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Farmers and Fishermen

by Debra Cowan

/

about

"Farmers and Fishermen" was written and composed by environmental activist and musician Keith Pitzer. Sadly, Keith passed away on Dec 22, 2009 from prostate cancer. From the very first moment I heard "Farmers and Fishermen", I loved the song and decided to learn it. Big thanks to Keith and Joan Pitzer for their permission to record the song. Big thanks also to the "A-Team" of Mike Barry, Dave Mattacks and Huck Bennert for their help.

Keith was the Executive Director of Friends of the Cheat, which is an established watershed group in Northern West Virginia created to restore, preserve, and promote the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River Watershed.

lyrics

I'm singing here in this bar tonight,
Somewhere up the coast
It's a small enough crowd
and they're listening out loud
I'm just a diversion at most

These men all fish for a living
or at least they used to
'til the fishing got scarce
and the money got worse
but it's all that they knew how to do

They remind me of my youth on the farm,
My father loved working the land
He'd work day and night when the times they got tight
When he died I was just a young man

It's farmers and fishermen that feed
us all from the land and the sea
Farmers and fishermen, oh so few of
them all for you and for me

Well the companies came
With the big damned machines,
Whether a tractor or ship
And they raised more grain and they caught more fish
And they made damn short work of it

So I took my guitar and I left the farm
And I played out on the road
Passing the fields and the big empty barns
I remember the work that I'd known

For it wasn't just a living, it was a way of life
And I'd go back if I could
They'll be out in the morning plowing the waves
I hope that the fishing is good

It's farmers and fishermen that feed us all
From the land and the sea
Farmers and fishermen, oh so few of them
All for you and for me

It's the end of the day on the coastline,
As the sun's settling down
It's the end of the way that we live here
As this old world spins around

And on the other side of the world right now I
t's a soft new glowing dawn
A man walks out to his field with a hoe
And the cycles go on and on...on

It's farmers and fishermen that feed us all
From the land and the sea
Farmers and fishermen, oh so few of them
All for you and for me

credits

released June 22, 2010
Debra Cowan: vocals, guitar, English concertina
Dave Mattacks: keyboards and percussion
Mike Barry: Bass

Recorded by Mike Barry at Babyland Studio, Medford, MA
www.babylandstudio.com
Mixed by Huck Bennert

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all rights reserved

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about

Debra Cowan Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

Singer Debra Cowan performs a cappella and with guitar, interpreting a wide range of folk songs. Debra has two acclaimed solo recordings to her credit, and her third, “Fond Desire Farewell” was produced by former Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks. A former California resident, she now resides in Massachusetts and tours all over North America and the United Kingdom. ... more

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