[Verse 1] The ladies of the garden club say His home is just a disgrace to the town If the Mayor wants re-elected He’d better pass some laws and tear it down They wanna cover it with flowers Maybe even plant some dogwood trees I guess that they’ve forgotten When we were kids what that place used to be [Verse 2] I know it’s just a shanty now But Lord that place was built with human tears For it’s the home of Uncle Lem Who was born and raised and lived there ninety years There’s not a boy in this whole town Hasn’t stopped for water at his well Or sat on his porch in the evenin’ And listened to the stories that he’d tell [Chorus] Oh his hair was the color of a cotton field And his skin was old and brown And he was born in that rundown shack Before there was a town He bought that shack and a piece of earth For the highest price to pay His mom was bought and sold there Uncle Lem was born’d a slave [Bridge] The mayor and some ladies of the garden club Went out to tell Uncle Lem that he’d have to find a new place to live Well they found him there in that old broken down rockin’ chair And on an old paper bag they found his will "Now I wanna leave my old shotgun to the fine mayor of this town For I remember when he a little fella he used to follow me around Lord I wish I had more to give to my friends that I love But all I’ve got is this old shack and a piece of earth And I want it to go to the ladies of the garden club" [Chorus] Oh his hair was the color of a cotton field And his skin was old and brown And he was born in that rundown shack Before there was a town He bought that shack and a piece of earth For the highest price to pay His mom was bought and sold there Uncle Lem was born’d a slave