Lee Beatty - Like a Family Lyrics

The mills came a callin' back in 1920
To our poor little holler near Bryson City
We said to recruiters, " We don't want no pity"
"We come from a land that is hard and gritty"

But to hungry mountain people who had no power
Came the promise of work. at twenty cents an hour
So Daddy signed the papers in Bryson City
And we moved to the river in Gaston County

Come work the mill for a better life
You'll like it here, it's just like a family, Family

The mill village had more than our mountain holler
Had a shotgun shack that rented for a dollar
We all felt safe, our doors always open
Didn't need money, we were paid in tokens

I met my wife at the slubber machines
She was in the eighth grade, I was almost nineteen
Got married in the church near Warehouse Four
Bought her wedding dress from the company store

We work the mill for a better life
You'll like it here, it's just like a family, Family

Well the years went by in our little mill town
The mill ran the people, then the mill closed down
The owners reckoned they could do much finer
So they loaded up the mill and they sent it all to China

Now the old mill sits, an abandoned tombstone
As we hunker on the stoop of our little mill home
Our children are scattered, they had to hire on
To a part time job, mowing someone else's lawn

We worked the mill for a better life
We liked it here, we were a family. Family

The world has changed, no more mills, no more hollers
No more company towns, just the almighty dollar
We were loyal to the Man's corporation
But honest hard work don't replace an education

Do we cling to the past, is the past good enough?
Do we just roll over when the times get tough?
The old mill has the answer, it whispers all around:
"When the flood waters come - seek, higher, ground!"

Come work the mill for a better life
You'll like it here, it's just like a family
Come work the mill, for a better life
You'll like it here, it's just like a family
Just like a family

Like a family