“Magomry”

Time period: 1923
Location: Montgomery County, Alabama, along US 80
Dramatis personae: Maclin Hooper (1877-1955), Lamar Hooper (1907-1969)

Mac Hooper was a tenant farmer in Montgomery County, Alabama, growing cotton, corn, and sorghum. He depended upon his son, Lamar, to help with the farm work, but Lamar hated farm work and couldn’t wait to take off for the nearest city, Montgomery which was about 50 miles down Highway 80 East.

Lamar Hooper was Levi Hooper‘s grandfather.

MAGOMRY
(f.d. leone)

I been dreamin' about Magomry
This stinkin' farm is his, and he can have it
My hands are calloused, and ugly
I want my own life, that's all I'm askin'
I'm sixteen and I made a choice
It's branded on my heart, and in my soul
I've had my fill of my father's voice
There's a fire in me, I can't control

Magomry is just down the road 
Where I wanna be, where I need to go 
Gonna get out from under my old man
Magomry is the answer to who I am

I guess my dad once had dreams
Somewhere along the way he give up on them
Now he looks around for someone to blame
And I sure don't want to end up like him
In Magomry the first thing I'll do
I take a long walk down those wide sunny streets
I'm sure in a week or two
Get me a good job and it'll be sweet

Magomry is just down the road 
Where I wanna be, where I need to go 
Gonna get out from under my old man
Magomry is the answer to who I am
Gonna get out while I still can
Magomry is the answer to who I am

My father left all his dreams behind
He's doing his best to kill mine too
When I see that city limit sign
My dreams will start, coming true

© 2022 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.