Sam Falbo's Blues
Legacy of Hard Living: Sam Falbo's Journey from Eastern Kentucky to Lake Erie
Lyrics
Samuel T. Falbo was born in Floyd County
Samuel T. Falbo's birthplace in Floyd County, Kentucky.
Late 1950 in eastern Kentucky
Born in late 1950 in eastern Kentucky.
Raised by a TV repairman who tinkered
Upbringing by a TV repairman in a coal-covered holler.
With old radios in a dimly lit kitchen
Sam's father tinkering with old radios in a dimly lit kitchen.
Never able to put much food on the table
Struggle to provide enough food for the family.
In a coal covered holler in southern Floyd County
Describing the challenging living conditions in southern Floyd County.
Sam and his brothers all split for Ohio
Sam and his brothers moving to Ohio when the oldest is of legal driving age.
The day that oldest was legal to drive
Brothers leaving for Ohio, probably seeking better opportunities.
Stacked in an Oldsmobile shoulder to shoulder
Packed in a car, reminiscing about their shared bedroom in Kentucky.
Like the bedroom they'd shared from day one in Kentucky
Reflection on the close bond of six brothers facing life's challenges together.
Just six hungry brothers all feeling lucky
The brothers feeling fortunate despite their hardships.
Running Route 23 to a home in Ohio
Traveling on Route 23 to their new home in Ohio.
Samuel T. Falbo found work on Lake Erie
Sam finding work on Lake Erie, depicting the struggle for a livelihood.
Pouring four hundred miles of the Ohio Turnpike
Describing Sam's hard work pouring miles of the Ohio Turnpike.
With his two older brothers and a young Puerto Rican
Working alongside brothers and a Puerto Rican colleague.
Who could outwork those Falbos even when he'd been drinking
Praising the Puerto Rican's strong work ethic even after drinking.
From the time he woke up to the five o'clock whistle
Depicting Sam's long work hours, starting from waking up to the whistle.
To a smoke filled hotel room on the Ohio Turnpike
Sam's life in a smoke-filled hotel room during work on the Ohio Turnpike.
Sam met a girl who washed clothes for a living
Meeting a girl working on Mill Street, Huron Ohio.
On the corner of Mill Street in Huron Ohio
The impact of the girl's smile on the traffic and her fresh scent.
And the traffic on Mill Street stood still when she'd smile
Describing the positive effect of the girl's smile on Mill Street.
And she always did smell like the freshest of linens
Highlighting the girl's pleasant fragrance.
So he gave her his name and she gave him six children
Sam marrying the girl, having six children, and their baptism.
All baptized in a single room church on Lake Erie
Children baptized in a small church on Lake Erie.
Samuel T. Falbo bought a house by an orchard
Sam buying a house near an orchard by the tracks and turnpike.
That stretched from the tracks nearly clear to the turnpike
Describing the vastness of Sam's property from the tracks to the turnpike.
Where his three youngest brothers toiled when they were sober
Younger brothers working in the orchard when sober.
Enough to pick apples from twenty foot ladders
Depicting the challenging work of picking apples from high ladders.
And when they weren't scrapping metal or trading in horses
Brothers engaging in scrap metal and horse trading.
Or sleeping on couches in the house by the orchard
Brothers living together in the house by the orchard.
Sam was an old man before he turned thirty
Sam aging quickly due to a hard life of labor and concrete.
From decades of concrete and honest hard living
Reflection on Sam's tough life and aging prematurely.
Paycheck to paycheck layaway and credit
Struggling with financial difficulties, relying on layaway and credit.
Knowing this life would kill him if only he'd let it
Awareness that Sam's lifestyle could be detrimental to his health.
And the day he turned fifty old Falbo he let it
Sam succumbing to his harsh lifestyle upon turning fifty.
And they buried Sam Falbo by a church on Lake Erie
Sam's burial by a church on Lake Erie.
Samuel T. Falbo died broke and unnoticed
Sam's death in obscurity and poverty.
In a late model Oldsmobile on County Line 20
Details of Sam's death in a late model Oldsmobile on County Line 20.
Leaving seven mouths hungry and fourteen hands empty
The impact of Sam's death on his family, leaving them hungry.
And no food on the table in a dimly-lit kitchen
Reiteration of the difficult living conditions in a dimly-lit kitchen.
Just seven mouths hungry and fourteen eyes weeping
Emphasizing the family's struggle with hunger and grief.
And one middle-aged widow who smelled like the linens
Describing the widow's scent, reminiscent of fresh linens.
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