Enduring Love and Resilience in the Face of the Farm Crisis
The 1987 release of Nanci Griffith’s album Lone Star State of Mind brought us a song that struck a profound, melancholic chord with listeners, particularly those who remembered the Dust Bowl or were watching the modern American farm crisis unfold: “Trouble In The Fields.” Released as a single, this moving piece of “folkabilly” found a modest place on the US Country chart, peaking at No. 57. While perhaps not a massive chart-topper, its resonance transcended mere statistics, cementing its status as one of Griffith’s most cherished and important compositions.
The story behind “Trouble In The Fields” is one rooted in profound personal history and deep empathy for the American farmer. Nanci Griffith—a singer-songwriter whose narrative brilliance often earned her the moniker of a “folk-country poet”—wrote the song inspired by her family’s experience, specifically dedicating it to her great aunt and uncle, Nettie Mae and Tootie, who had farmed near Lockney, Texas, for over eighty years. The lyrics, co-written with Rick West, paint a harrowing but ultimately hopeful picture of agricultural life in America, bridging the struggles of the Great Depression with the financial hardships faced by farmers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The core meaning of the song lies in the steadfast love and resilience of a farming couple determined to hold onto their land and their life together, even as economic forces—symbolized by “the bankers swarm like locust”—threaten to destroy their livelihood. The narrative draws a powerful parallel between the contemporary crisis and the hard times of fifty years prior, when their parents “stood out in these empty fields / in dust as deep as snow.” This reflection on generational hardship speaks to the older reader, evoking memories of their own parents’ struggles and the cyclical nature of American rural resilience.
The song is a masterful blend of political commentary and intimate, personal commitment. It critiques the forces driving families off their land, lamenting the sight of folks buying tickets “out and talking the great depression,” while ultimately focusing on the strength of the bond between the couple. The deeply emotional refrain—”They’ll never take our native soil / But if we sell that new John Deere / And then we’ll work these crops with sweat and tears / You’ll be the mule I’ll be the plow / Come harvest time we’ll work it out / There’s still a lot of love, here in these troubled fields“—is not merely a statement of intent, but a sacred, working-class vow. It’s a promise to forsake modern ease (the “new John Deere”) and return to the fundamentals of manual labor and shared sacrifice, all for the sake of staying together on the soil that is truly theirs. This simple, elegant imagery of the mule and the plow becomes a lasting symbol of enduring partnership against the odds.
The original version of “Trouble In The Fields” was included on Nanci Griffith’s fourth studio album, Lone Star State of Mind. The album itself marked her first major label release after moving to MCA Records and saw her begin to refine the unique sound that blended folk storytelling with the production polish of Nashville, helping to define the “folkabilly” style for which she became known. The song, in its quiet determination, did more than many larger, louder political statements to articulate the quiet, desperate dignity of the American family farmer. It’s a classic to revisit when you want a reminder that true wealth often lies not in bank accounts, but in the love that we nurture and the soil we stand on.