STANDING ON HARD GROUND (OUTLAW COUNTRY) - Levi Stoker
Drove the shovel down into the red clay soil
Another dry summer of unblessed toil
Iron blade bounced right off the limestone bed
Sparks flying up where the crops turned dead
The weather man talked about a shower in the west
While the sun beat down like a weight on my chest
I done buried three seasons in this stubborn lot
Giving everything I had to the ground I bought
Hands cramped up when the evening comes on
Trying to find a harvest before the strength is gone
When the earth won't yield and the sky won't break
You count up the pieces that a man can make
Look the horizon straight in the eye
Refusing to break while the days go by
Yeah, I'm standing on hard ground
Fighting for my life
Walking through the valley of the stone and the knife
They can choke out the river, burn down the grain
But they can't wash the soul out of this red dirt stain
I was born in the drought
I was raised in the heat
With too much heart to let the dirt wind complete
Oh, it's a long tough road where the shadows surround
But I'm taking my stand on hard ground
Met an old farmer at the feed store gate
Said the land remembers every single man's fate
It tests your metal and it tests your soul
To see if you're iron or a piece of coal
I went back home to my shotgun place
Washed the sweat and the dust right off my face
My woman reached out, held my work-torn hand
And reminded me why I'm fighting for this land
Yeah, I'm standing on hard ground
Fighting for my life
Walking through the valley of the stone and the knife
They can choke out the river, burn down the grain
But they can't wash the soul out of this red dirt stain
I was born in the drought
I was raised in the heat
With too much heart to let the dirt wind complete
Oh, it's a long tough road where the shadows surround
But I'm taking my stand on hard ground
Break the shovel, strike the rock
You can't stop a man when he turns that lock
Let the roots run deep through the stone and clay
I'm gonna be here at the break of day
Yeah, I'm standing on hard ground
Fighting for my life
Walking through the valley of the stone and the knife
They can choke out the river, burn down the grain
But they can't wash the soul out of this red dirt stain
I was born in the drought
I was raised in the heat
With too much heart to let the dirt wind complete
Oh, it's a long tough road where the shadows surround
But I'm taking my stand on hard ground
