[Intro] They called it a desert We called it a doorway Ten dollars down Five years to own it [Chorus] One sixty acres Ten dollar fee Five years living Then the land came free One sixty acres Plant that seed Hard ground hard times Still we believed [Verse 1] Homestead Act in eighteen sixty two Congress said the Plains got room for you Railroad rolling and the prices less Thousands packed light for a life out West Black families came from the Southern states Left Jim Crow for a wider gate Women filed claims and immigrants came Different stories but the dream stayed the same [Pre Chorus] New track new town new chance new start Little bit of money and a whole lot of heart [Chorus] One sixty acres Ten dollar fee Five years living Then the land came free One sixty acres Plant that seed Hard ground hard times Still we believed [Verse 2] No tall timber so they turned to the ground Sod stacked solid made a house from a mound Called them soddies built root by root Mud on the walls and the wind on the roof Flood came fast then the dry years followed Fire swept fields and the grasshoppers swallowed Whole house working from the dawn till dark When the Plains pushed back they pushed back hard [Pre Chorus] Cold wind cut but the hope held tight Stored food deep for the long snow nights [Chorus] One sixty acres Ten dollar fee Five years living Then the land came free One sixty acres Plant that seed Hard ground hard times Still we believed [Verse 3] Sodbusters breaking that prairie plate Steel plow slicing where the old plow failed Dry farming saved every drop that fell Windmill spinning pulled water from wells Winter wheat growing and the wire ran wide Barbed wire borders drew lines outside One sixty sounded like plenty to claim But debt came quick when the harvest came late [Bridge] Oklahoma rush in eighty nine Ten thousand waiting on the border line Sooners slipped through before the sound Claimed the best pieces of unassigned ground By eighteen ninety the frontier was gone New lives rose while Native lands were lost [Final Chorus] One sixty acres Ten dollar fee Five years living Then the land came free One sixty acres Plant that seed Hard ground hard times Still we believed One sixty acres Names unknown Built from the dirt Made the Plains their home [Outro] No easy land No easy road Just common people Carrying uncommon hope
