Those special memories so many of us carry of time spent with our grandparents was the inspiration for this song.
Grandparents have always played an important role in a child’s education—not necessarily the kind learned from books, but the lessons learned by listening. This song begins with something that might seem ordinary, even boring to a child: sitting in the shade with a grandmother, removing beans from their shells one at a time.
But the real purpose was never just shelling beans. It was during those quiet moments that stories were told, family history was passed along, and lessons about faith, character, hard work, kindness, and life found their way from one generation to the next. Without realizing it at the time, a child sitting beside a grandmother was receiving an education that could last a lifetime.
"Shellin’ Beans in the Shade" is a reminder that some of life's most important lessons are learned in the simplest of places, when we take the time to listen to those who came before us.
LYRICS
As the summer day faded
In the shade of the pecan tree
Heat of the day gave way
Time for shellin’ her butterbeans
Grandma’s work mostly done
Waitin’ on grandpa’s return from the fields
Sittin’ in her shell-back chairs
Apron smoothed out…beans soon to fill
Best time for grandkids
Best time for talkin’
Starts out with the weather
Then kinfolk, then friends
Said “beans were picked yesterday.
The best garden ever, right amount of sun”
She cracks the pods wide open
Spent pods to a paper sack…beans in her apron
Shellin’ butterbeans in the shade
‘Neath that pecan tree
Shellin’ butterbeans in the shade
Like grandma taught me
Stories of yesteryear
Then talk of the town
Then tales of her “best mule ever”
“Bessie” was gentle, sometimes a clown
The big pot catches beans from her apron
Pods destined for the chicken coop
Praises grandkids for their help
Supper waits…then grandpa’s ghost stories to spook
Butter beans, country ham
Cornbread and sliced tomatoes
The rhythm of summer harvests
Family gathers…grace is so close
Shellin’ butterbeans in the shade
‘Neath that pecan tree
Shellin’ butterbeans in the shade
Like grandma taught me
70 years have now passed
Warm breezes still blow
Reminds me of summer shellin’
Fillin’ grandma’s apron, the one she sewed
Shellin’ butterbeans in the shade
‘Neath that pecan tree
Shellin’ butterbeans in the shade
Like grandma taught me