WATER & DIRT - LYRICS

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HOPE WHEN I SING

She sits alone in a restaurant wond'rin' what went wrong
She sees a young couple praying and it stirs in her a song
She thinks about the old days and somehow....
the music makes her strong

Now they were battered and bloody hiding in church pews
crying out for their freedom, not knowing what to do
Then they heard a small voice saying...we shall overcome
and they left there singing...

Chorus:
There's hope in the morning, hope in the spring
hope in the smile that you bring
Through all of the heartache and all of the change
there is hope when I sing

Some days I just see the tunnel with no trace of light
and I dwell on my troubles instead of what is right
But deep in the hist'ry, somewhere...I hear this melody
It starts me singing...

Bridge: There is nothing in life that can take it away
Nothing death can ever erase
It's just something that I know in my heart
that keeps me singing...


Larry Olson & Karol Baer ©1999 Dakota Road Music

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HE WAS A FARMER

He arrived in '26
another curious country kid
he started young on the threshing run
learned to work 'til the work was done
At 19 he was off to war
he left behind the fields and chores
but when the day of peace would come
he knew where there was work to be done

Through the decades he would toil
fixing things and tilling soil
raising childen, raising corn
weathering all kinds of storms
When I was born in '63
He was busy harvesting
but he said when he got done
he'd go on into town and see his new son

Chorus:
He was a farmer, that's what he knew
He was a farmer and a good one too

Thinkin' back to '76
it wouldn't rain, it wouldn't spit
When the time for harvest came
there was nothing there but pain
Though he loved the land and sky
he never liked scratching by
but he had faith, growing grain
hopin' for a price and prayin' for rain

There was always food on the table
and a roof over head
and he saved a tractor in the quonset
to cover any final debt.......he gave all he had


Larry Olson ©2002 Dakota Road Music

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MAY LOVE RISE ABOVE

The beauty and the bloodshed runs deep and wide
from the center of the city to the rolling countryside
The healing and the suffering runs far and near
there is hope for each tomorrow but still so many fears

Chorus:
Oh may love rise above the mountains
may love rise above the plains
may love rise above the hatred
may love rise above all the pain
rise above it all, oh.....
rise above it all, oh.....

The courage and the caution, it fills the air
from the children on the playground to the woman on the stairs
There's a calm upon the water but down below
oh the anxious hearts are beating, will this peace ever hold


The promise and the passion rings loud and strong
as a generation searches for a freedom loving song
Still the memories are haunting, will they block the way
what can bring us all together to start a brand new day


Larry Olson ©2005 Dakota Road Music

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ALL THOSE DAYS & NIGHTS

He was twenty-seven, she was twenty two
her small town curls, his farm boy shoes
falling together, heals over head
in July of '53 their wedding vows were said

Chorus:
Now for over eighteen thousand days and nights
he's been her husband, she's been his wife
through life's trials hope never died
that's how they made it all those days and nights

They grew some children working in the fields
took them to church, the golden rule was real
the days weren't perfect but they passed each test
They blessed their children with strength and tenderness

Now the body's failing but the heart beats on
with ev'ry breath, with ev'ry song
some love goes deeper, deeper than the pain
some love grows stronger, stronger on the way


Larry Olson ©2004 Dakota Road Music

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SHE LOVES COUNTRY

A brown eyed beauty just like her mother
she won't take no guff from her brother
she loves the creatures of the wild
she's my potatoes and gravy child
she says my songs are just a little too slow
so she changes the dial on the radio

Chorus:
My girl loves country
she loves country
she loves country
she loves her country songs

Way too soon she'll be a young lady
some boy will come courtin' so steady
I'll check him out, I'll check him twice
I'll offer him some cheap advice
only one thing brings certain rejection
boy you better have country in your CD collection

When she's older, how 'bout thirty-six
she'll have a couple of kids
she'll love 'em good, she'll give 'em style
a hundred reasons just to smile
now she won't want to raise no fools
so she'll insist they go to country school


Larry Olson ©2003 Dakota Road Music

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OH MY CHILD

Oh my child, I know you are wandering
in this world, trying to make your own way
Oh the path is uncertain and your head is hurtin'
and you don't know what to say

Oh my child, I know there are struggles
as we push, as we pull along this road
but through every season I will keep believin'
in the depth and beauty of your soul

Chorus:
'Cause I was there when you were born
and I saw you learn to walk
you cut your teeth, learned to speak
you rode your bike around the block
Now life is good, life is hard
whatever you go through
I will never stop, never stop loving you

Oh my child, I know you are dreamin'
trying to see, trying to be who you are
there are so many changes as you turn life's pages
don't forget, you're in my heart

Oh my child, the years are just flying
in a flash I will see you dance away
Now I pray you're receiving what you're really needing
so you grow with roots and wings of grace


Larry Olson ©2003 Dakota Road Music

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LOVE RUNS DEEP

Can you see all the ways
that we know each other's heart
Can you feel the depth of time
working ever in our lives

Chorus:
Love runs deep
like the roots of an old oak tree
Love runs wide
as wide as the sky
for you and I

Busy days, growing years
touched by tears and laughter
Soon the kids will go there way
but I know we'll be ok...cause

Bridge:
Now I'm still holding one life dream
that I can kiss you when you turn '93...cause


Larry Olson ©2002 Dakota Road Music

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HER GRANDMA & HER CHURCH

She was born in a small town in the dirty thirties
she grew up in a rough home struggling to survive
watching after her sisters, looking out for her brother
growing up too early with a yearning in her eyes

She did what she could to keep her dreams from dying
She taught herself piano, she worked at the cafe
but her dad loved the bottle, her mom faught the battles
she was caught in the middle but she knows she survived...

