Sending Home the Slates

[Verse 1]
Only three fields have I
Oats and potatoes and rye
And a thatch on the roof
Cannot cover the truth
Cannot cover the tear in my eye

[Verse 2]
That seven generations to you
With the same bit of ocean to view
And no worse for loss
To curse it or cross it
To somewhere you cannot go in a shoe

[Chorus]
But oh, they'll be sending home the slates
So there'll be more than potatoes on your plates
With the money from the States
Thеre'll be whiskey by thе crates
Oh, when they're sending home the slates

[Verse 3]
A farmer alone with his fields
Poorer each year for its yields
And the only thing not sown
Is the permanence of stone
And the emptiness that he now feels

[Verse 4]
A pub and a store and a church
And a savior staring down from his perch
Don't need to remind me
There are places you might rather be
At least, that you might want to search

[Chorus]
But oh, they'll be sending home the slates
So there'll be more than potatoes on your plate
With the money from the States
There'll be whiskey by the crate
Oh, when they're sending home the slates

[Verse 5]
So dot the i's and cross those t's
Cove is a bitter place indeed
With the ships of the fleet
As far as the eye can see
When the tide turns you'll be gone from me

[Verse 6]
What good is sitting 'lone by the fire
Far from your own heart's desire?
In McGillicuddy's freaks
Under a roof that never leaks
'Til the stories caught in your throat expire

[Chorus]
But oh, they'll be sending home the slates
So there'll be more than potatoes on your plate
With the money from the States
There'll be whiskey by the crates
Oh, when they're sending home the slates