This was the way it was
In my childhood days
With ancient and tried
Crop farming ways.
Up to the ankles in slurry,
Muck fork in hand,
Ready to spread manure
To fertilise the land.
No tractor and spreader
Just an old ‘oss and cart
Out in the early morning
For a good start.
Fold yard's been cleared and
Cary filled from manure heap,
Fertiliser is expensive
‘Oss and cow muck is cheap.
It doesn't take that long
To get used to the smell
But Ammonia secretions
Make the eyes run like hell.
Up and down the furrows,
At the end of the day you find
You've spent a few hours just
Watching an old ‘oss's behind.
A nice steady pace as the ‘oss
Plodded steadily on and on
Until another field's finished,
Another long day's gone.
Sometimes as just a kid
I was so tired and dead beat
Took all me time to stay awake
Long enough for me to eat.
It's all mechanical these days
With chemical fertiliser spread
Soil crumbly and friable
Insects and worms mostly dead.
So, the world has reached crisis
Caused by the modern ways
Organic farming's coming back
With more natural fertilisation ways.
Tractors and muck spreaders
Nowadays play their part
No more standing being pulled
Behind an old ‘oss and cart.
My world's changed for better
But I really regret the loss
That these days you seldom
Catch sight of an old Shire ‘oss.
