Ode to Philpott Lake
By Lori Creed
[V1] Oh, the Smith River flooded in 1937,
tried to wash away this little piece of heaven.
So the Army Corp built a two hundred twenty foot dam,
flooded three thousand acres in the name of Uncle Sam.
[V2] There once was a town within these 100 miles of shore
and the barns and post office are still on the lake’s floor.
But they didn’t want us fishing where their dead are buried
so they moved the graves of 19 cemeteries.
[Bridge] No, there ain’t no mansions along these shores
and these waters will belong to the Fosters forevermore.
[Chorus] The water reflects the green of a million pine trees
with a blue sky up above, and a Blue Ridge Mountain breeze.
And there were six lives lost from ‘48 to ‘53
building this poor man’s paradise, this working man’s dream.
[V3] They say the catfish here are longer than a grown man’s arm
and they might swallow you whole if you swim out too far.
And the water’s so deep, pray to God you never drown
‘cause 180 feet is deep for a body to be found.
[V4] Still, it’s hard to worry on a sunny, summer day.
There’s 7,000 acres of no one in your way.
Most of the time, I feel like we’re the only ones there
except for the white tails and the swimming black bears.
[Bridge] No, there ain’t no mansions along these shores
And these waters will belong to the Turners forevermore.
[Chorus] The water reflects the green of a million pine trees
with a blue sky up above, and a Blue Ridge Mountain breeze.
Oh, Philpott Lake, you hold nature’s majesty.
You’re a poor man’s paradise, you’re a working man’s dream.
[V5] We saved up our pennies for that GlassStream 4-stroke.
And it never ran decently; it was always broke.
But we’d paddle from the dock and sit in a little cove.
Soaking up the sun like some kinda rich folk.
[V6] Then the day finally came when we bought a MasterSki
grinning from ear to ear, like we’d won the lottery.
And you coulda heard us yelling, plumb from Roanoke,
when she got up on one ski behind our brand new boat.
[Bridge] No, there ain’t no mansions along these shores
And these waters will belong to the Spencers forevermore.
[Chorus] The water reflects the green of a million pine trees
with a blue sky up above, and a Blue Ridge Mountain breeze.
Oh, Philpott Lake, you hold our best summer memories.
You’re a poor man’s paradise, you’re a working man’s dream.
[Bridge] No, there ain’t no mansions along these shores
And these waters will belong to the common man forevermore.
[Chorus] The water reflects the green of a million pine trees
with a blue sky up above, and a Blue Ridge Mountain Breeze.
Oh, Philpott Lake, you mean so much to me!
You’re a poor man’s paradise, you’re a working man’s dream.
[Outro] You’re this poor man’s paradise, you’re this working man’s dream.
You’re this poor man’s paradise, you’re this working man’s dream.
