Mary Thompson talks about workers singing on the job.

Audio Transcript

Jim Leloudis

Did people ever sing in the mill?

Mary Thompson

Oh, yes. People used to sing all the time. I was thinking about that here the other week. I used to sing all the time. When I was working, I’d just sit there and just sing, sing. And now they don’t sing. I don’t hear people singing now. I used to get in my car, me and my little girl, and we’d just sing. [Laughter] We’d come to Greenville, from up there at Slater, to visit Mama and Daddy, and we’d sing all the way down and all the way back. Nobody sings much no more.

Jim Leloudis

When you would sing at work, would you sing by yourself, or would all the women kind of begin to sing together?

Mary Thompson

We’d sing by ourself, because we couldn’t hardly sing together, not in my job. But just sit there and sing and work. And then in spooling out here, I’ve been through the spool room lots of times, and people used to be singing, just putting them ends up there everywhere. [unclear] But you don’t hear people singing much now. I don’t know why people don’t sing. They must not be as happy as they used to be; I don’t sing, either. But they don’t really sing out in church like they used to. But back then they didn’t think about notes, either. Everybody sang out, and it was pretty. But now everybody’s scared they’ll miss a note, so if they ain’t a good singer, they won’t sing like me.