Name: Allentown
Duration: P00H02M20S
Description: This is the first track for my Album Rewrite Project. Much like Billy Joel's original "Allentown," this song is about a vital industry leaving Pennsylvania. In 2009, Mack Trucks left Allentown. This song is about an employee struggling with the option to move with the company or not, leaving his unemployed brothers behind.

Allentown

from Behind the Nylon Curtain by Mark Aaron James

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This is the first track for my Album Rewrite Project. Much like Billy Joel's original "Allentown," this song is about a vital industry leaving Pennsylvania. In 2009, Mack Trucks left Allentown. This song is about an employee struggling with the option to move with the company or not, leaving his unemployed brothers behind.

lyrics

I place parts and pistons, 47 on the Mack Truck Pinnacle on Row 11
We are 4 men strong, we work all day long
Out in Lehigh County here in Pennsylvania

Allentown is where my daddy raised me
Working with Westmorland Coal, raised 7 babies
And we all have homes here so we’re all in trouble
Cuz the Mack Truck’s moving to the Carolinas

Allentown, did I let you down when I signed that dotted line
Gotta tell the family we’re going
Pennsylvania’s just a place, but a place I thought was mine
The down side of deciding is not knowing

Got a transfer but my brothers didn’t
All our kids grew up together, what’s in Carolina
Just a job that I’ve done, since I left high school
That is so built into me, the way I make the motions

Allentown, I wore your crown but it seems I’ve gone astray.
Following a paycheck to the next mile
Greenville’s just another place, but another world away
The king of row 11 is in exile.

I place parts and pistons, 67 on the Mack Truck Pinnacle on Row 11
I work all alone and I work all day long
Out in Greenville County here in Carolina

credits

from Behind the Nylon Curtain, track released September 5, 2011

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about

Mark Aaron James New York, New York

Raised in FL, schooled in TN, polished in NYC & just back from 3 years in London, Mark Aaron James is an acoustic powerhouse. Often playing solo with his guitar & innovative loop pedal, Mark holds the crowd in his hand whether playing critically acclaimed originals or one of 500 popular covers. His quirky, humorous take is firmly in place along with a striking voice and clever wordplay. ... more

markaaronjames.com

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