Beyond ‘Harvest Moon’: Farmers Tell Us What They’re Listening to in the Fields

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]1.Kanye West — Can’t Tell Me Nothing[/mf_h5]

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It’s a mash up of lots of different stuff, from Sun Ra to Willie Nelson to Deerhoof to Edith Piaf… Lately I’ve been listening to this wonderful bluegrass out of Asheville, NC called Town Mountain. And I can’t forget one of my favorites… “Can’t Tell Me Nothin” by Kanye West… it makes me smile because I think of this hysterical video spoof that Zach Galifianakis and Will Oldham (whose music I also adore) did out on a farm with bouncing tractor hydraulics, a clogger troupe, and some bucket dance moves. More often than not though, just making up your own random songs and singing them at the top of your lungs in the field is the best music of all.

Walker Hancock — Wood Dell Tilth — Paris, Kentucky.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]2. Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins — Picture on the Wall[/mf_h5]

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I am the 4th generation of my family to farm this land. When I am working I sometimes find myself looking across the fields and imagining my great-grandfather on the horizon, looking back, considering how much things have changed and how much things have remained unchanged. I suppose I am always interested in the story, and so when I’m listening to music while I am harvesting I really enjoy listening to songs that tell a story. My playlist is filled with old music and new music, but in general it’s filled with music from the southern landscape…my landscape.

Newt Lynn — Lynn Farms — Gilliam, Louisiana.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]3. Deerhoof — We Do Parties [/mf_h5]

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Walker Hancock — Wood Dell Tilth — Paris, Kentucky.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]4. Dwight Yoakam — Guitars, Cadillacs [/mf_h5]

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Guitars, Cadillacs by Dwight Yoakam. How can you not have a good time when that’s on?

Adam B. Sullivan — Wetherby Park Community Garden — Iowa City, Iowa.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]5. Ralph Stanley — Rank Strangers [/mf_h5]

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Newt Lynn — Lynn Farms — Gilliam, Louisiana.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]6. Sun Ra — We Travel The Space Ways [/mf_h5]

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Walker Hancock — Wood Dell Tilth — Paris, Kentucky.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]7. Cat Power — Moonshiner [/mf_h5]

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Old American songs like ‘Moonshiner’ & ‘River of Light’. They’re easy to sing and you can repeat them ad infinitum/nauseum.

Ben Degaetano — Sweet Annie Produce — Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]8. M.O.P. — Ante Up[/mf_h5]

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When we do listen to music it varies between bluegrass, gangster rap and Taylor Swift. Something that you can’t help but bob your head to.

Hilary — Growing Heart Farm — Pawling, New York.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]9. Jimi Hendrix — If 6 Was 9[/mf_h5]

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I harvest vegetables every Thursday. I listen to a lot of things, but prefer some funky Jimi Hendrix when I’m in the field. If Six Was Nine. Valleys Of Neptune. That sort of thing.

Bryce Oates — Yellabird Farm — Adrian, Missouri.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]10. John Prine — Bruised Orange (Chain Of Sorrow) [/mf_h5]

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Laura Frerichs — Loon Organics Farm — Hutchinson, Minnesota.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]11. Coolio — Fantastic Voyage [/mf_h5]

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I like 90’s hip hop a lot. Snoop Dogg “Gin & Juice,” Coolio “Fantastic Voyage,” anything fun like that, that I know all the words to. Anything by 2pac, Biggie, Warren G’s “Regulate” Jay Z’s “Can I Get a…” Wu Tang Clan, House of Pain.

Jay Johnston — I & G Farms — Jackon, New Jersey.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]12. Hall & Oates — Rich Girl [/mf_h5]

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None. We don’t listen to music out there. We listen to the birds, we listen to their music.

Hall and Oates, “Rich Girl.”

Taryn Hammer — Sheepscot General Store and Farm — Whitefield, Maine

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]13. Lucinda Williams — Pineola [/mf_h5]

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Newt Lynn — Lynn Farms — Gilliam, Louisiana.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]14. Jimmy Buffett – Margaritaville [/mf_h5]

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“Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffett. Became our theme song when we were harvesting pumpkins by the truck headlights in the pouring cold rain around 10 pm one night. It reminds us no matter how bad it is here, there is a beach and a margarita waiting for us someplace.

Ann — Meadeville Farm Pumpkin Patch — Tyre, New York.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]15. Danny Michel – Feather Fur & Fin[/mf_h5]

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Feather Fur and Fin — Danny Michel and Thistle and Weeds — Mumford and Sons

Both of these songs remind me of the importance of caring for the land and being connected with nature. They inspire me to take time to feel that connection while I’m closest to the land.

Nicole Davis — Daybreak Mill — Saskatchewan, Canada.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]16. Town Mountain — Black-Eyed Susan [/mf_h5]

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Walker Hancock – Wood Dell Tilth – Paris, Kentucky.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]17. 2 Chainz — I’m Different [/mf_h5]

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Girl Talk albums if I’m alone. But, more often, I jam to whatever my high school students are singing — which runs the gamut from ‘Amazing Grace’ to 2 Chainz.

Rania Campbell-Cobb — Cloud 9 Rooftop Farm – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[mf_h5 align=”left” transform=”uppercase”]18. Neil Young — Harvest Moon [/mf_h5]

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A favorite harvest song to listen to at the end of a long day, relaxing with a beer on the porch is Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.”

Laura Frerichs — Loon Organics Farm — Hutchinson, Minnesota.