Goodnight, Texas is een Amerikaans folkrockduo, vernoemd naar het dorp Goodnight in – je raadt het al – Texas. Maggie’s Farm Forever is de openingstrack van het album A Long Life of Living, één de betere Amerikaanse folkrockalbums van de afgelopen tien jaar. De titel verwijst uiteraard naar Dylan’s klassieke Maggie’s Farm, maar bij Goodnight, Texas legt de hoofdpersoon zich uiteindelijk neer bij zijn lot, de rebellie blijft beperkt tot een wilde droom. Zelfs religie – het laatste toevluchtsoord van de verdrukten – biedt déze slaaf geen verlichting van zijn lot: I’ve thought to myself in the darkest of nights/Of freedom above me where all is alright/But I wake up so cold on a cracked wooden floor/And I’ve got to admit I’m not sure anymore.
[Verse 1]
I worked in her fields
And under her trees
I picked all her cotton
It stung me like bees
I shoveled her dirt
When no one else would
I gave her way more
Than I ever should
And I’m still here with nothing
Whatsoever
So I’m gonna work on Maggie’s farm forever
[Verse 2]
I ground down my knuckles for nothing at all
I’ve worked on my knees till I couldn’t crawl
I’ve felt so worthless I can hardly recall
A time before she had me trapped in her wall
The odds of me leaving are slim to almost never
Yeah I’m gonna work on Maggie’s farm forever
[Verse 3]
I’ve thought to myself in the darkest of nights
Of freedom above me where all is alright
But I wake up so cold on a cracked wooden floor
And I’ve got to admit I’m not sure anymore
Yeah I live in this endless misery however
Yeah I’m gonna work on Maggie’s farm forever
[Bridge]
I’ve dreamed to myself with no one around
Of burning her plantation down to the ground
And watching her scream from her third story room
And light up my shovel wheelbarrow and broom
All burned the point you could never exhume
A filthiest past one could ever entomb
And her ashes will smolder the finest perfume
If I have the strength to get out of this gloom
I know no other living whatsoever
I’m gonna work on Maggie’s farm forever
I’m gonna work on Maggie’s farm forever
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By aviavivino – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76256232
