New MacDonald (Had a Farm)

by Andy Revkin

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about

This is my reimagining of the age-old folk tune "Old MacDonald" for these times of deep debt and a host of other issues weighing on, and sometimes taking, the lives and livelihoods of family farmers across the United States (not to mention India and other regions).

CAUTION: This song is NOT for kids.

Farm Aid farmers' hotline: 1-800-FARM-AID (1-800-327-6243).
farmaid.org
988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline: 988lifeline.org

In the USA, farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association.
PBS story: www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-rural-communities-are-tackling-a-suicide-and-depression-crisis-among-farmers

lyrics

New MacDonald
© 2023 Andrew Revkin
Old MacDonald had a farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
And on that farm he had some cows.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there.
Here a moo, there a moo, everywhere.
Old MacDonald had a farm.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Old MacDonald had a farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
And on that farm he took a loan.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Had to pay for feed, and tractor fuel.
Taxes rising, too.
Old MacDonald had a loan.
What’s a man to do? What’s a man to do?
Old MacDonald lost that farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Missed three payments, last the charm.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Then the bankers came,
And the auctioneer came, singing his selling song.
Old MacDonald lost the farm.
Now everything is gone. Everything is gone.
Old MacDonald bought the farm. Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
Found him slumped on the tractor,
Dead in the barn.
Ee-yi ee-yi-o.
He was born there. Swore he’d die there.
And everything he swore came true.
Old MacDonald bought the farm.
What’s a man to do?
What’s a man to do?

credits

released April 7, 2024

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about

Andy Revkin Lamoine, Maine

Best known for his environmental journalism and books, Andy Revkin has long been a performing songwriter (here seen on the Clearwater; photo by Susan English).

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