The corn was dry and the weeds were high when daddy took to drinking

Then him and Lucy Walker they took up and ran away

Mama cried a tear and then she promised fourteen children

I swear you'll never see a hungry day

Oh the path was deep and wide from footsteps leading to our cabin

Above the door there burned the scarlet lamp

And late at night a hand would knock and there would stand a stranger

Yes I'm the son of Hickory Holler's tramp



When mama sacrificed her pride the neighbors started talkin'

But I was much too young to understand the things they said

The things that mattered most of all was mama's chicken dumplings

And the goodnight kiss before we went to bed

Oh the path was deep and wide...



When daddy left then destitution came upon our family

Not one neighbor volunteered to give a helping hand

So let 'em gossip all they want she loved us and she raised us

The proof is standing here a full grown man

Last summer mama passed away and left the ones who loved her

Each and every one of us were more than grateful for our birth

Now every Sunday she receives a fresh bouquet of fourteen roses

With a card that says to the greatest mom on earth

Oh the path was deep and wide...

Yes I'm the son of Hickory Holler's tramp