"Matthew"
by John Denver
from Back Home Again


I had an uncle name of Matthew
He was his father's only boy
Born just south of Colby, Kansas
He was his mother's pride and joy

Chorus:
Yes, and joy was just a thing that he was raised on
Love was just a way to live and die
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field
Blue was just the Kansas summer sky

And all the stories that he told me 
Back when I was just a lad
All the memories that he gave me
All the good times that he had
Growin' up a Kansas farmboy
Life was mostly havin' fun
Ridin' on his daddy's shoulders 
Behind a mule, beneath the sun

Chorus

Well, I guess there were some hard times 
And I'm told some years were lean
They had a storm in '47
Twister came and stripped 'em clean
He lost the farm and lost his family
He lost the wheat, he lost his home
But he found the family bible 
And faith as solid as a stone

Chorus

So he came to live at our house
And he came to work the land
He came to ease my daddy's burdens 
And he came to be my friend
So I wrote this down for Matthew
It's for him this song is sung
Ridin' on his daddy's shoulders 
Behind a mule, beneath the sun

Chorus x2