[Verse:]
The rolling mills of Middletown roll on, roll on, roll on
I knew him well, old friend of mine from down Kentucky way
We had some high good times my friend back in our younger days
I knew he shouldn't marry any woman quite that wild
Then later on I learned that she had been expectin' a child
He got his job at making steel and bought himself a home
Where the rolling mills of Middletown roll on, roll on, roll on
Well, there's money in those steel mills boys
And he made quite a bit
He worked all night she shopped all day bought everything that fit
A helper on the BOF three thousand degrees at a round
His wife was just about that hot in the bars in old Middletown
Of course he was the last to know oh but listen to my song
While the rolling mills of Middletown roll on, roll on, roll on
One night the foreman on his turn said, "Cool down No 2"
And he told my friend to go on home as soon as he was through
He stopped into a little bar to have a good cold beer
His woman and some dayturn guy were dancing closely there
Oh, I knew him well and in his mind there must have been a storm
While the rolling mills of Middletown roll on, roll, on roll on
They say he never spoke a word he just turned and walked away
And no one knows exactly what took place that fateful day
Some say they saw him near the tracks at furnace No 1
With heat so hot the hubs of hell would seem just barely warm
Well, they never saw my friend again did he do something wrong
While the rolling mills of Middletown Ohio roll on, roll on, roll on


Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings, edited by Mellow_Harsher

The Rolling Mills of Middletown song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

0 Comments

sort form View by:
  • No Comments

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.