Verse 1
Bert left school on a Friday,
Started Monday morn.
Sixteen years…
And barely grown,
Among the wheat and corn.
He learned to plough,
He learned to sow,
Through frost and summer rain.
And every year, beneath that sky,
The harvest came again.
Chorus
Bring the combine home,
Leave the stubble where it lies,
Another year is over now,
Another summer dies.
Bring the combine home,
Under the Iddstone sky.
Verse 2
The cottage came with working,
A few steps from the yard.
It wasn’t much…
But it was home,
And Bert worked long and hard.
The children came,
The children grew,
Their laughter filled the hall.
Those pencil marks climbed up the door…
One by one,
They passed them all.
Chorus
Bring the combine home,
Leave the stubble where it lies,
Another year is over now,
Another summer dies.
Bring the combine home,
Under the Iddstone sky.
Verse 3
The tractors grew much bigger,
The old machines were gone.
But Bert…
Beneath that same old cap,
Just quietly carried on.
He knew each field,
He knew each gate,
Where winter water lay.
Fifty years of knowing land
You couldn’t learn
In a day.
Verse 4
But time had found him slowly,
As time will always do.
His hands remembered everything…
His shoulders couldn’t too.
The heavy jobs got heavier,
His step had lost its pace.
And Bert knew…
Before they told him,
Another man
Would take his place.
Chorus
Bring the combine home,
Leave the stubble where it lies,
Another year is over now,
Another summer dies.
Bring the combine home,
Under the Iddstone sky.
Verse 5
The final load came home that night,
Dust hanging in the air.
Bert swept the barn…
Put down the broom,
And stood a moment there.
“See you in the morning, Bert,”
A young lad called his way.
Bert pulled his cap down…
Gave a nod.
“Not after today.”
Verse 6
Then boxes filled the cottage,
The pictures left their stain.
The children’s heights
Still marked the door —
He read them all again.
He handed back the cottage key,
Looked out across the grain.
The fields would see
Another year…
But Bert
Wouldn’t come again.
Final Chorus
Bring the combine home,
Leave the stubble where it lies,
Another year is over now,
Another summer dies.
Bring the combine home,
Under the Iddstone sky.
Outro
Next year…
The wheat will rise again.
The swallows still will fly.
And someone else
Will bring it home…
Under the Iddstone sky.
Lyrics Michael Forty
Voice Michael Forty