Somewhere South of Macon

I cut my teeth in a cotton mill town

Somewhere south of Macon

Mama fed me a bottle from a moonshine still

To wash down the beans and bacon

And papa worked the night shift, mama worked day

Never dreaming one day I'd turn and walk away

I'd turn and walk away from that cotton mill town

Somewhere south of Macon

Mama told me not to let my petticoats show

Northeast, southwest of Macon

Don't ever let my feelings show

'Cause they'll ruin my reputation

I took a walk in the woods one Sunday

And the world turned dark and still

I first made love in a cotton mill town

Somewhere south of Macon

That mill town south of Macon

Still had a hold on me

And my folks, they feel forsaken, Lord

But me, I'm feelin' free

And I'd rather roam around

And live until I die

Than to spend my life as a mill man's wife

Too tired to wonder why

I'm gonna slip into my calico dress

And go down to the Greyhound station

Gonna lay my hard-earned dollar down

For a one-way destination

Gonna tell that late-night driver

"Lord, mister, take it slow"

While I wave farewell to that cotton mill town

Somewhere south of Macon

That mill town south of Macon

Still had a hold on me

And my folks, they feel forsaken, Lord

But me, I'm feelin' free

I'd rather roam around

And live until I die

Than to spend my life as a mill man's wife

Too tired to wonder why

That mill town south of Macon

Still had a hold on me

And my folks, they feel forsaken, Lord

But me, I'm feelin' free

I'd rather roam around

And live until I die

Than to spend my life as a mill man's wife

Too tired to wonder why