“So God made a farmer.”

Those famous five words started out as a refrain in a speech by Paul Harvey. Later, he adapted them to a newspaper column. Finally, they became legendary in a Super Bowl commercial.

It’s the greatest Super Bowl commercial of all time—a two-minute masterpiece, partly of image but mostly of rhetoric.

Its purpose was to sell pickup trucks. What viewers really remember, however, is Harvey’s description of the hardships and rewards of food production.

I don’t know who will win Super Bowl LX between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, but I’m confident that none of the commercials this Sunday will top Harvey’s, which aired only once, in 2013.

“So God made a farmer” has become one of the great phrases in American culture. It stands alongside the ones many of us know, such as “One small step for man,” by the astronaut Neil Armstrong, and “I have a dream,” by the activist Martin Luther King, Jr.

I continue to hear Harvey’s remarks—at funerals. This may be the ultimate tribute. When American farmers die, their families often want Harvey’s words spoken alongside scripture.

Harvey was of course a successful radio broadcaster. His weekday segments were a regular part of the lives of millions of Americans. I tuned in from my trucks and my tractors, usually to WMT in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The markets came on at noon. Should I sell or hold my grain and livestock? Farmers like me make decisions based on this data.

Harvey’s 15-minute show aired immediately before. It had a simple name: “News and Comment.” I never wanted to miss it.

Harvey presented a mix of information and entertainment. He delivered the headlines, offered amusing anecdotes, and provided personal observations. He was authoritative, affirmative, and believable. He was a champion of common sense, patriotism, and individual responsibility. (This video segment is an excellent introduction to who he was and what he did.)

I can still hear Harvey’s voice. Its sound is as familiar to me as the voices of the people in my family. It was a classic “radio voice”—deep and resonant, with clear enunciation and good pacing. Harvey spoke with starts and stops that included pregnant pauses for dramatic effect. When he told a story, I always wanted to know what would happen next.

Harvey had signature phrases. He began programs with a hearty “Hello Americans!” As he moved from news to features, he said, “On to page two!” He often concluded a tale by saying, “And now you know the rest of the story.”

And then there was his famous sign-off. He spoke his name. Then he paused and said: “Good day!”

In 1978, he appeared at the convention of the Future Farmers of America in Kansas City, Mo., and gave the speech that became a Super Bowl commercial. He once said that its observations “arrived unsigned in my mailbag.” He added he could not trace its source. “I’ve embellished the essay in places and cropped it in others, but I hope the sense of it remains intact.”

The speech begins by building on the biblical story of creation: “And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a farmer.”

It continues: “God said, ‘I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.’ So God made a farmer.”

And it keeps going in this fashion, with moments of heartbreak and inspiration, and always with the flourish: “So God made a farmer.”

I’m tempted to print the full text here. But it’s better just to hear Harvey speak. The best way to do this is to click to the old Super Bowl commercial.

Harvey died in 2009 at the age of 90. Yet his voice never fell silent. In our digital age, we can summon it any time we want—and learn again why God made farmers.

And now you know the rest of the story. Good day!