Here's a little story 'bout the Jones' far out quest
They left from New York City just to take a ride out West
They hoped for independence and to own a lot of land
But instead they had come upon the force of supply and demand.
La La…

When Farmer Jones grew more of his crops he thought it would keep the prices high
But what he didn't understand is that it would increase the supply
And increasing the supply would actually bring the prices down
So the farmer's hard work and prices were being smashed into the ground.
La La…

Chorus
And the farmers asked themselves, "Why did we think we'd get independence
To save all our families
And now all we do is depend on other forces who keep us from starting anew."
So they were wrong, and they had to grow strong, they thought it was
better on the other side, and then they changed their mind.
La La...

Don't think that was the end of the Jones' little charade
There was the Dust Bowl of 1930 that lasted for a decade
The wind picked up topsoil then made it disappear
Nothing was growing for the farmers and the end was drawing near.
La La…

Chorus

Since there were no crops to sell the Jones needed a loan
They went to the bank and pleaded to get some money for their home.
But in order to get that money the bank would add an additional fee
They could not control high interest rates so they got down on their knees and shouted
La La…

Chorus

And everyday they'd ship their crops and then the railroads overcharged
And everyday monopolies would raise the costs out of control
And every day they felt the way that they had felt every other day
And every day they needed help and every day they needed help
Every day grain elevators stored all the farmer's crops
And every day they added fees and the fees, fees-would not stop
And every day the Jones tried to get themselves ahead-and then they went to bed.

Chorus

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With each song, the Musical Media for Education, Volume I, CD and Teaching Guide includes:
      1) A lyric sheet, enabling students to follow the song more easily.
      2) Suggested lesson activities
      3) Lyrical Footnotes. The narrative footnotes enrich student understanding with supplemental information and supporting commentary. The footnotes also suggest additional teaching possibilities.

Suggested Activities

1) Theory of Supply and Demand
       This learning song provides an excellent opportunity to teach students the Theory of Supply and Demand. Play "The Farm Song" and engage students in a discussion of the problems facing the Jones family, particularly the reasons for declining prices. The lyrical footnotes cover this topic in detail.

2) Interest Rates
       More advanced students will benefit from a lesson about interest rates.If the relationship between interest rates and the supply and demand for money is demonstrated, it will reinforce the primary lesson about supply and demand as it affected the prices of farm commodities. Such a lesson would also clarify the reasons that farmers supported "easy" money backed by silver or a gold and silver mix.

3) Dust Bowl
       The song reference to the Dust Bowl provides a good opportunity to teach about the relationship between agriculture and the environment.
       A web search will find excellent primary sources including riveting photographs and poignant personal accounts.