Half Mile Down

They come down from Washington CityTo our Blue Ridge Mountain homeAnd across that crooked riverTo the valley down belowI was swimmin' in that waterWhen they came up to the shoreSayin' sorry son this won't beDry land here anymoreChorus:Yes and my home townIs a half mile downIt's a half mile o' waterAll around, all aroundMy home town is a half mile downFirst they started their surveyinAnd makin' up their plansTo flood that peaceful valleyJust to build Watauga damOh they brought in their bulldozersAnd pushed our homes awayAnd they handed me a shovelAnd sixty cents a dayChorus:Singin' my home townIs a half mile downIt's a half mile o' waterAll around, all aroundMy home town is a half mile downSo they stripped out all the timberAnd they leveled all the landAnd they drilled and dynamited'Til they blew the mountains inI tore down my old homeplaceAnd I dug up Daddy's graveAnd I relocated Momma to 14 miles awayNow I look down on the waterThat rose up on that dayBy the banks of the old WataugaWhere I once used to playYes I look out on that waterWhere they made their big mistakeAnd covered up our hometown'Neath the godforsaken lakeChorus:Singin' my home townIs a half mile downIt's a half mile of waterAll around, all aroundMy home townIs a half mile downIt's a half mile of waterAll around, all aroundMy home town is a half mile down