BREAKING OF THE TIES

They replaced the men that worked the field
with a piece of machinery
That could plough the soil and plant the seeds 
at half the cost of me
Oh when progress arrived it swept us aside, 
it didn’t even bat an eye
Oh now my life has changed and all that remains 
is the struggle to survive the breaking of the ties
The breaking of the ties

When the work dried up we packed our bags
And made for the nearest town
But for men like us straight off the land 
There were no jobs to be found
One more night of going hungry broken up by children’s cries
Oh and if you lose your grip on life it’s a blessing in disguise 

The breaking of the ties

If I lose this fight on my headstone write
"Here's a man who can never go back home"

For so many years I’ve been left standing here
With one foot in the past
A reminder of our history down worn well-trodden paths
Now society is consuming me, the old ways have to die
I can’t break the chains of poverty no matter how I try

The breaking of the ties