Cotton Mill Man

Jim and Jesse

Written by Joe Langston

Key of C · Chords: I IV V iii vi

Verse 1

C
I was born in the shadow of a cotton mill smokestack
                  G7     C
Down in Alabama's bottom land
Where my Grandpappy broke his back pullin' on a cotton sack
                       G7          C
To raise my pa to be a cotton mill man

Verse 2

         Am                  Em
I've got lots of memories of government commodities
     Am                     Em
When all our meat came in a can
Am
While the boss-man on the hill
Em
Bought his steak and ate his fill
    F                                G7          Em
And called upon to clean his grill a cotton mill man

Verse 3

F                 G7
Lord don't let my son grow up
   F           G7          C
To be a sweaty cotton mill man

Verse 4

I grew up in the gloom of a cotton mill weave room
                                     G7      C
With weaver's glue and callouses all over my hands
I didn't have a honeymoon I couldn't leave my cotton loom
                                G7          C
I swore my son would never be a cotton mill man

Verse 5

Am                     Em
I watched my woman cry when our baby daughter died
  Am                     Em    Am
I couldn't make her understand why a doctor never came
    Em
The lack of money was to blame
      F                              G7          Em
And I cussed the day that I became a cotton mill man

Verse 6

F                 G7
Lord don't let my son grow up
   F           G7          C
To be a sweaty cotton mill man

Verse 7

The company taught us all the rules
On how to work with spinning spools
                                 G7        C
So the bosses' son could drive a big black sedan
The company owned the houses
And the company owned the grammar school
                             G7          C
You'll never see an educated cotton mill man

Verse 8

     Am                             Em
They figure you don't need to learn anything but how to earn
    Am                      Em
The money that you pay upon demand
Am
To the general store they own
   Em
Or else they'll take away your home
    F                              G7          Em
And give it to some other homeless cotton mill man

Verse 9

F                 G7
Lord don't let my son grow up
   F           G7          C
To be a sweaty cotton mill man

Verse 10

F                 G7
Lord don't let my son grow up
   F           G7          C
To be a sweaty cotton mill man