Babies in the Mill by Dorsey Dixon (Cover)

After discovering Dorsey Dixon through the 'Intoxicated Rat' song, I have been doing some research into his life. Dorsey and his brother Howard didn't see much success from their music in the 30s, in fact they were royally ripped off by the likes of Roy Acuff and Fred Rose over 'Wreck on the Highway'. Sung here by Raymond Crooke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEtlwQp-2Bw Dorsey did have a small revival in the 1960s with a performance at the 1963 Newport Folk festival, and the recording of the album 'Babies in the Mill' with Eugene Earle, of which this song is the title track. Interesting to hear that Dorsey was singing about child labor in the North Carolina textile industry in much the same way that Colin Dryden was singing about similar use of children in the UK. Some background on child labor in North Carolina: https://sites.google.com/site/childlabornctextilemills/ Here is Dorsey singing, along with lyrics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80CBggcgq0w Thumbnail photo from the US Library of Congress. Listen to my albums on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpvwiz9SULZTP6xuJcFwWAA/playlists (or purchase on most streaming services)

Added 17 May 2026