The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I'm into cattle, my Father was too
From Great Great Grandfather all the way through
And we scarcely have wasted an hour of daylight
Stickin' to Herefords and it's been all right
Prepared for the lean times and save for a drought
But you can't always plan how the future turns out
Life's gettin' harder to make what we need
With low cattle prices and more mouths to feed
Oh, six generations where camels run free
I hope I am never too blind to see
How fortunate, how proud can an old fella be
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
Sent the boys off to school to see Adelaide
How other folks live, get a job learn a trade
Couldn't keep them away 'cause their hearts are still here
My butcher, my welder, my diesel engineer
Oh, six generations where camels run free
I hope I am never too blind to see
How fortunate, how proud can an old fella be
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
And I come in for dinner, the sun hits the range
In a matter of seconds the colors all change
From gold down to violet the soul has been burned
And I understand fully why they have returned
Cause I'm into cattle, my Father was too
From Great Great Grandfather all the way through
And we've never been guilty of wasting daylight
We work hard, we play hard and we sleep well at night
Oh, six generations where camels run free
I hope I am never too blind to see
How fortunate, how proud can an old fella be
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
From Great Great Grandfather all the way through
And we scarcely have wasted an hour of daylight
Stickin' to Herefords and it's been all right
Prepared for the lean times and save for a drought
But you can't always plan how the future turns out
Life's gettin' harder to make what we need
With low cattle prices and more mouths to feed
Oh, six generations where camels run free
I hope I am never too blind to see
How fortunate, how proud can an old fella be
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
Sent the boys off to school to see Adelaide
How other folks live, get a job learn a trade
Couldn't keep them away 'cause their hearts are still here
My butcher, my welder, my diesel engineer
Oh, six generations where camels run free
I hope I am never too blind to see
How fortunate, how proud can an old fella be
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
And I come in for dinner, the sun hits the range
In a matter of seconds the colors all change
From gold down to violet the soul has been burned
And I understand fully why they have returned
Cause I'm into cattle, my Father was too
From Great Great Grandfather all the way through
And we've never been guilty of wasting daylight
We work hard, we play hard and we sleep well at night
Oh, six generations where camels run free
I hope I am never too blind to see
How fortunate, how proud can an old fella be
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
Three sons in their swags 'round the stock camp with me
Lyrics submitted by mattyboy11891
Three Sons Lyrics as written by John Robert Williamson
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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