UNCLE JOHN'S TREE - Copyright 1997 by Dave Saunders
Published by Sgt Joe Music (BMI)
From the Dave Saunders CD "Uncle John's Tree"
Available for purchase from www.cdbaby.com
                                                     www.nashvilleim.com

Uncle John lived by a crooked old tree
High on the ridge where the wind blew free
Lookin' out over the river bend
Five miles past where the pavement ends
And I remember when I was a kid
The things that me and Uncle John did,
And all of the time we spent together
Roamin' in the woods and fishin' in the river
And every night when the sun went down
I'd fall asleep to the gentle sound
Of the night wind softly singin' to me
And the whippoorwills singin' in Uncle John's Tree

Here's a story that Uncle John told
About a heart full of love and a band of gold
Daddy had a girl that was the light of his life
And he asked her one day to be his wife
But her father didn't like it, and he said no
And he told daddy that he'd better go
So daddy came back in the middle of the night
And carried her away in the pale moonlight
And along the way they stopped in town
Found a preacher and a weddin' gown
And later that night while the wind blew free
I got made in the shade of Uncle John's Tree

One cold mornin' at the break of day
The clouds rolled in and the sky turned grey
Thunder crashed with a terrible sound
Lightnin' flashed and the rain came down
The wind blew in with a mighty roar
The river rose up like never before
I thought about the forty nights and days
When the sins of the world got washed away
But pretty soon that storm rolled by
God put a rainbow up in the sky
And the birds and the squirrels and the bugs and the bees
Were all safe in the arms of Uncle John's Tree

I remember when Uncle John died
The dogs all howled and the women all cried
We laid him down underneath his tree
And an angel came and set him free
I watched a leaf as it fell to the ground
I listened to the wind make a mournful sound
I thought about the days when a boy ran free
Climbin' all over that crooked old tree
And I still go back every now and then
Just to watch the river and feel the wind
And listen to the whippoorwills singin' to me
While Uncle John sleeps in the shade of his tree

And that’s my Story ‘bout Uncle John’s Tree