[Spoken]
While resting the other evening by the side of the road
I saw an old farmer in the field that he just sowed
His face was all brown and wrinkled from the sun and the wind
And he was talking to the Lord just like he'd be talking to a friend.
Well sir, he said with his voice calm and quiet
Them corn tassels need stackin' I got no strenght to tie it
Had no rain in so long that the fields are mighty dusty
And it's been so unbearable hot that the kids were even gettin' fussy.
Now that grass down and the pasture it should be knee high
If we could just have a little shower Lord,
It might keep the calf from going dry
Oh but listen to me talking you'd think I wasn't grateful
Why if you didn't know me so well Lord
You'd think I was down right hateful.
You'd think I forgot about that new calf that you sent
And the money in the mail that took care of the rent
Mama's cough's better and Johnny's home from the navy
And that good Sunday dinner of chicken and dumplings and gravy.
And that new preacher you sent us Lord he's sure a fine young man
Why he's just convertin' them sinners to beat the band
Well guess I'll mosey on home now Lord
I won't take no more your time.
Guess there's plenty folks here about waitin' to ring your line
Evening to you Lord and watch us over tonight
And don't you worry about us now Lord
'Cause everything is gonna be all right...
The Farmer And The Lord
Song Meaning
Jim Reeves builds this entirely as one side of an overheard conversation — a farmer talking to God 'just like he'd be talking to a friend,' complaining about drought and worn-out hands before catching himself mid-complaint: 'listen to me talking, you'd think I wasn't grateful.' That turn is the whole song's structure; it doesn't open with thanksgiving, it arrives at thanksgiving by way of honest complaint first.
Once the farmer catches himself, he runs through an actual list rather than a vague apology — 'that new calf that you sent,' 'the money in the mail that took care of the rent,' 'mama's cough's better,' 'Johnny's home from the navy' — naming specific answered needs rather than generalized blessing, which is closer to 1 Thessalonians 5:18's instruction to 'give thanks' in the plainest, most concrete way. The closing line, 'don't you worry about us now Lord, 'cause everything is gonna be all right,' flips Matthew 6:34's warning against anxious worry back onto God himself, a small, tender joke from someone who trusts the relationship enough to reassure the one he's praying to.