In the Canefirds

In the Canefields
by Austin Mitchell

1
I remember carrying sugar canes
Yes, carrying sugar canes
From the fields to the mills
And from the hills
2
Watching my father in the fields
My grand uncles as they reaped the canes
And we would heap up those canes
And take it from the fields
3
My grandmother and my mother
Cooking those large meals
Oh how we enjoyed those meals
From my mother and grandmother
4
And the workers carrying those large bundles of cane
And us carrying our small bundles of cane
But what I enjoyed most of all was the food
We just couldn’t get enough of that food
5
It was fantastic food
We called back two or three times
For more food
Yes two or three times
6
Then we were off to the fields
To cut and move the canes
Out of the fields
The food energised us to move those canes
7
Unfortunately, the canes are no longer with us
No trucks moving canes again
Not in these areas again
And the old people are no longer with us