Norman Blake Ginseng Sullivan Lyrics

[Verse 1]
About three miles from the Battelle yard
From the reverse curve on down
Not far south of the town depot
Old Sullivan's shack was found
Back on the higher ground
You could see him every day
Walking down the line
With his old brown sack across his back
And his long hair down behind
Speaking his worried mind

[Chorus]
It's a long way to the delta
From the North Georgia hills
And a tote sack full of ginseng
Won't pay no travelin' bills
And I'm too old to ride the rails
Or thumb the road alone
Well, I guess I'll never make it back to home
My muddy water Mississippi delta home

[Verse 2]
Well, the winters here, they get too cold
The damp, it makes me ill
You can't dig no roots in the mountainside
With the ground froze hard and still
You gotta stay at the foot of the hill But next summer, things turn right
The companies will pay high
I'll make enough money to pay my bills
And bid these mountains goodbye
Then he said with a sigh

[Chorus]
It's a long way to the delta
From the North Georgia hills
And a tote sack full of ginseng
Won't pay no travelin' bills
And I'm too old to ride the rails
Or thumb the road alone
Well, I guess I'll never make it back to home
My muddy water Mississippi delta home

[Instrumental Break]

[Chorus]
It's a long way to the delta
From the North Georgia hills
And a tote sack full of ginseng
Won't pay no travelin' bills
And I'm too old to ride the rails
Or thumb the road alone
Well, I guess I'll never make it back to home
My muddy water Mississippi delta home