Patches
Composer(s): Ronald Dunbar - General Johnson
First release by: Chairmen of the Board - 1970
Covered by multiple other artists
Versions In Other Languages:
1971 - Cash (Eddy Mitchell)
1984 - Marvin (Titãs)



I was born and raised down in Alabama on a farm way back up in the woods
Oh I was so ragged folks used to call me "Patches"
Papa used to tease me about it
but deep down inside dad was hurtin' 'cause he'd done the best he could
My papa was a great old man
I can see him with a shovel in his hand
Education that he never had
But he did wonders when the times got bad
The little money from the crops we raised
Barely paid the bills we made
Oh life whipped him
Down to the ground
When he tried to get up
Life would kick him back down
On the day papa called me
To his dyin' bed
Placed his hand on my shoulders
And in tears he said
Patches
I'm depending on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you
Two days later papa passed away
And I became a man that day
Everyday I had to work the fields
'Cause that's the only way
We got our meals
See, I was the oldest of the family
And everybody was depending on me
Now the years have passed
And everybody's grown
Mama's been livin'
In a brand new home
Lord knows it took
A lot of sweat and tears
And my daddy's voice
To help us through the years
He said
Patches
I'm depending on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you
Daddy had been sick for a long time, flat on his back
Every evenin' after we'd finish our chores and eat our dinner
we'd all go into papa's room to cheer him up a little
And this particular day dad was in good spirits
sittin' on the side of the bed, tellin' mama how good she looked
When all of a sudden, papa had a pain in his chest
I was too young to understand, talkin' about a heart attack here
Mama rushed us all out of the room into the hallway
About ten minutes later she came out with tears in her eyes
She called out to me, "Patches, Patches, get in here, boy
Your daddy wanna see you"
I went runnin' into papa's room, there papa lay
Daddy had tears in his eyes
I knew something was wrong, daddy was a poor man
but all of my life he'd been a proud man
I knelt down on one knee beside the bed, papa put his hand on my shoulder
He said, "Patches, Patches, boy
the hammer of life done beat your old papa down to the ground
and I ain't got nobody to turn to to take care of mama and the younger
So what I want you to do is promise me, son
is that you're gonna do your best to help your mama as much as you can"
I said, "Papa, I'm gonna do my best"
But little did I know then like I know now
that tryin' to climb life's mountains searchin' for a top where there ain't no top
sometimes you find yourself frustrated, lazy
But every time I feel like I can't live my life like I want to
my mind goes back to that day when I see those tears in my daddy's eyes
But most of all I remember his words, "Patches, I'm dependin' on you, boy"
Every time I feel like givin' up, I hear his voice
"Patches, Patches, Patches, Patches"
I'm depending on you, son
I've tried to do my best
It's up to you to do the rest
Patches
I'm depending on you, son
I've tried to do my best
It's up to you to do the rest
Patches
I'm depending on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you