Uncle Frank
They powered up the city with hydro-electric juice.
Now we got more electricity than we can ever use.
They flooded out the hollow
And all the folks down there moved out, but they
Got paid so there ain't nothin' else to think about.
Some of them made their living cutting the timber down,
Snaking it one log at
A time up the hill and into town.
T.V.A. had a way to clear it off real fast.
Lots of men and machinary,
Build a dam and drown the rest.
Uncle Frank lived in a cabin down on Cedar Creek,
Bought fifteen acres when he
Got back home from overseas.
Fifteen rocky acres, figured noone else would
Want, till all that backed up water had to have some place to go.
Uncle Frank couldn't read or write.
Never held down a job, or needed one inhis life.
They assured him there'd be work for him in town building cars.
It's already going down.
The cars never came to town
And the roads never got built and the price of all
That power kept on going straight uphill.
The banks around the hollow sold for
Lake-front property where Doctors,
Lawyers, and
Musicians teach their kids to waterski.
Uncle Frank couldn't read or write
So there was no note or letter found where
He died. Just a rope around his neck
And the kitchen table turned on it's side