From the recording Wall Dogs

This song was inspired by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ book of the same title, published in 1933. She had moved to the Big Scrub of Florida in 1928. In this book, her first novel, she describes the realities of a hard-scrabble life in an almost uninhabitable environment. Hemingway was a big fan of her writing.

Lyrics

SOUTH MOON UNDER
(Copyright © 2024, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)

V) young oak, palmetto and southern scrub pine,
heat as thick as a kudzu vine,
stronger and sweeter than strawberry wine
South Moon Under

V) ain’t nothing worse than people and snakes
both of them come in all sizes and shapes
Gotta go kill ‘em off if that’s what it takes
South Moon Under

CH) The animals stir and the night is awake
up in the trees and deep down in the lake
A world of danger and wonder
South Moon Under

V) You do what you have to just so you can live
Mostly take; ain’t got much to give
It’s a matter of when not a matter of if
South Moon Under

V) The summer is endless and drifts like a dream
on the wings of the night birds like a great flowing stream
man and beast, not much in-between
South Moon Under

CH) The animals stir and the night is awake
up in the trees and deep down in the lake
A world of danger and wonder
South Moon Under

V) Some laws ain’t made by God or by man
Best not to try, you won’t understand
trust in a pistol instead of a plan
South Moon Under

V) We ain’t seen someone like you before
What did you think would lay here in store?
You might find much more than you bargained for
South Moon Under

CH) The animals stir and the night is awake
up in the trees and deep down in the lake
A world of danger and wonder
South Moon Under