Song Lyrics

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Fields of Clover

One thing certain we all know
All things will come to pass
So when the darkness blinds the light
We know it will not last


CHORUS:

For the good old days are still to come
Though the hard times are not over
For we must wear that thorny crown
To walk the fields of clover


Count your blessings while you can
For blessings soon may pass
And though we know not what is to come
Let us toast the half-filled glass


Be your fortune good or bad
There is hope in every day
So for the burdens that we share
Let us lift our voice in praise

Fields Of Clover –
words and music by Jerry Rasmussen – copyright 1997

I was a child of the Second World War. I was born in 1935, and saw the war through the newsreels, and The March of Time. The music of those war years had a lot to do with how I viewed the war, and one image stood out. Contrasting all the horror of the holocaust and the returning war veterans who were crippled in mind and spirit were the uplifting, romantic songs of the times. Very Lynn sang “We’ll Meet again,” and the Andrew Sisters sang “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree. The one song that captured all the hope of peace for me was “ The White Cliffs of Dover.” The imagery in the song fitted my vision of heaven far more than the streets of gold and golden slippers in the old gospel songs:

There’ll be bluebirds over
The White Cliffs of Dover
Tomorrow
Just you wait and see

There’ll be joy and laughter
And peace ever after
Tomorrow
When the world is free”

White Cliffs of Dover by Nat Burton and Walter Kent

Walking through those fields of clover was as close to heaven on earth as my young mind could imagine.

The other image in this song, “that thorny crown” has equal power. For me, it epitomizes the suffering that Christ endured for us on the cross. When Christ said:
And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27 he made it clear that we would have to wear that thorny crown if we wanted to follow him.

Both of these images came to mind in writing this song, although it wasn’t until much later that I thought at any length about their importance. The song grew out of a general
skepticism about focusing too heavily on “the good old days,” as if the good times were all
over. I find it much better to trust that” the good old days are still to come.” That’s not to
minimize the hard times we will still have to go through. It’s an expression of faith that not only will Christ be with us, but that in sharing his thorny crown; we will also share his glory in our resurrection.

Jerry Rasmussen

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