Gone, Gonna Rise Again

I remember the year that my granddad died

Gone, gonna rise again

They dug his grave on the mountainside

Gone, gonna rise again

I was too young to understand

The way he felt about the land

But I could read his history in his hands

Gone, gonna rise again

Well it's corn in the crib and apples in the bin

Gone, gonna rise again

It's ham in the smokehouse and cotton in the gin

Gone, gonna rise again

It's cows in the barn and hogs in the lot

You know, he never had a lot

But he worked like a devil for the living he got

Gone, gonna rise again

These apple trees on the mountainside

Gone, gonna rise again

He planted the seeds just before he died

Gone, gonna rise again

I guess he knew that he'd never see

The red fruit hanging from the tree

But he planted the seeds for his children and me

Gone, gonna rise again

It's high on the ridge above the farm

Gone, gonna rise again

I think of my people that have gone on

Gone, gonna rise again

Like a tree that grows in the mountain ground

The storms of life have cut 'em down

But the new wood springs from the roots in the ground

Gone, gonna rise again

Gone, gonna rise again

Gone, gonna rise again