The corn was dry and the weeds were high   When daddy took to drinking   Then him and Lucy Walker they took up and ran away   Mama cried a tear and then she promised fourteen children      I swear you'll never see a hungry day   Oh, the path was deep and wide from footsteps leading to our cabin      Above the door there burned the scarlet lamp   And late at night a hand would knock   And there would stand a stranger   Yes I'm the son of Hickory Holler's tramp      When mama sacrificed her pride the neighbors started talkin'   But I was much too young   To understand the things they said   The things that mattered most of all was mama's chicken dumplings      And the goodnight kiss before we went to bed   Oh, the path was deep and wide      When daddy left then destitution came upon our family   Not one neighbor volunteered to give a helping hand   So let 'em gossip all they want she loved us and she raised us   The proof is standing here a full grown man      Last summer mama passed away and left the ones who loved her   Each and everyone of us were more than grateful for our birth   Now every Sunday she receives a fresh bouquet of fourteen roses   With a card that says to the greatest mom on earth      Oh, the path was deep and wide   Yes I'm the son of Hickory Holler's tramp