[Verse 1]
My hands are as cracked as an August field
That's burned in the sun for a hundred years
Furrows so deep you could hide yourself
Ain't planting cotton no more this year
I just sit on the porch with my eagle eye
And watch for a change in the wind
Furrows are as straight as a shotgun barrel
And long as a bullet can spin

[Chorus]
You know how hot it gets in Mississippi
You know how dry it gets in the summer sun
The dust clouds swirl all round the Delta
I just hope that I don't die before the harvest comes

[Verse 2]
Black clouds gather at the edge of town
But no rain's gonna fall on us
Hoes rise and fall in a distant field
Thе Earth takes a beating for all of us
I thought I heard thе Angel of Death overhead
But it was only the cropduster's plane
Hoes rise and fall like the beating of wings
Lord, send us freedom and rain
[Chorus]
You know how hot it gets in Mississippi
You know how dry it gets in the summer sun
The dust clouds swirl all round the Delta
I just hope that I don't die
Hope that I don't die
Hope that I don't die before the harvest comes