Junie's Place: 'Forefathers' ~ Dan Fogelberg

Sunday, August 31, 2008

'Forefathers' ~ Dan Fogelberg

This is a wonderful song by Dan Fogelberg from the album ' The Wild Places,' 1990.




Lyrics
Dan Fogelberg


Forefathers

They came from Scandinavia, the land of midnight sun
And crossed the North Atlantic when this century was young
They'd heard that in America every man was free
To live the way he chose to live and be who he could be
Some of them were farmers there and tilled the frozen soil
But all they got was poverty for all their earnest toil
They say one was a sailor who sailed the wide world round
Made home port, got drunk one night, walked off the pier and drowned
My mother was of Scottish blood, it's there that she was born
They brought her to America in 1924
They left behind the highlands and the heather-covered hills
And came to find America with broad expectant dreams and iron wills
My granddad worked the steel mills of central Illinois
His daughter was his jewel, his son was just his boy
For thirty years he worked the mills and stoked the coke-fed fires
And looked toward the day when he'd at last turn 65 and could retire
(Chorus)
And the sons become the fathers and their daughters will be wives
As the torch is passed from hand to hand
And we struggle through our lives
Though the generations wander, the lineage survives
And all of us, from dust to dust, we all become forefathers by and by
The woman and the man were wed just after the war
And they settled in this river town and three fine sons she bore
One became a lawyer and one fine pictures drew
And one became this lonely soul who sits here now
And sings this song to you
(Chorus)
By and By By and By




Note:

Many thanks to Beggarsgame for putting this on Youtube.
Go to Youtube and this user for more info on this song-and many other songs of Dan Fogelberg!



Junie
(#1 DanFan-forever!)





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7 Comments:

At 6:32 PM , Blogger Carletta said...

At one time I taught history class to fifth graders and we studied Ellis Island. At the end of the study we reenacted the plight of imigrants and the kids had a name and wore costumes - it really brought home what the journey for our ancestors was all about.
Nice post!
Hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend.

 
At 8:05 PM , Blogger Rachel said...

Good song. I hope you having a wonderful Labor Day Junie!!

 
At 9:48 PM , Blogger Judy said...

Good post, thanks Junie, enjoyed it.

 
At 1:10 PM , Blogger Fred said...

I used to be a big Fogelberg Fan. His style of storytelling was enhanced with some great lyrics.

I haven't heard this song in a long, long time. I'll enjoy it while writing comments.

 
At 6:37 PM , Blogger JunieRose2005 said...

Thanks, all, for your comments!

I'm happy you enjoyed Dan's song!

 
At 9:00 PM , Blogger Jamie Dawn said...

Great lyrics. They show the hard work it took for those who came to America. Great song!

 
At 5:08 PM , Blogger JunieRose2005 said...

Thanks, JD,

I like this song and thought it was a good time to put it on.



Junie

 

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