Billy Bob is going to Harvard

[Verse 1]
Smoke is rising thick from the hickory pit
The Mayor is shaking my hand like I won a prize
I got a letter with a fancy red crest
Mama is already packing my heavy wool socks
They say I’m the first one from this county
To go and sit in those old brick buildings

[Chorus]
So toss a five in the collection jar
I’m headed North to study what it all means
Trading my shovel for some very big ideas
The town’s going to have a thinker in the family
Billy Bob is going to Harvard
To figure out the reason we are here

[Verse 2]
Uncle Jim asked if I’ll learn to fix the weather
I told him I’m just learning how to wonder
About the soul and the dirt and why we breathe
He just handed me a sandwich and some slaw
Told me not to let those folks up there
Talk me out of my own common sense

[Chorus]
So toss a five in the collection jar
I’m headed North to study what it all means
Trading my shovel for some very big ideas
The town’s going to have a thinker in the family
Billy Bob is going to Harvard
To figure out the reason we are here

[Bridge]
It’s a long way from the creek to the campus
Trading my boots for a library card
But they say I’ve got a mind for the deep stuff
Even if my fingernails are still stained with grease
I’ll represent the valley in those hallways

[Chorus]
So toss a five in the collection jar
I’m headed North to study what it all means
Trading my shovel for some very big ideas
The town’s going to have a thinker in the family
Billy Bob is going to Harvard
To figure out the reason we are here

[Outro]
Save me a plate of that pulled pork
I’ll bring back some new words next fall
Philosophy is just a fancy way of saying
I’m looking for the truth in the weeds
(Just looking for the truth)
(In the weeds)