Tom: C
C F C
It was a funeral on the prairie, all his children gathered round
C
Put him in a horse drawn wagon, drove him into town
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In the dark of February snow covered up the ground
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In a pioneer church made out of sod we sang A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
[Verse 2]
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He was born in 1898 when the plains burned red and green
C
To God fearing pilgrim parents, the twelfth kid of thirteen
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They broke up that ground yard by yard with a mule and an oxen team
C F C
Now we’re burying him out on the lone prairie where the coyotes howl and the wind blows free
[Verse 3]
C F C
Back at the house we pushed that big oak table against the wall
C
Built a fire in the cast iron cook stove, made room for one and all
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The children and grandchildren piled our snow boots in the hall
C F C
The women worked like an oiled machine; the coffee boiled and the kettle screamed
[Verse 4]
C F C
Then the old folks took to telling tales of back when they were young
C
And it weren't too long before that four string banjo began to strum
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Mom played the fiddle and my Uncle Lars played his accordion
C F C
The old farmers cried in their flannel sleeves when we sang that song from the old country
[Verse 5]
C F C
That was long ago and as the years go by I still forget he’s gone
C
But I look out on the open plains and I know his soul lives on
C F C
He’s the red sky mirrored on the lake, he’s the first cold light of dawn
C F C
He’s a coyote’s wail, he’s a winter storm, he’s the August wind blowing through the corn
