[Intro] (Rhodes and a slow tick-tock, pedal steel breathes in) Sun's about a hand off the beans Long light, longer me [Verse 1] Come six o'clock the field goe [Bridge] (low spoken counter-line under the sung line) Merchant: "We could clear this whole half-section by fall" Base: "Or we could not" Merchant: "There's a buyer in Des Moines" Base: "There's a robin in the mulberry" (sung, softer) I don't pick a side, I just pick a row Coat on the fencepost, sleeves rolled low Wind's at my back so they both go long I'm the middle part where the light is gone (harmonies swell) And the middle part is doing fine Middle part is mine [Verse 3] Now the light's near flat and the shadows touch Coat-shape, shirt-shape, kinda overlap Can't tell a gear-tooth from a sawtooth leaf Can't tell the seller from the sap Neighbor drives by, gives the two-finger wave Says "Which one of you is doing all this?" I shrug with the shoulder that's still in the sun Say "both, I guess," and that's it [Chorus] Two shadows, one field One sells the sprocket, one waters the yield Two shadows, one field Turn the crank, s gold And I throw two shapes across the rows One's got a coat with the collar high Buttons from a gearbox, gear on the tie The other's just me in a faded shirt Knees gone green from talking to the dirt Same boots, same walk, same sorry hat But the shadows don't agree on where I'm at [Pre-Chorus] One leans toward the county road One leans toward the seed Both of 'em stretched out over the same Old parcel of ground I need [Chorus] Two shadows, one field One sells the sprocket, one waters the yield Two shadows, one field Turn the crank, pull the weed, that's the deal When the sun sits down they'll run together Ain't no gear without a leaf Ain't no leaf that don't need a turn Two shadows, one field, one me [Verse 2] The Merchant's got a ledger in his sleeve Counts the corn like it's a thing to lease Knows the price of a bolt in three towns over Talks fast for a guy this slow The Base just sits by the irrigation pump Naming the sprouts and skipping the plumb He'll trade you a tomato for a good long stare Merchant says "that's a loss" — Base don't care [Pre-Chorus] One's got a handshake made for a deal One's got a hand in the loam Both of 'em pointing back at the porch Both of 'em aiming home [Chorus] Two shadows, one field One sells the sprocket, one waters the yield Two shadows, one field Turn the crank, pull the weed, that's the deal When the sun sits down they'll run together Ain't no gear without a leaf Ain't no leaf that don't need a turn Two shadows, one field, one me
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