Uncle Frank
By: Drive-By Truckers
G
They powered up the city with hydro-electric juice
Em
Now we got more electricity than we can ever use
C C/B D C
They flooded out the hollow and all the folks down there moved out
G D C G
But they got paid so there ain’t nothin else to think about
G
Some of them made their living cutting the timber down,
Em
Snaking it one log at a time up the hill and into town.
C C/B D C
T.V.A. had a way to clear it off real fast.
G D C G
Lots of men and machinery build a dam and drown the rest.
Solo
G
Uncle Frank lived in a cabin down on Cedar Creek,
Em
Bought fifteen acres when he got back home from overseas.
C C/B D C
Fifteen rocky acres, figured no one else would want,
G D C G
Till all that backed up water had to have some place to go.
Chorus 1:
C C/B D
Uncle Frank couldn’t read or write.
C C/B D
Never held down a job, or needed one in his life.
Am Em C G
They assured him there’d be work for him in town building cars, it’s already going down
G
The cars never came to town and the roads never got built.
Em
And the price of all that power kept on going straight uphill.
C C/B D C
The banks around the hollow sold for lakefront property
G D C G
Where Doctors, Lawyers, and Musicians teach their kids to water-ski.
Chorus 2:
C C/B D
Uncle Frank couldn’t read or write.
C C/B D
So there was no note or letter found where he died.
Am Em C G
Just a rope around his neck and the kitchen table turned on it’s side
