Where the Cornfield Was

There was corn as far as a kid could run
Gold in the evenin', for miles around
Old man Cole gave that dirt his whole damn life
Fed half the county off that black-dirt ground
Then a fella in a rental car came through
With a briefcase full of numbers and a grin
Said sign right here, sir, this is progress now
And they scraped the whole horizon to begin

Now it hums all night where the cornfield was
Steel and concrete and the coolin' fans' buzz
No sweat, no seed, no seasons no more
And the quiet don't live here like before
They can call it a win, but a win it's not
You can't feed a town on a parkin' lot
I won't forget the gold that used to grow
I'll take it to the grave when I go

They promised us jobs, only a few came through
My cousin hired on when the farm got sold
Now he watches a screen in a windowless room
Where the corn used to ripple, green and gold
The tax break's fat while the town grows thin
With a company callin' the shots a state away
That burns more power than a small city needs
And the money it makes don't ever stay

Now it hums all night where the cornfield was
Steel and concrete and the coolin' fans' buzz
No sweat, no seed, no seasons no more
And the quiet don't live here like before
They can call it a win, but a win it's not
You can't feed a town on a parkin' lot
I won't forget the gold that used to grow
I'll take it to the grave when I go

This was somebody's whole life, somebody's blood
Handed down through the drought and the flood
You bought up the ground and you paved it flat
But you'll never, ever take that

Now it hums all night where the cornfield was
Steel and concrete and the coolin' fans' buzz
No sweat, no seed, no seasons no more
And the quiet don't live here like before
They can call it a win, but a win it's not
You can't feed a town on a parkin' lot
I won't forget the gold that used to grow
I'll take it to the grave when I go