WORK IS DONE

When the work here is done
We run like the sun
Through the day
Now here I stand

When once I was the one
That makes you stay
When the work here is done
We run like the sun
Through the day

Give me back my heart
Give me back my soul
Give back my love
Come and make me whole again

I know you're out there
I'm waiting for you
I know you're out there
I'm waiting for you

CLICK HERE to listen to a song clip

The Story Behind the Song "Work Is Done"

The story starts with two boys, one black and one white, just before the craziness of the civil war, up north in a free state, outside of the realm of slavery. A man who could work the land was respected for his hard work and strength of character. Both the boys had grown up together as poor farmers and had been best friends since childhood, accepting of each other as free men. Their dream was to do better than their fathers, and hang on to their freedom. They planned to find some women to marry, and possibly travel to a place where they could farm their own piece of land, and build a life there and prosper.

They fell in love, married young brides, and found a piece of land on which to build on their dream. They worked hard to plow the land, start a crop, and built cabins for their families. They had also both been blessed with child. The men worked hard in the fields to build their harvest. The war had begun some months earlier.

One day some soldiers came to call. Both the men found themselves conscripted, drafted by the Union army. The soldiers told them if they did not enlist they would lose the rights to their land. They would have to suddenly leave their fields and families behind, and go to war. The women, however, were determined to take care of the farms while their husbands were gone. The men kissed their wives and babies goodbye, and went into battle. The women worked hard in the fields, raised the children, and prayed for their men to return safe and sound.

Every day in the fields they would sing the song:
Give me back my heart, Give me back my soul
Give me back my love, Come and make me whole again.

Waiting for their loves to come back. Two winters had passed. Life was hard and times were harder. There were visitors come to call. All sorts of rascals and scallywags, carpetbaggers, criminals and con men. They had to fend for themselves and stay true, having faith that their men would be home soon. The children were getting bigger. Every night their mothers would tell them how much they were loved, and to be good and make their fathers proud.

One afternoon in the fields while the women were singing and working hard, it seemed that their voices were getting stronger. The children began to sing with them. Looking towards the sun, there appeared the silhouette of two figures walking toward the farm. Having had more visitors unwanted than wanted, the women were startled at first, but as the figures drew closer, they realized that their true loves had returned. The men ran to their wives, and the wives to them, into the outstretched arms of their husbands. They hugged and kissed each other until the setting of the sun.

As they lay down to sleep, one of the men tells his bride that the thing that kept them alive was the innate knowledge that their hearts were being sent love and strength and faith every day. Worn and weathered, yet strong in so many ways, the husband closed his eyes and drifted off, reminding himself his many gifts and blessings, and a wealth beyond imagination.

I know you're out there, I'm waiting for you
I know you're out there, I’m waiting for you....