Matthew

Had an uncle named Matthew

He was his father's only boy

Born just south of Colby, Kansas

He was his mother's pride and joy

And all the stories that he told me

Back when I was just a lad

All the memories that he gave me

All the good times that he had

Growin' up a Kansas farm boy

Life was mostly havin' fun

Ridin' on his Daddy's shoulders

Behind the mule, beneath the sun

Well, I guess there were some hard times

And I'm told some years were lean

They had a storm in forty-seven

A twister came and stripped them clean

So he came to live at our house

And he came to work the land

He came to ease my Daddy's burden

And he came to be my friend

So, I wrote this down for Matthew

And it's for him the song is sung

Ridin' on his Daddy's shoulders

Behind the mule, beneath the sun

Joy was just the thing that he was raised on

Love was just the way to live and die

Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field

And blue was just a Kansas summer sky

―John Denver