When I was a teen, my Shop teacher, Mr. Jerry Molstad, invited me to spend a couple of weeks on his parents' farm in eastern South Dakota. They were all salt of the earth, and so good to me, well it's a time in my life I'll always treasure. Sadly, Mr. Molstad passed away some twenty years later, and it was probably twenty years after that I stopped by the farm while home on a visit, which was probably when the song idea formed.
I'm happy to report that the farm remains in the family. I've been in contact with them and shared an acoustic version of the song. I needed to know they were okay with it. They were/are, and so here's a full production of
Summer On The Molstad Farm , a song inspired by real events.
It's also on YouTube.
Lyrics and notes are below. Thanks for the listens and any feedback:)
He taught school to us city kids but his family farmed
Folks were third generation there was a house and a barn
And a couple thousand acres of prime South Dakota land
When he asked if anybody wanted a job for the summer I raised my hand
Now this was back in the day when the boys took Shop and all the girls Home-Ec
There’s a lot that I don’t remember, some things you don’t forget
Like the new Pontiac Grand Prix he was driving when he picked me up
Flax fields turning into an ocean of blue when the Sun came up
Chorus:
That summer on the Molstad farm
Had a hot red neck and an ache in my arm
From working all day
Baling that hay
Digging down deep
Earning my keep
I remember how cool I felt
The time they let me have a cold Grain Belt
Nah, it never did me no harm
That summer, summer on the Molstad farm
After all this time gone by, after so much has changed
Standing here on the family farm feels a little strange
Like it did that first morning looking over God’s green earth
I was just a teenage kid hoping I would prove my worth
I often come here in my mind retracing steps
I often wonder if they knew how much it meant
Having their trust placed in me, all those lessons learned
They are with me here right now and whenever I return
To that summer….
Mixed and Mastered in Studio One
Processed with outboard gear and plugins by Izotope, Waves, IK Multimedia
Lead Vocal is me.
BGV's are me and a combination of vocal tracks created with Nectar 3 / Melodyne
Style is _HINTER.STY (Hinterland Rocking Country)
1254:Bass, Electric, PopShiningSync Ev 120 Held (Verse)
1254:Bass, Electric, PopShiningSync Ev 120 (Chorus)
2934:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FolkySync8thsFintan Ev 140
2494:Piano, Acoustic, HeldChords 120 Held
2499:Guitar, Baritone Electric, Rhythm PopCountryBrent Ev 120
2535:Guitar, Electric, HeldChords Gritty
852:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm NashvillePopClean Ev 120 (B:arp)
844:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm CountryRockPopping Ev 120
RealDrums NashvilleEven8^8-a:Snare, HiHat Open , b:Snare, Ride
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