Oh, my family grew cotton and cotton was all we knew Butter came from butter beans and it all went in a stew We lived off our victory garden and the neighbors did so too Some years the dust was so ruthless, this cotton was all we grew When there's no more cane on the grasses And the oil is gone in the gulf When the wells are dry on the flatlands Cotton's all we got, cotton's all we got In the days before the power lines when L B J taught school We dreamed of a fairer nation and promised to change the rules To build a great society and all the folks in the same room Fighting a war on poverty and taking us to the moon When there's no more cane on the grasses And the oil is gone in the gulf When the wells run dry on the flatlands Cotton's all we got, oh cotton's all we got Then the wind will feed the power lines where once it was dust that blew All along the Chisholm Trail where cotton's all we knew When there's no more cane on the grasses And the oil is gone in the gulf When the wells are dry on the flatlands Cotton's all we got, oh cotton's all we got Cotton's all we got