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
Cuttin' 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 machinery
Build a dam and drown the rest

Uncle Frank lived in on bottom
Down on Cedar Creek
Bought fifteen acres when he got back home
From overseas

Fifteen rocky acres
Figured no one 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 in his life
But 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 their power
Kept on going straight uphill

And 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 when he died
Just a rope around his neck
And the kitchen table turned on it's side