It's about a young farmer whose lover left him. When they were together, he spent their nights teaching her about farming "how you start the peas before the corn", etc., but she was only interested in romance, "told me twice that her love was strong, stronger than the love in old love songs she was singing to me."
When his lover went across the Missouri river in search of adventure and romantic love, the young farmer completely understood and simply let her go. But he's worried about her livelihood. When the winter comes, the farmer had a good harvest. He had winter squash, melon, and lots of apples ("Cortland, Empire, McIntosh" are all types of apples), but knowing his old lover who knew only romance, he's worried that she's not wearing enough for the cold ("I can see her now in the flowery clothes,
all those things I bought her"), and that she would starve for not having food. And he prayed to the Lord that the winter would be mild, so that she would survive.
Anais puts a wonderful and sorrowful twist on the kind of love traditionally portrayed in love songs. The young farmer was not romantic, but he had a genuine concern for the well being of the girl. As in many of her other songs (e.g. Hey, Little Songbird, Shepherd), she describes the conflicts between love and the struggle for survival.
It's about a young farmer whose lover left him. When they were together, he spent their nights teaching her about farming "how you start the peas before the corn", etc., but she was only interested in romance, "told me twice that her love was strong, stronger than the love in old love songs she was singing to me."
When his lover went across the Missouri river in search of adventure and romantic love, the young farmer completely understood and simply let her go. But he's worried about her livelihood. When the winter comes, the farmer had a good harvest. He had winter squash, melon, and lots of apples ("Cortland, Empire, McIntosh" are all types of apples), but knowing his old lover who knew only romance, he's worried that she's not wearing enough for the cold ("I can see her now in the flowery clothes, all those things I bought her"), and that she would starve for not having food. And he prayed to the Lord that the winter would be mild, so that she would survive.
Anais puts a wonderful and sorrowful twist on the kind of love traditionally portrayed in love songs. The young farmer was not romantic, but he had a genuine concern for the well being of the girl. As in many of her other songs (e.g. Hey, Little Songbird, Shepherd), she describes the conflicts between love and the struggle for survival.