I had an uncle name of Matthew he was his father's only boy
Born just south of Colby, Kansas he was his mother's pride and joy
Yes, and joy was just the thing he was raised on
Love was just a way to live and die
Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field
Blue was just a Kansas summer sky
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 farmboy life was mostly havin' fun
Ridin' on his daddy's shoulders behind a 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 '47 twister came and stripped 'em clean
He lost the farm and lost his family he lost the wheat, he lost his home
But he found the family bible and faith as solid as a stone
CHORUS
So he came to live at our house and he came to work the land
He came to ease my daddy's burdens and he came to be my friend
So I wrote this down for Matthew it's for him this song is sung
Ridin' on his daddy's shoulders behind a mule, beneath the sun
CHORUS: repeat twice