This letter that I write to you, DadWell, I will not sign my nameThough I did not want to tell youI felt I had to anywayIt's rained for weeksAnd it flooded the creek And I lost the whole crop of grainAnd the man at the bank wouldn't loan me the moneyTo plant that field againSo today Dad I sold the old John DeereThe man who bought it is gonna fix it upAnd put it in a museumWell I guess that's where this whole thing's goneA picture for people to pay to look uponThat's how they lived in the old days sonThe sheep's in the meadowCan't find the cowsLittle Boy Blue's got a job in townYesterday old McAllister came bySaid that he's had enoughBetween the government and the subsidiesWell he just couldn't keep upAnd if welfare checks was farmin'Well he'd simply just rather notAnd I didn't say nothin' DadAs I watched him drive offBut today Dad I sold the old John DeereThe man who bought it is gonna fix it upAnd put it in a museumWell I guess that's where this whole thing's goneA picture for people to pay to look uponThat's how they lived in the old days sonThe sheep's in the meadowCan't find the cowsLittle Boy Blue's got a job in townMary says it will be okayIf nothing else goes wrongAnd she got a job at the five-and-dimeAnd the hours ain't too longI hope this letter finds you wellI'm sorry how it just goes onBut I had to tell somebody DadAnd you were the only oneAnd today Dad I sold the old John Deere