Nobody handed him anything but a hammer and a name. A drought year, a herd sold at a loss and an unopened bank letter put a rancher on the tailgate, and he gets back up on what his father taught him, then hands it down to his own kids.
A Hammer and a Name
Summer came in blazin’, never gave the ground a break
Creek bed cracked wide open, dust on every step I’d take
Hay went up to a price that I just couldn’t pay
So I loaded half the herd and hauled ’em off to sell that day
My boy rode shotgun, never said a word the whole way through
My little girl stood in the yard, callin’ out the names she knew
Bank letter on the table, ain’t been opened all week
My wife laid her hand on mine, she didn’t have to speak
My old man used to say this life is gonna land a hit
You get up, dust it off, and you never learn the word quit
Nobody handed me nothin’ but a hammer and a name
A stubborn streak, a sunrise, and a prayer for rain
Every fence I ever stretched, every post I ever set
Was a lesson from his hands that I ain’t forgotten yet
Got a back that don’t quit and a heart that won’t be tamed
Nobody handed me nothin’ but a hammer and a name
Sat out on the tailgate, ’bout as low as I could get
Stars over dead grass, thinkin’ how deep I was in debt
Heard his voice as clear as day, like he was sittin’ right there
Son, this ground don’t owe you nothin’, but it’s never been unfair
Then a light came on upstairs, my boy was starin’ down
Same way I used to watch Pop when he thought no one was around
Same boy spent his summers ridin’ at his grandpa’s side
So I got up off that tailgate with a fire still inside
Nobody handed me nothin’ but a hammer and a name
A stubborn streak, a sunrise, and a prayer for rain
Every fence I ever stretched, every post I ever set
Was a lesson from his hands that I ain’t forgotten yet
Got a back that don’t quit and a heart that won’t be tamed
Nobody handed me nothin’ but a hammer and a name
Sold ’em for a loss down at the sale barn Saturday
Same beef hit the store at a price folks can’t hardly pay
Four big packers in the middle, squeezin’ both ends of the line
But the Good Lord gave me two hands and a sunrise every time
Nobody handed me nothin’ but a hammer and a name
A stubborn streak, a sunrise, and a prayer for rain
Every fence I ever stretched, every post I ever set
Was a lesson from his hands that I ain’t forgotten yet
Now I’m teachin’ it to mine, and they’ll carry it the same
I’m handin’ down a hammer and a name
Thunder rolled in Sunday, first rain since early May
My little girl ran barefoot out and danced the dust away
And I heard my old man laughin’
Somewhere in the rain