The Hillsides of Kentucky

by Ken Acorn

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about

This song is about love of family, love of the land, love of country and love of an ideal. It’s also about the harsh realities that inevitably affect these loves. We all know what they are – economics, politics and power. This song is also about spirit – the spirit that helps a person carry on through life while trying to reconcile all the situations one encounters with the ideals, beliefs and feelings one holds dear. This song is from the heart.

lyrics

The Hillsides of Kentucky

When I was a child I used to roam.
The valleys and fields were my second home.
Old Glory flew proud at our rundown homestead.
My dad said it would always be where he lay his head

And I hope I never see the day when it ain’t ‘a wavin’ free
‘Cause the hillsides of Kentucky mean everything to me.
Yes, the hillsides of Kentucky mean everything to me.

When I was twelve, my dad went to war.
The enemy lay off our eastern shore.
He said his goodbyes, packed his flag and his gun.
He smiled and said, “By Christmas time, we’ll have ‘em on the run”.

The letter came by that bright summer’s day.
I called to my maw but she walked away.
She trembled and cried through the proud words and brag:
Daddy wasn’t comin’ home but they sent us his flag.

Now I’m getting’ on; my fine son’s a man.
We’re fightin’ again in some distant land.
They want him to go but I just can’t see why
To keep their man elected, my boy has to die.

© 1991 Ken Acorn

credits

released July 27, 2013
Ken Acorn - Voices, guitars, sequencing.

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Ken Acorn Clayton, North Carolina

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