Three Nebraska Lyrics

1. On the Ridge

The wind whispers under Ponderosa pine.
It echoes through the Cottonwoods that fill the timberline.
And if you listen, who knows what you might find on the ridge.
Shadow meets the sunshine, capturing moments from the past.
Clouds take hold in afternoon, the sky turns overcast on the ridge.
The sun rises, and the world is light again.
The tall grass shoots up from the earth, an old and trusted friend.
A wondrous Western morning where the blue sky knows no end.
On the ridge.

2. Underneath

If I plant some seeds, let the roots grow deep, bedded in the valley, stirring underneath.
The tender buds break ground while our children sleep.
Platte River, let her flow.
When my soul leaves my body, lay it in this field.
Rest me in the basin, where my crops still yield.
Return me to my home, under great green weald.
Platte River, let her flow.

3. The Planting Season

He rode down from the hillside, his team so swift and strong,
searching for the flatlands, a place where he’d belong.
It was the planting season, and so he did break ground,
and if you’re wonderin’ what comes next, dear children gather round.
He built himself a cabin on the claim that he would stake.
The meadowlark’s sweet song each day reminded him to make
the most of God’s green hillside, so he planted it with his hands,
working dawn to dusk most every night, the deed the land demands.
One day he rode up hillside for an errand in the town,
and came across a beauty adorned in a flowered gown.
Oh, bless this planting season and the bounty that will grow
for the good man and his farm wife who will tend the seeds they sow.
The years passed like a season and the farmer took his rest.
She stood with him at bedside and made a quiet request:
“When you walk up God’s green hillside, don’t forget to wait, my love.
I’ll meet you when the planting’s done, on the hillside up above.
I’ll see you when my days are done, on God’s green hillside up above.”

– Becky Boesen