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Sunday,
February 05,
2012
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The Ballad of Jesse Hardy
Lyrics by Larry Bailey, music by Bill Lhota and the
Sawgrass Boys
Click here to Listen to Jesse's Ballad
In Florida's Collier County lives a good-ol'-hearted man
His name is Jesse Hardy, and he truly loves the land.
Wants to be a helpful neighbor, but also left alone
And to leave to his son Tommy some land to call his own.
Oh, Jesse's had his good times, and Jesse's had his bad,
But these are the worst times that he's ever had;
He's been devilled by greeners, and devilled by the mob
That come from Tallahassee to steal from him and rob!
Some out-of-county shysters think they own his land,
And they're goin' to steal his homestead if they everlastin' can.
They don't know what they're into; I promise that they'll
see
How much his friends and neighbors still love their liberty!
It's been twenty-seven years since Jesse made his camp-
Midst gators and cypress, the dewdrops and the damp.
He's Mother Nature's steward; he loves the pine and loam,
And he'll fight till fightin's over, for his son and for his
home.
Now, Jesse was a frogman, a Navy SEAL so true
Who put forth every effort that his country said was due.
He never took a single dime that he could not repay,
And he always tried to help the friends he made along the way.
Is this how they repay him, this self-made friend of mine?
Will we let 'em take the land that he hoped to leave behind?
Will the skeeters and the gators overrun his pride and joy;
Will folks from Tallahassee disinherit Jesse's boy?
Now, listen, friends and neighbors, oh, please take heed and learn,
When Jesse's land is taken, he has no place to turn!
Let's stop what's happenin' to him, lest it happen to
us all,
Let's rally 'round ol' Jesse', boys, and answer freedom's
call!
Now this fight ain't 'bout money, it's all about a man
Who cares about his freedom, folks, enough to take his stand
He loves the ground he walks on; and loves his son so well
Who fights for rights for all of us, as best as I can tell.
Yes, in Florida's Collier County lives a good-ol'-hearted
man
His name is Jesse Hardy, and he truly loves the land.
He wants to keep his homestead, and he doesn't stand alone
As he fights for his son Tommy for land to call his own.
And he fights for his son Tommy some land to call his own.
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