Barbed Wire Boys

I come from
 the Rural midwest
 It's the land I love more than all the rest
 It's the place I know
 and can understand
 Like a false front building
 like the back of my hand
 And the men I knew when I was coming up
 Were as sober as coffee in a Styrofoam cup
 There were Earl's and Ray's, Harlans and Roys
 They were full grown men they were Barbed wire boys
 They raised Grain and cattle
 on the treeless Fields
 Set up at the head of the table
 and pray before meals
 They prayed an our father
 and that was enough
 If you prayed more than that
 then you couldnt stay tough
 Tough as The busted thumbnails on their weathered hands
 They worked the gold plate off their wedding bands
 And they never complained,
 no they never made noise
 and they never left home
 these Barbed wire boys
 Cause their wildest dreams
 Were all fenced in
 By the weight of family
 By the feeling of sin
 That'll prick your skin
 At the slightest touch
 If you reach to far
 If you feel too much
 So their deepest hopes
 Never were expressed
 Just beating like birds wings
 In the cage of their chests
 All the restless longings
 All the secret joys
 That were never set free
 In the barbed wire boys
 Now one by one
 They're departing this earth
 And its clear to me now
 Exactly what they're worth
 Oh they were just like Atlas
 Holding up the sky
 You never heard him speak
 You never saw him cry
 But where do the tears go
 That you never shed
 Where do the words go
 That you never said
 There's a blink of the eye
 There's a catch in the voice
 That is the unsung song
 Of the barbed wire boys