Had an uncle named Matthew   Was his fathers only boy   Born just south of Colby, Kansas   Was his mother's pride and joy      Yes, and joy was just the thing he was raised on   Love was just the way to live and die   Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field   Blue, just a Kansas summer sky      And all the stories that he told me   Back when I was just a lad   And all the memories that he gave me   And all the good times that he had      Growing up a Kansas farm boy   Life was mostly having fun   Riding on his Daddy's shoulders   Behind a mule, beneath the sun      Yes, and joy was just the thing he was raised on   Love was just the way to live and die   Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field   Blue, just a Kansas summer sky      Well, I guess there were some hard times   And I'm told some years were lean   They had a storm in forty-seven   A twister came and stripped them clean      He lost the farm and lost his family   He lost the wheat and lost his home   But he found the family Bible   Faith as solid as a stone      Yes, and joy was just the thing he was raised on   Love was just the way to live and die   Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field   Blue, just a Kansas summer sky      So he came to live at our house   And he came to work the land   He came to ease my Daddy's burden   And he came to be my friend      So I wrote this down for Matthew   And it's for him the song is sung   Riding on his Daddy's shoulders   Behind a Mule, beneath the sun      Yes, and joy was just the thing he was raised on   Love was just the way to live and die   Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field   Blue, just a Kansas summer sky      Yes, and joy was just the thing he was raised on   Love was just the way to live and die   Gold was just a windy Kansas wheat field   Blue, just a Kansas summer sky