Back Before Wal-Mart © James Gordon 1995
Back before Wal-mart came to town,
This was a going concern.
On Fridays folks would come around
And spend their pay where it was earned.
Well the hardware store was the first to go,
Those prices just got way too low.
Soon the other stores were closed
And the lights went out on main street.
Whatever happened to our little town?
Wal-mart has run it into the ground
Generations of hopes and dreams are all
Sitting down in a bank somewhere in Arkansas.
The store-keepers all knew our names
And they knew just what we wanted.
But they could not win at Wal-mart's game
And now these streets are haunted
By the spirit of a town that died
They took our money and they took our pride
Took us all for a ride
Till the lights went out on main street
Whatever happened to our little town?
Wal-mart has run it into the ground
Generations of hopes and dreams are all
Sitting down in a bank somewhere in Arkansas.
Made in America that's what they say
But they only thing that they really make
Is a profit large enough to take
THe life right out of main street.
Whatever happened to our little town?
Wal-mart has run it into the ground
Generations of hopes and dreams are all
Sitting down in a bank somewhere in Arkansas.
Published by Pipe Street Publishing
Recorded on "Mining For Gold" 2000, Borealis Records