Chorus:
Because her grandma and her church taught her how to love
taught her how to live, taught her to forgive
Her grandma and her church taught her how to love
taught her how to love you and me

She married a farmer, had 4 sons and 3 daughters
life never was easy but somehow they got by
she never thought that she knew much but in her soul was a teacher
she had a heart for children, that no one is left behind

Now she's into her twilight, keeping up with her grandkids
giving care to her husband and baking everyday
How the years must have flown by, life still isn't easy
but she knows how to live by faith and hope and love

Bridge:
Sometimes it's hard to admit it
but I'm not sure I really know Jesus
but I know my mother
and she still prays for me


Larry Olson ©2002 Dakota Road Music

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HEAVEN'S KITCHEN

You loved the sinners and you loved the saints
you loved the rich and the poor all the same
you loved your husband and children galore
oh your heart was an open door....open door

Chorus:
I will see you later
oh you've got things to make
you're stirring up a batch of goodness
a chocolate angel food cake
in heaven's kitchen

You lived for others, you gave all you could
you cared for the outcast, you looked for the good
you loved the Savior and following his ways
and the world is forever changed....ever changed

There's lefse and cookies and hot buttered buns
made with a touch of your love in each one
delivered with joy, delivered with tears
with a love that will last through the years....through the years


In celebration of the life of Lorraine Olson July 4, 1931 - August 13, 2004

Larry Olson ©2004 Dakota Road Music

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HEART OF US

Has the sun set on America
Did too many people leave the land
The hundred acre farm is now a small field
and the whole crew is just one man
the old ways are gone, time moves on
will the land be forgotten, can we see

Johnny's older and he's heading off to school
will he come back when he knows it all
Susie's working at the supermarket store
will she remember harvest in the fall
Seeds have been sown, our children have grown
will the land be forgotten, can we see

Chorus:
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
the land sustains and is part of us
the heart of us

Will the sun rise with a ray of hope
when the storms of change roll on by
will the hard work now and the blessings of the past
give us a reason, a reason why
Don't let the hungry child cry with need
will the land be forgotten, can we see


Written by David Lee Brown & Larry Olson
with lyrical ideas from students in the upper midwest.
©1997 David Lee Brown/Dakota Road Music

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PEOPLE'S CHURCH

It's a worn out church
with a broken down steeple
It's filled with poor
and homeless people
kids in trouble and the unemployed
gather there for hope and joy

Rosa lost her son
Jimmy found his freedom
Nikala has a place that needs him
There's a baby in her grandpa's arms
There's a woman seeking shelter from harm

Chorus:
It's a people's church for folks in need
It's a people's church where the word meets deed
It's a people's church for every race
At a people's church come and see Jesus' face

You know a living church
can make a Christian nervous
it carries risk
and it leads to service
It calls us all to get involved
to lose our comfort, to live God's love

Bridge:
I'm praying for the poor and the rich
to share the blood and body gifts
I'm praying that in every place
there's a people's church living out their faith


Larry Olson ©2002 Dakota Road Music

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REST YOUR HEAD

Chorus:
Rest your head on the heart of heaven
know the peace which we can't understand
feel the love that will live forever
in the touch of a loving hand

There is hope and there is wonder
as we live everyday
Always growing, never knowing
will this be the day

There is beauty all around us
there is struggle and strife
there's a season, there's a reason
but I don't know why

Bridge:
Oh I can't be certain through all of life's hurtin'
but somehow I still believe


Larry Olson ©2001 Dakota Road Music

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WATER & DIRT
So many people living on this earth
everyone needing some water and dirt
how did we get here, what should we do
six point eight billion, plus me and you

I love my country, a place to be free
I have been blessed here, with food and family
but how can abundance turn to thoughtless waste
while so many struggle for just a taste

Chorus:
Way down deep in my soul
these are the questions that won't let go
I don't have the answers so I say
oh Lord can you show us another way

I love the soldiers and their sacrifice
but the death and destruction just never seems right
how come the leaders who get to decide
don't have to fight on the front lines

I read the good book but I don't understand
is hunger and violence a part of the plan
oh won't you help us, turn our hearts to see
oh Lord, will we ever know your peace


Larry Olson ©2003 Dakota Road Music

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MY SOUL WILL REST

When there's bread for all people
then my soul will rest
oh my soul, oh my soul
when there's bread for all people
then my soul will rest
oh my soul will rest
oh..oh...
when there's bread for all people
then my soul will rest
oh my soul will rest

When we all have safe shelter
then my soul will rest
oh my soul, oh my soul
when we all have safe shelter
then my soul will rest
oh my soul will rest
oh..oh...
when we all have safe shelter
then my soul will rest
oh my soul will rest

When there's peace on this planet
then my soul will rest
oh my soul, oh my soul
when there's peace on this planet
then my soul will rest
oh my soul will rest
oh..oh...
when there's peace on this planet
then my soul will rest
oh my soul will rest

When I'm laid in the soil
then my soul will rest


Larry Olson ©2004 Dakota Road Music

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