Read the lyrics to this classic Travis Tritt ballad about leaving the farm, as annotated by cattle rancher and culture critic Darby Minow Smith.
Music websites like Rap Genius (now Genius) and SongMeanings enabled users to comment on specific lyrics within songs. Folded within these pages were fierce debates over song interpretations; context from musician interviews, videos, and other outside sources; and personal stories from fans.
Meaning bloomed both in careful scholarship, and in recalling how this particular oldie got played, say, at the 2002 Bridger High Graduation or how it had always made one’s grandmother cry. Genius, always more subjective, tended to be built around whether one agreed with the commenter.
Here, a one-woman effort to annotate the lyrics to Travis Tritt’s popular 1996 country classic, Where Corn Don’t Grow. (Some of the notes reference the song’s official video, which is only available on Apple Music.)
Where Corn Don’t Grow
Written by Roger Murrah and Mark Alan Springer
As recorded by Travis Tritt
As we sat on the front porch of that old grey house where I was born and raised
Starin‘ at the dusty fields where my daddy worked hard every day
I think it kinda hurt him when I said, “Daddy there’s a lot that I don’t know
But don’t you ever dream about a life where corn don’t grow?“
He just sat there silent, starin‘ at his favorite coffee cup
I saw a storm of mixed emotion in his eyes when he looked up
He said, “Son, I know at your age it seems like this ole world is turnin‘ slow
And you think you’ll find the answer to it all where corn don’t grow“
Hard times are real
There’s dusty fields no matter where you go
But you may change your mind
‘Cause the weeds are high where corn don’t grow
I remember feelin‘ guilty when daddy turned and walked back in the house
I was only seventeen back then but I thought that I knew more than I know now
I can’t say he didn’t warn me, this city life’s a hard row to hoe
Ain’t it funny how a dream can turn around where corn don’t grow?
Hard times are real
There’s dusty fields no matter where you go
And you may change your mind
‘Cause the weeds are high where corn don’t grow
You may change your mind
Oh, the weeds are high where corn don’t grow
Darby Minow Smith ranches and writes in Southwestern Montana, though both may suffer. She pitched this story in a voice note while driving the hay rake.
Author
Darby Minow Smith
Darby Minow Smith ranches and writes in Southwestern Montana.
