Old MacDonald

Writer: Margie Carmichael 1995 (SOCAN)

 

Old MacDonald had a farm, a mortgage and a withered arm

That only made him try harder.

And by his side would Mary be, with strong back and a rosary

That held her when he could not be there.

“It’s a lovely farm my dear, in the laughter and the tears

Is the heartbeat that makes sense out of it all”

 

She took a job in a restaurant,

and it took the edge off need and want

But they missed their sunrises in the morning.

And when the sun set on their lives,

softened hands drew paper knives

Their debtors gave up and gave warning.

“It’s still our farm my dear,” she whispered through her tears

And their courage made believers of us all.

 

Chorus Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on this farm he had a dream E-I-E-I-O

 

They lost the farm in ’82, there was nothing more that they could do

They were beaten, broken, distant.

They packed it up on a winter’s day,

their rusted dreams on frozen clay

She closed her eyes, he couldn’t turn away.

 

Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on this farm he had a dream E-I-E-I-O

 

Part of him died that day,

the rest of him just fades away

He hasn’t said a word to her since spring.

And the sorrow in our mother’s eyes speaks of a hallowed place inside

The mate for whom the bird no longer sings.

 

Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on this farm he had a dream E-I-E-I-O

E-I-E-O   (repeat  3-4x, fade)

 

Recorded: Carmichael Sisters – Under the Lindens 1995