Down in Hamlet, North Carolina They had a chicken plant sure did explode Them tar heels trapped like burnin' rats Cuz the boss man chained the door closed My mama was born in a town called Hamlet Sleepy little place on the Seaboard line My papa worked on the railroad And my granny went out her mind One day the railroad it went busted Like Richmond County ain't broke enough So this Yankee carpetbagger Figured to make a little money on Hamlet's bad luck Buildt a brand new chicken fixin' plant And they paid that minimum wage But the boss man said no unions Or he'd move his plant far away Merele Etta Johnson she was late for work Heard a thunderin' roar out on the highway Musta been NASCAR over at Rockingham Or just Merle Etta's judgment day 8:15 in the mornin' Chicken plant burst into flames People trampled, squashed and burned up Just to keep the profit margin One iota higher everybody gotta work in this world Some folks lucky-some folks ain't But that bastard that chained the doors shut I'm gonna rip him through p! When I was a little boy with a buzzsaw hair cut Go down to Hamlet, watch the trains Now the tourists stop on the ighway Get a little look at the chicken plant workers' remains