THE DAY THEY CLOSED THE OLD MILL DOWN
Words & music by Frank Ludwig SOCAN

I remember that afternoon clearly
It was the middle of the day, Dad came home much too early
And the men that came with him, faces ashen and grey
Were all by his side and each one of them offered to stay.

He had bandages covering his chest and his arms
But he never complained, not a whisper.
The pulp he’d been testing had been hotter than Hell.
It had burned through his skin. I could tell he was in Pain.

BUT YOU DON’T KEEP A GOOD MAN DOWN
HE STARTED AGAIN IN ANOTHER TOWN
THINGS WERE GOOD FOR AWHILE, YOU COULD TELL BY HIS SMILE
UNTIL THEY DAY THEY CLOSED THE OLD MILL DOWN.

Walkin’ by the Dryin’ Shed on a hot summer day
It seemed to go on forever
And the ships in the Bay of Chemainus that day,
Seemed to bob in agreement, that life was good in this town.

AND YOU DON’T KEEP A GOOD BOY DOWN
WE WERE FEELIN’ ALIVE IN THIS ISLAND TOWN
THINGS WERE GOOD FOR AWHILE, YOU COULD TELL BY OUR SMILES
UNTIL THE DAY THEY CLOSED THE OLD MILL DOWN

AND WE ALL SING IN AGREEMENT, AND RAISE A GLASS TO THIS TOWN
OUR LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS WILL NEVER END TIL THEY LAY OUR BODIES DOWN
BY SAINT MICHAEL’S CHURCH AT THE TOP OF THE HILL
“AMAZING GRACE” STREAMING THROUGH THE STAINED-GLASS WINDOW.

We all dreamed of working the greenchain one day
Though our moms seemed so burdened with worry
And my best friend Leslie caught his arm in the belt.
He bled out and died in a moment. I think about him every day.

We drove the left side washboard of the logging road.
On the right sped loaded trucks from Copper Canyon.
They had the hammer down. The hugged the inside of the turns,
So their load wouldn’t shift and roll ‘em down to the river below.

BUT THEY SHUT THAT OLD MILL DOWN
THEY’D BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT AND IT FINALLY CAME DOWN
THE YARD WENT SILENT. NO SHIPS IN THE BAY
LIKE BEFORE THE DAY THEY CLOSED THE OLD MILL DOWN

BUT YOU DON’T KEEP THOSE GOOD FOLK DOWN
THEY STARTED TO PAINT THE HISTORY OF THE TOWN
IT TOOK ‘EM AWHILE BEFORE THEY STARTED TO SMILE
LIKE BEFORE THE DAY THEY CLOSED THE OLD MILL DOWN

AND WE ALL SING IN AGREEMENT, AND RAISE A GLASS TO THIS TOWN
TO LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS THAT NEVER END TIL THEY LAY OUR BODIES DOWN
BY SAINT MICHAEL’S AND ALL ANGELS AT THE TOP OF THE HILL
“AMAZING GRACE” STREAMING THROUGH THE STAIN-GLASS WINDOW.

NO YOU DON’T KEEP A GOOD TOWN
THE “LITTLE TOWN THAT DID” WAS MADE OF IRON AND WOOD
THEY COME FROM MILES AROUND, THE TOWN’S STILL GOING STRONG
LIKE BEFORE THE DAY THEY CLOSED THE OLD MILL DOWN