This Must Be The Place- “Allentown”- Billy Joel song- off of one of my favorite Billy Joel albums is “Allentown” from “The Nylon Curtain in 1982. The single wasn’t as successful as earlier Joel singles- only reaching #17 on the Billboard Hot 100- chart. It did go to #1 in New Zealand.
“Allentown” deals with the decline and closure in the early 80’s of Bethlehem Steel and how the residents of the area dealt with the closure- and about the decline in general of the rust-belt areas of the United States in the late 70’s -early 80’s. I grew up in a steel industry area and like Allentown- the towns along the Ohio River from Pittsburgh on town were hit hard. Luckily the mill where my father worked was able to stay afloat for a couple more decades and he was able to retire before they closed. All of my friends growing up- their fathers worked in the mill. A lot of my friends were depending on those jobs being theirs when they grew up- and some felt very cheated when their time came and there were no jobs waiting there for them. I never had ambitions to work there. I saw how my father hated his job and got no satisfaction out of it- and he certainly didn’t want that for me. When I hear them talking about a possible recession in the country- the area where I grew up and live- has been in a recession for four decades. Nothing new.
slicethelife 
Thank you! Finally I hear someone who makes sense of the actual economy. Despite all the great national numbers and everyone reporting how strong the economy is right now, I too believe there are many areas in which it has stalled for years, and even now, I see so many anchor companies that are the job suppliers for the area I live in, leaving for the past couple of years, including this year. I don’t doubt that many other areas are in excellent shape; I just don’t see it here.
The South needs skilled labor badly!
Good song that speaks for the working man, who often has no voice against the overlords.
The South is booming. Tell them to come here.