This song gives me shivers every time I hear it. The first verse refers to actual wolves. He is moving his cattle and is talking about some that were eaten by wolves.
In the second verse, wolves are a metaphor for debt, poverty, and creditors. His neighbor had to sell out his farm because of too many years of losses because of a drought.
The third verse is the narrator being afraid that what happened to his neighbor will happen to him too. He hears wolves howling and he thinks about the predators in his own life. Bill collectors and taxes and such.
This song gives me shivers every time I hear it. The first verse refers to actual wolves. He is moving his cattle and is talking about some that were eaten by wolves.
In the second verse, wolves are a metaphor for debt, poverty, and creditors. His neighbor had to sell out his farm because of too many years of losses because of a drought.
The third verse is the narrator being afraid that what happened to his neighbor will happen to him too. He hears wolves howling and he thinks about the predators in his own life. Bill collectors and taxes and such.