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“Hillbilly Highway” by Steve Earle

Sums up a period when thousands of Appalachians moved north. 

Impactful Lyrics:

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"My granddaddy was a miner, but he finally saw the light, 
He didn't have much, just a beat-up truck and a dream about a better life"

"Pretty soon the dirt road turned into blacktop, Detroit City bound"

"Now he worked and saved his money so that one day he might send,
My old man off to college, to use his brains and not his hands"

"Readin', Rightin', Rt. 23" by Dwight Yoakam.

Speaks to why people from Appalachia left in search of jobs with the automobile companies.

Impactful Lyrics:

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"They learned readin', writin', Route 23,
To the jobs that lay waiting in those cities' factories"

"Have you ever heard,
A mountain man cough his life away,
From diggin' that black coal,
In those dark mines, those dark mines,
If you had you might just understand
The reason that they left it all behind"

"Yeah, it turns out that that old highway, 
Leads you to a world of misery"

dollmaker_edited.jpg
The Dollmaker 

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This 1984 movie is about a family from Appalachia that moves from their home in the mountains to Detroit, Michigan. Clovis (the husband) wants to make the move so he can find a job working for one of the big automotive factories. Gertie (the wife), played by Jane Fonda, is hesitant to leave their home. Throughout the movie, you follow the family and watch as they struggle adjusting to the move. Suddenly, tragedy strikes and they have to decide whether to stay or go home. 

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Below is the full movie. 

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