The ups and downs of Dirt Cheap Land
Most people that know me know that one of my work passions is to help Builders and Developers acquire dirt for new subdivisions. I enjoy watching what a piece of land can become and how if the development is done right how passionately people can feel about living there. First off I typically do not work with builders that strip the land of all the trees and ponds. We try to work around what we can and keep as many tres as possible. A lot of this depends on if it is on sewer or septic and what the county/city dictates but most good developers understand the importance of smart growth and smart subdivision design. There is always a fine line between what makes sense and what doesn’t as far as dirt goes. I do not under any circumstances feel that all land should be developed no matter the cast. We need green spaces to enjoy, fishing holes to fish and swim in and trails to take the kids on.
No matter what else I do or how I do it I am going to protect private property rights. If you are a builder and someone contacts you to sell their land you you the should be allowed to and if you can develop that land in the correct way with what it is zoned or can be zoned you should have that right as well. The builder is trying to put food on the table of his family just like you are. Most developments are started by a land owner reaching out to the builder not the other way around like in Cody’s new song. Not everyone has emotional ties to the land and selling may pull their family out of poverty and set them up for generations to come.
Where did the home you live in come from? Unless it fell from space or you are on family land for generations than a developer/builder had to submit a plan and build that home. When i see people up in arms about a new subdivision somewhere I have to wonder where do they live? most that I talk to live in a nearby subdivision. So why was it ok for their builder to build their home but not one for a new family? I understand there are developers that make a piece of land look like a napalm stick happened there but that is not the case for most of them in todays world. most are very in tune to the value of nature and how important the outdoors are to more and more people now.
Recently Cody Johnson release his new single Dirt Cheap and I’m not sure anyone has ever told this story like he just did. This song is written from the perspective of the farmer and tells the story of developers trying to purchase his land. I think at the end of the song he has won them over and they understand that he knows what he has and is not going to sell. Below are the lyrics to “Dirt Cheap”
They came in thinkin' top dollar
To that old cotton crop farmer
They knocked on his screen door, and he said
"Lord, what you need, boys, " and they said
"You know all the others went and cashed out
We got the subdivision all mapped out
It'll sit right here on this land
And you can leave town a rich man"
And he said, "Boys, whatever you're offerin', it won't be enough
'Cause I got a little girl that used to swing right there
I still see her pink bow in her brown hair
She's in the big city, but she still calls home
What's she gonna do if she comes back, and we're gone?
And over there, under that wide oak tree
Beneath the cross is where my best buddy's buried
Lasted 13 huntin' season runnin' strong
Keep your money 'cause a man can't leave his dog
And over there is where I got down on one knee
You can't buy that kind of dirt cheap"
One man smiled and he kinda looked away
The other said, "Before we go, I gotta know one thing
Between the droughts and the floods through all the years
What in the world got you through?
How the hell'd you get here?" And he said
"That little girl that used to swing right there
I still see her pink bow in her brown hair
Runnin' up after one of them long days
A big smile makin' every little worry fade
And over there, under that wide oak tree
Beneath the cross, where my best buddy's buried
All them huntin' seasons freezin' in a Jon boat
Me and him, double-barrel and a two-stroke
And that woman that said yes when I got down on one knee
Yeah, you can't buy that kind of dirt cheap"
No, it ain't somethin' you fall into
It's somethin' God gives you
And you hold on to
Just like that little girl who used to swing right there
I still see her pink bow in her brown hair
She's in the big city now, but she still calls home
She's comin' back next week, and man, it's been too long
And over there, under that wide oak tree
Beside the cross, where my best buddy's buried
Lays a puppy posted up in the shade
That woman never could turn away a stray
I guess this's why she said, "Yes" when I got down on one knee
Oh, long as all this is here, why the hell would I ever leave?
And you can't buy that kind of dirt cheap
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Josh Michael Phillips
Dirt Cheap lyrics © Write Or Die Music, Write The Lightning Publishing
