I'm sitting here thinking, my thoughts are far away,
They're at a farm in Minnesota where I long to return someday
I can see my father and mother, their hair is turning white
They're sitting at the table, the time is late at night.
Yes, Mom is busy knitting a mitten or a sock
Pa is deeply concerned in the movements of a clock
There Mom purled a stitch, now she's dropping one,
Pa just refilled his pipe with "George Washington"
Pa still fills his leisure hours working in the shop,
He is always repairing something from machines on down to mops
He takes some useless metal and heats it in the hearth,
Then he bends it until it proves it's worth.
Perhaps he makes a bike pedal or a substitute for a crane
Whatever he makes you can safely bet won't ever break again.
He molds it on the anvil and lines it with his eye,
He always makes it fit or knows the reason why
Mom is never through cooking and loves to sew and knit
She makes a lot of clothing and can assure a fit
She knows her materials and names them at a glance,
"This kind here will shrink, I wouldn't take a chance"
Mom always cans enough vegetables to last throughout the year,
I have helped her many seasons that I remember, oh so clear,
She has raised five children teaching us to do right
In sickness she's been our doctor and sat with us all night.
Now I come to Vera Mae she is the latest member
I've played mother to her ever since I can remember,
I have grown quite attached to her she always was so swell
We learned to love each other more than words can ever tell.
When I made dates with girlfriends Vera often went along,
She's always the best of company - full of laughter and of song.
She generally knows the latest jokes or else can think some up
If she ever entered a contest I'm sure she'd win the cup.
My eldest sister will be married two years this coming fall,
She was the third in line and quietest of us all
Marj and Clint have a son husky as the dickens,
They have a few milk-cows also a flock of chickens
In line Wes was the second, in marriage he was No. 1
Gerts' and Wes' first baby was a six-pound son
Their other child is a daughter her name is Joyce Anne,
Joyce is a little lady and Gary a little man.
Vyron's our "Big Brother", Helen is his wife,
They have a farm in Minnesota where they've lived all their life,
Their children Lewis, Connie, Chuck, and Judy are really sweet,
All in all, I think this family would be mighty hard to beat
