Rakestraw Wood

Lyrics

There lived an old man in Tennessee Who learned to carve when he was three He carved on everything he thought he could When he was still a little boy He taught himself to carve a toy And all the people called him Rakestraw Wood Well he grew into a lonesome man For he never found a lady's hand To keep him company like he thought they should So he took out his old carving knife And whittled himself a hickory wife And referred to her as Mrs. Rakestraw Wood [Chorus] Rakestraw Wood Rakestraw Wood Always seemed to be misunderstood With a straw in his mouth and a chisel in his hand The chisel would whittle at his command Nobody could carve as good as Rakestraw Wood Rakestraw Wood kept to himself With his whatnots lined upon the shelf And the people all around, they thought him strange Only went to town once in a while For the kids he always had a smile And the people said old Rakestraw'd never change It was Christmas Eve of '34 And everyone around was poor No gifts for the children would there be So Rakestraw carved and he whittled and he filed Till he'd made a gift for every child And he left them under the big town Christmas tree [Chorus] Rakestraw Wood Rakestraw Wood Always seemed to be misunderstood With a straw in his mouth and a chisel in his hand The chisel would whittle at his command Nobody could carve as good as Rakestraw Wood There was no one standing by his side On the day that Rakestraw Woody died And his carving knife was found upon the floor By a little girl who just by chance Saw a wooden horse begin to dance To all the townsfolk that is what she swore [Chorus] Rakestraw Wood Rakestraw Wood Always seemed to be misunderstood With a straw in his mouth and a chisel in his hand The chisel would whittle at his command Nobody could carve as good (Nobody ever could) Nobody could carve as good as Rakestraw Wood