his head back on the driver's seat and stared out the windshield towards the open garage door with his mind obviously somewhere else. We sat and listened to the story of Patches in silence; Dad crying as the story of survival unraveled...

~~~~~~~
Patches
by Clarence Carter

I was born and raised down in Alabama on a farm way back up in the woods. I was so ragged the folks used to call me "Patches". Papa used to tease me about it, 'cause deep down inside he was hurt 'cause he'd done all he could.

My papa was a great old man
I can see him with a shovel in his hand
See, education he never had
He did wonders when the times got bad
The little money from the crops he raised
Barely paid the bills we made
Oh, life had kicked him
Down to the ground
When he tried to get up
Life would kick him back down
One day papa called me
To his dyin' bed
Put his hand on my shoulders
Then in tears he said,

"Patches I'm depending on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you."

Two days later papa passed away
And I became a man that day
So I told mama I was gonna quit school
But she said that was Daddy's strictest rule
So every morning before I went to school
I fed the chickens and I chopped wood too
Sometimes I felt that I couldn't go on
I wanted to leave, just run away from home
But I would remember what my daddy said
With tears in his eyes on his dyin' bed
He said,

"Patches I'm depending on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you."

Then one day a strong wind came
And washed all the crops away
And at the age of thirteen
I thought I was carrying the whole weight
Of the world on my shoulders
But you know mama know what I was going through
'Cause everyday I had to work the fields
'Cause that's the only way
We got our meals
See, I was the oldest of the family
And everybody else depended on me
Every night I heard my mama pray,
"Lord, give him strength to make another day!"

Now the years have passed
And everybody's grown
Mama's been livin'
In a brand new home
Lord knows it took
A lot of sweat and tears
And my daddy's voice
To help us through the years
He said,

"Patches I'm depending on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you."
~~~~~~~~

So, barring any mistakes, that's how the song went. Now, when I hear the song I too tear up. My dad worked on farms growing up and understood the hardships young Patches went through; I myself tear up because it reminds me of my father and the hardships he endured. He lived a life with darkness all around him; but despite what some people would say, he was a good man. A devout, passionate Christian. An almost flawless father.

Thanks dad for everything and thanks also for our moment with Patches. The song is forever a part of my life's soundtrack. 

 

Below is a link to the song--I did not put the lame video together.  I'm way better than that.

www.youtube.com/watch