When I was a young girl playing in the dirt, riding on a tractor and walking my pigs down our one-lane country road just felt right. I couldn’t imagine summers without holding on for dear life on the back of my best friend’s 4-wheeler while coming in for garden fresh corn and cantaloupe or mush melon as my dad would call it.
As I grew up, I realized just how special growing up in the country and on a farm was. No matter where you go it stays with you. You work harder and longer than you thought your body could take, yet you have total satisfaction in the little things like a newborn animal or a field of crop. You see God in everything around you. I wouldn’t change my upbringing for anything, but I feel a tug in my heart that God is calling me to use it for something bigger.
Music has always been all I need to get though a hard day on the farm, because no day is perfect there. I have learned to deal with death of animals, breakdowns, financial worry and just fear of the unknown. Farming is not a lifestyle for everyone clearly, but it is the best for instilling values of faith, honor, respect and love for people, animals and the land.
I’ve been waiting so long for fun songs to listen and sing along to that understand this way of life. Fellow farm kid, Eric Burgett, from Illinois has released just that in his new EP Pass It On. Eric had talent beyond measure and his gift for classical piano adds a unique touch to his tunes that don’t compare to anything else on country music radio.
Eric begins his EP with “Swing Low, Sweet Old Cadillac”, a song you’ll want to play driving through town with your honey on your way to grab a bite at Hardee’s and pick up supplies at the Rural King. When you need an upbeat tune to release some farm stress, this is the perfect one to play.
Next up is “Raised”, where I never thought a song could make me want to work on the farm and have so much fun at the same time. Eric sings of all the simple joys being a farm kid brings. Working all day while eating a ham sandwich (gotta love that pork) to chowing down on mama’s biscuits and gravy. Driving that diesel truck through the gravel to get on a tractor and work the field. Going to church to give praise and thank God for how you were raised!
You can’t be raised by a farmer and not be taught to create a life of your dreams. In this next song “Nowhere Roads”, Eric sings about his love for the farm, but making the hard journey to leave his farm town to go after his dreams.
While other people may have doubts in his decision to make music instead of crops, fate brought his love Aimee to him and God had more for him to see. Not knowing where a road leads can bring the best in life. He sings, “Sometimes nowhere roads know where to go.”
Closing with the title track, “Pass It On”, Eric sings of passing on farm family values to his future children and to others as he meets them.
“I’m a no sir, a yes ma’am, a hold that door for the girl kind of man. I’m a God Bless the U.S. When the flag flies high there’s a hand on my chest. You’ll see my last name on that farm when I’m long gone, because I know I’ll be the one to pass it on.” Every word I can relate to, “It ain’t what you had in life, man it’s what you’re gonna leave behind,” sings Eric. Thank you Eric for giving farmers songs they can relate to, have fun on the farm singing and feel good about the hard work they are doing for their families and the world! I’ll be playing these songs as I work and go after my dreams.
Visit ericburgett.com for more on his music and tour dates. Click here to listen and download Pass It On today!
Photo Credit: Eric Burgett Facebook
Farm Girl With Curls 