Story Behind The Song

Contrary to what I had always believed, I learned that my grandmother left Iowa mostly because her own mother pushed her to do it. I wrote this from the perspective of her mother.

Song Description

A mother sings to her child about living in the rural Midwest, and the need to move on to other places.

Lyrics

Prairie Song

I lived my whole life in these fields
Raised a family, best as we could do
In prairie fires when the smoke clears
All the earth starts anew

We came here from Nebraska
Had to leave when the farming got bad
and you children needed shoes
I haven't left this town since
Sometimes I think about the world out there
China and Chicago, California, foreign shores to me and you

(Chorus)
Go, go, go from this house we call home, from the prairies that you know
Go, go, go, my only daughter, go
You were made for more than what's in store for you
Go

I know you've got your eyes on the Williams boy
Hard worker with nice strong arms and not too much to say
He reminds me of your father
Now, I love your father and we've stuck together through hope and hell
But remember well, if you marry that Williams boy
This town is where you'll stay

There's a dream that sits inside your heart
I only know that because the same dream was in my own
Dreams of rootless trees and falling leaves
and flying geese making their way far from home
Real oceans, not made of tall grass
Real mountains, instead of silos
And tall, tall buildings that scrape the sky