Forefathers
Dan Fogelberg

They came from Scandinavia, the land of midnight sun
And crossed the North Atlantic when this century was young
They'd heard that in America every man was free
To live the way he chose to live and be who he could be

Some of them were farmers there and tilled the frozen soil
But all they got was poverty for all their earnest toil
They say one was a sailor who sailed the wide world round
Made home port, got drunk one night, walked off the pier and drowned

My mother was of Scottish blood, it's there that she was born
They brought her to America in 1924
They left behind the highlands and the heather-covered hills
And came to find America with broad expectant dreams and iron wills

My granddad worked the steel mills of central Illinois
His daughter was his jewel, his son was just his boy
For thirty years he worked the mills and stoked the coke-fed fires
And looked toward the day when he'd at last turn 65 and could retire

And the sons become the fathers and their daughters will be wives
As the torch is passed from hand to hand
And we struggle through our lives
Though the generations wander, the lineage survives
And all of us, from dust to dust
We all become forefathers by and by

The woman and the man were wed just after the war
And they settled in this river town and three fine sons she bore
One became a lawyer and one fine pictures drew
And one became this lonely soul
Who sits here now and sings this song to you

And the sons become the fathers and their daughters will be wives
As the torch is passed from hand to hand
And we struggle through our lives
Though the generations wander, the lineage survives
And all of us, from dust to dust
We all become forefathers by and by


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Lyrics by Dan Fogelberg

  (someone's Been) Telling You Stories   (Someone's Been) Telling You Stories   A Cry In The Forest   A Growing Time   A Leader of the Band/Washington Post March   A Love Like This   A Voice For Peace   Aireshire Lament   All There Is   Along the Road   Anastasia's Eyes   Anastasia's Eyes   Anyway I Love You   As the Raven Flies   Aspen   Aspen / These Days   Aspen/These Days   Aurora Nova   Aurora Nova, The Wild Places   Be On Your Way   Beggar's Game   Beggar's Game   Believe In Me   Below The Surface   Better Change   Beyond The Edge   Beyond the Edge [From Beyond the Edge]   Birds   Blind To The Truth   Bones In The Sky   Captured Angel   Changing Horses   Come To The Harbor   Comes & Goes   Comes And Goes   Crow   Dancing Shoes   Days To Come   Diamonds To Dust   Down The Road   Drawing Pictures   Earth Anthem   Empty Cages   Ever On   Ever On (A Traveling Prayer)   Exiles   Face the Fire   Faces Of America   False Faces   Full Circle   Ghosts   Give Me Some Time   Go Down Easy   Gone Too Far   Guitar Étude No. 3   Guitar Étude No. 3 [Instrumental]   Gypsy Wind   Hard To Say   Heart Hotels   Hearts and Crafts   Hearts In Decline   Hickory Grove   High Country Snows   Higher Ground   Holy Road   Hurtwood Alley   Hurtwood Alley [Instrumental]   I Saw Three Ships   Illinois   In the Bleak Midwinter   In The Passage   Intimidation   Is This Magic   It Doesn't Matter   It Doesn't Matter   Lahaina Luna   Lahaina Luna [Instrumental]   Language of Love   Last Nail   Lazy Susan   Leader Of The Band   Leader of the Band/Washington Post March   Lessons Learned   Let Her Go   Lonely In Love   Long Way Home   Long Way Home (Live In the Country)   Longer   Longer [Album Version]   Longer [Album Version] [Version]   Looking For A Lady   Loose Ends   Lost In The Sun   Love Gone By   Love In Time   Lovers In A Dangerous Time   Magic Every Moment   Make Love Stay   Man in the Mirror   Man in the Mirror/ Below the Surface   Missing You   More Than Ever   Morning Sky   Mountain Pass   Nether Lands   Netherlands   Next Time   Nexus   Old Tennessee   Once Upon A Time   Only The Heart May Know   Our Last Farewell   Over & Over   Over And Over   Paris Nocturne   Part of the Plan   Part on the Plan   Phoenix   Promises Made   Rhythm Of The Rain   River Of Souls   Road Beneath My Wheels   Run For The Roses   Same Auld Lang Syne   Same Old Lang Syne   Scarecrow's Dream   Scarecrow's Dream   Seeing You Again   Serengeti Moon   Shallow Rivers   She Don't Look Back   She Don't Look Back   Since You Asked   Since You've Asked   Since You've Asked   Sketches   So Many Changes   Soft Voice   Sometimes A Song   Song For A Carpenter   Song From Half Mountain   Song Of The Sea   Songbird   Souvenirs   Stars   Stars (Album Version)   Statesboro Blues   Stolen Moments   Sunlight   Sutter's Mill   Sutter's Mill   Sweet Magnolia   Sweet Magnolia (and the Travelling Salesman)   Tell Me To My Face   Telling You Stories   The Colors Of Eve   The Face Of Love   The Higher You Climb   The Innocent Age   The Language of Love   The Last Nail   The Last to Know   The Lion's Share   The Lion's Share   The Long Way   The Loving Cup   The Minstrel   The Outlaw   The Power of Gold   The Reach   The River   The Sand & The Foam   The Sand and the Foam   The Spirit Trail   The Way It Must Be   The Wild Places   There's A Place In The World For A Gambler   There's A Place In The World For A Gambler   These Days   Think of What You've Done   Think Of What You've Done   This Endris Night   Times Like These   To The Morning   Tucson, Arizona   Tucson, Arizona (Gazette)   Tullamore Dew   Tullamore Dew [Instrumental]   Twins Theme   Twins Theme [Instrumental]   Wandering Shepherd   We Three Kings   What Child Is This?   What You're Doing   What You're Doing   Whispers In The Wind   Windows & Walls   Windows and Walls   Windows and Walls [Album Version]   Wishing on the Moon   Wolf Creek   Wolf Creek [Instrumental]   Wysteria

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