“Two Brothers” - a song about stepping up
This is a song about my paternal grandpa and uncle, you may recall them from a different song about peeing in a whiskey bottle… (you can find that here).
Story Pairing
My grandpa got a driving license when he was around 13.
His dad passed, his mom couldn’t drive, and the family had a farm to run. I guess there is/was some sort of farm rule that allowed a kid like him to get a license to keep everything running. There always seems to be some sort of little loophole if you have a farm. (Anyone want to start a farm?) I can only imagine him ripping down the country roads we grew up on, running an “errand”. I want to imagine that he had the windows down, a radio up (if there wasn’t a radio, I hope he was singing), and just shooting down a gravel backroad with a billowing cloud of dust clinging on for dear life. The idea of a young teenager having to take the place of his dad… he deserves a little joy.
When I was a boy my dad and grandpa where running a two man excavating operation. The way it shook out was that my grandpa spent most of his time in a white Mac semi truck attached to a dump trailer. He loved that truck, and would be chatting up a storm on the CB with his trucker buddies, or anyone with a CB really. I remember him as such a charmer and have early memories of him coaching me what to say to the ladies at the counter at the stone quarry we’d go to.
I hated riding in that truck. The seat was stiff, it smelled like dirt and equipment grease, it was loud, hitting a bump was like going off a ramp, you had to be Hercules to roll down the window, it was slow, shifting as a kid seemed never-ending and jerky… I’d give just about anything to go on one more ride in that truck with him. I wish I could remember more of the stories he’d share and the way he saw the world. He passed the day before my 11th birthday.
His brother (my uncle) was an equally incredible man. Sadly my memories of him are also fuzzy from youth, but two things stick out that have planted their presence deep. The first is how kind he was. Where my grandpa was an extrovert to the max, my uncle was more of an observer. He would sit quietly, chuckle often (he had a unique reedy chuckle that he was quick to spread). I can’t recall one time he was talking about himself, it was always asking how you were and if you needed anything. My favorite thing about him was his train collection. His basement was full of another universe. He had built an entire realm of track. His small train would pass through replicas of fields, towns, work yards, farms, a tunnel under his steps.. it was amazing. He had little lights and switches and buttons all over the place. He was a master of a maker.
I like to think they would enjoy the person I’ve grown up to be. I feel pieces of their influence in my life from time to time. That’s a pretty incredible thing to notice. How family that have passed still left bits of who they were with you, and when you catch yourself repurposing those bits, it’s hard not to smile and struggle with the bittersweet longing to know more.
Song Structure
Chords:
Verse & Chorus - C / Em / Am / F / G / C
*capo on 1
Voice Memos
Notebook Page
Jan. 2018
Lyrics
Wake up, brother said
Plenty of chores to be done
Not yet other brother said
I'm not ready for the sun
Push and shove as they make their hungry way
Down to mama's table
Daddies already hooking horse to plow
You boys better help him if you able
Two young brothers doing what they can
Working hard, living off the land
Two young brothers, doing what they do
Love each other through and through
Hard work and a stomach full of pain
Daddies cancer takes its toll
Falls asleep in the barn for good
The boys say goodbye to daddies soul
Mama needs them boys more than ever
To keep the food up on that table
Now them boys, they hook that horse to plow
Showing mama that their able
Two young brothers doing what they can
Working hard, living off the land
Two young brothers, doing what they do
Love each other through and through
Years pass and mama chose to join
Sell the farm and they go
Both start families and find the things they love
Sit and watch their children grow
Older brother he shares daddy’s luck
We have to watch him leave too quick
Left alone younger brother catches up
He fought the fight, but just can’t beat the sick
Two old brothers, sitting on a cloud
Next to mom and dad and feeling proud
Two old brothers, sitting on a breeze
Rest your eyes you finally earned some sleep
Wake up brother said, plenty still to be done
We left people that we love behind so we’ll watch over each and every one