FRANKLIN'S FERRY - Copyright 2001 by Dave Saunders
Published by Sgt Joe Music (BMI)
From the Dave Saunders CD “Fishin'"
Available for purchase from www.cdbaby.com
                                                     www.nashvilleim.com

You take exit eight, off the Interstate, and then the county highway into town
Then off to the right, past the traffic light, there’s a gravel road you go down
The gravel ends where the river bends, by a field of wild strawberries
And now you know just where to go, if you want to find Franklin’s Ferry

The river comes down off the mountain and it’s pretty wild and rough
A lot of rocks and stumps, and fallen-down trees, and all of that kinda stuff
But right at the bend there’s a big wide pool, behind a beaver dam
And it all belongs to the county now, but that used to be Franklin land

It was the only place to cross that river for a mile on either side
And Old Man Franklin built him a ferry, and was chargin’ folks a nickel a ride
It was just a big raft that ran on a rope tied between two trees,
But Old Franklin figured with the money he’d make, he’d retire to a life of ease

It looked like the old man might be right, when the word started gettin’ around
‘Cause that shortcut sure saved a lot of time for folks goin’ into town
And I counted the people who went across while I was fishin’ there one day
And he must have made ten dollars, if every one of them paid

Then one day we heard the word that the county was buildin’ a road
And it was goin’ down by the river, and Old Franklin though he’d just found gold
Pretty soon he was figurin’ out how that road was gonna make him rich
And it never even crossed his mind, that road was gonna cross a bridge

We just let him go on for a while, then we brought that to his attention
And you shoulda seen his eyes go wide, when he thought about his old-age pension
‘Cause all of a sudden he realized what the rest of us could see
Nobody pays to ride on a raft, when you can cross a bridge for free

But ev’rything worked out OK, ‘cause the county bought Franklin’s land
And the money he got let him live just fine, ‘til he got to the promised land
And that raft still sits beside that river, a monument to wealth and pride
Right next to the sign that says ‘Franklin’s Ferry - 5 cents a ride’