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Spring (FIRST DAY OF SPRING)

Ducktown (EARTH DAY)

The Ballad of Three Finger Brown
(BASEBALL OPENING DAY)

Spring, don’t let me down

Rise up from the ground

And lend a hand to every brand new thing

 

Spring, I’ve done my part

Given you my heart

Say the word and every bird will sing

 

Winter’s so unkind, and summer pays no mind

From November through December

I’ll remember to believe in you

 

Spring, don’t make me wait

Sunshine don’t be late

Jump ahead in time to spread your wings

 

Winter’s so unfair, and autumn doesn’t care

In January, February

I’ll be ready to believe in you

 

Spring, don’t let me down

Rise up from the ground

And lend a hand to every brand new thing

They came to Tennessee,

Drove out the Cherokee

And called this place Ducktown

By 1883, they’d cut down every tree

For fifty miles around

They burned the copper there

And sulfur filled the air

Soon a deadly rain was falling down

The soil washed away,

The railroads brought each day

Miners to Ducktown

 

Back in 1939, we walked off the line

Striking for Ducktown

Neighbors, old and young

Watched with dying lungs

The scabs roll into town

They came for you and me

Like they did the Cherokee

And like these ancient hills
We stood our ground

But both fights would be lost

A desert spread across

What was once Ducktown

 

A few hundred of us stayed,

Once it was hauled away

The earth cut down to bone

To hold the tunnels up,

They’d flood the holes we dug

The river cried and moaned

The owners were all gone,

Packed up and moved on

They flew across the craters red and brown

Once the mines were bare

They took their gains elsewhere

And left behind Ducktown

Come gather in the dugout

Leave the bats and balls behind

In life and baseball, a hero’s hard to find

That’s why we still remember

All across this town

And tell the story of Three Finger Brown

 

He was born in Indiana

Where h lost part of his hand

But then he found a curveball

That could strike out any man

After St. Louis, he was Chicago bound

The Cubs had a rookie

Named Three Finger Brown

 

In 1908, the Giants had a fearsome nine

They fought us to one final game

The season on the line

They had Christy Matthewson

To keep the Cubbies down

We gave the baseball to Three Finger Brown

 

But the gangsters they had told him

That his life was at stake

If they won the ball game

It would be his last mistake

With their threats in his pocket

He walked onto the mound

And no man stood taller

Than Three Finger Brown

 

His curveball dipped and darted

Right through the strike zone dropped

The Giants never had a chance

The Cubs wound up on top

He brought home the pennant

And he brought home the crown

The pride of Chicago was Three Finger Brown

 

So if you’re in a tough spot

And the odds are looking grim

And your team needs a hero

If you’re gonna win

Reach back for something extra

And look into the crowd

“Cause someone’s watching

Named Three Finger Brown

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