penned "Dark as a Dungeon," which was most notably performed by Johnny Cash. Textile Workers While American colonists had long spun and wove homemade textiles, a burgeoning industry began to appear at the end of the eighteenth century in New England and later in the southern states. Working conditions in textile mills were bleak, with extremely long hours and meager pay for the men, women, and children employed within. Strikes began in the 1830s and 1840s, led by the young women who made up three-quarters of the work force, and earned about half of their male coworkers. The song "A Factory Girl" tells of a young woman, dissatisfied with her occupation, leaving the mill to become a wife. Dave McCarn wrote songs in protest of the textile mill such as "Cotton Mill Colic," which lamented the insufficient and inequitable pay scale and poverty that ensued. Logging The logging industry began in New England to satisfy the needs of ship building. Later, the advent of the transcontinental railroad made it possible to harvest the forests of the Pacific Northwest, with the industry reaching a peak from 1870-1900. The hardships for loggers included a struggle with natural forces, unpredictable outdoor working conditions, and the danger of precarious stacks of logs stories high that could topple. "The Jam on Gerry's Rocks" was one such song that described this terrifying phenomenon. "The Lumberjack's Alphabet" was a high spirited song and favorite of these workers. Linemen Songs "The Lineman's Hymn" is told from the perspective of a dying lineman who fell from a pole, and warns the listener to be careful lest he suffer the same fate. Roots music Many roots musicians do not consider themselves folk musicians. The main difference between the American folk music revival and American "roots music" is that roots music seems to cover a broader range, including blues and country. Roots music developed its most expressive and varied forms in the first three decades of the 20th century. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were extremely important in disseminating these musical styles to the rest of the country, as Delta blues masters, itinerant honky tonk singers, Cajun musicians spread to cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. The growth of the recording industry in the same period was also important; higher potential profits from music placed pressure on artists, songwriters, and label executives to replicate previous hit songs.