Willie and Laura Mae Jones Were neighbours a long time back They lived right down the road from us In a shack just like our shack We worked in the fields together And we learned to count on each other When you live off the land You don't have time To think about another man's color
Lord, the cotton was high and the corn was growin' fast But that was another place and another time
They'd sit out on the front porch in the evenin' when the sun went down Willie would play and Laura would sing and the chilluns would dance around And I'd bring over my guitar and we'd play into the night And every now and then ol'Willie would grin and say "Boy you play allright" And that made me feel so good"
The cotton was high and the corn was growin' fast But that was another place and another time
I remember we'd hitch up the mules when Saturday rolled around We'd always stop by Willie's house and say "Do you need anything from town?" And he'd say "No, but why don't y'all stop on your way back home And I'll get Laura Mae to cook up some corn pones And you know they're good
Oh Lord, the cotton was high and the corn was growin' fast But that was another place and another time
The years rolled past the land and took back what they'd given And we all knew we'd have to move if we was gonna make a livin' So we all moved off and we went our separate ways And it sure was hard to say goodbye to Willie and Laura Mae Jones
Oh the cotton was high and the corn was growing fast, yes it was But that was another place and another time
The years roll past our door and we heard from them no more Till I saw Willie down town the other day I said "Y'all stop by tonight and we can sit down and eat a bite We'd love to see your childrens and Laura Mae" He shook his head real slow and spoke with his eyes so kind "This is another place and another time!"
Lord, the cotton was high and the corn was growin' gast But that was another place and another time Lord, Lord, the cotton was high and the corn was growin' gast But that was another place and another time
Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord, the cotton was high and the corn was growing so fast But that was another place and another time Good God!