"Po' Folks" (featuring Anthony Hamilton) is the three time grammy-nominated second hit single by the Kentucky rap group Nappy Roots. The beat was produced by Trackboyz. The song's signature concept, verse, and chorus was written by R. Prophet, a prolific member of Nappy Roots. Discussing the meaning of "Po' Folks," Prophet told MTV.com that the lyrics did not only speak of being poor as an economic issue. "It's a state of mind. It's not so bad being poor when you've got your family and God in your life and you have different values that, when it comes down to it, matter. A lot of other things really don't matter when God is knocking at your door." Po' Folks was released in 2002 and taken from Nappy Roots's debut album, Watermelon, Chicken & Gritz. It peaked at number 21 in the U.S. and features vocals by Anthony Hamilton who sung the soulful hook.
Anthony Hamilton's performance, as well as the success of the song, is credited for launching Anthony Hamilton's career in mainstream music .
Po' Folks (later restyled PoFolks) is an American family restaurant chain founded in 1975 in Anderson, South Carolina. Between 1982 and 1988, Po' Folks was operated by the fast food chain Krystal.
Malcom Hare opened the first Po' Folks in 1975 in Anderson, South Carolina.
The restaurant was named after a 1961 hit single by country music singer Bill Anderson. Although Anderson initially planned to file a lawsuit against the chain for using the name, he later sold the rights to the chain and served as its spokesperson. He and Conway Twitty also acquired franchise rights to a location in Oklahoma City in 1983.
Krystal acquired Po' Folks in 1982 and continued to expand it. By 1984, the chain had 102 restaurants in 17 states. Eric A. Holm (now with Golden Corral) was director of construction and accused of taking bribes for favorable construction deals. Krystal later merged Po' Folks with DavCo, a division of the company which franchised Wendy's restaurants. In 1988, Po' Folks filed for bankruptcy. As a result, the Po' Folks restaurants were sold, and the remaining assets continued to operate as DavCo. There are still eight PoFolks operating in the Southeast, seven of which are owned by Peter Sostheim in the Panhandle of Florida and Enterprise, Alabama, and one in St. Petersburg, Florida.
PO' FOLKS
(Bill Anderson)
« © '61 Champion Music »
There's a whole lotta people lookin' down their noses at me
Cause I didn't come from a wealthy family
There was ten of us livin' in a two room shack
On the banks of the river by the railroad track
We kept chickens in a pen in the back
And everybody said we was po' folks
My daddy was a farmer but all he ever raised was us
Dug a forty foot well struck thirty-six gallons of dust
Salvation Army give us clothes to wear
A man from the county came to cut our hair
We lived next door to a millionare
But we wadn't nothin' but po' folks
We was po' folks livin' in a rich folks world
We sure was a hungry bunch
If the wolf had ever come to our front door
He'd've had to brought a picnic lunch
My grandaddy's pension was a dollar and thirty-three cents
That was ten dollar less than the landlord wanted for rent
The landlord's letters got nasty indeed
He wrote get out but pa couldn't read
And we was too broke to even pay heed
But that's how it is when you're po' folks
We was po' folks livin' in a rich folks world
We sure was a hungry bunch
If the wolf had ever come to our front door
He'd've had to brought a picnic lunch
But we had something in our house money can't buy
Kept us warm in the winter cool when the sun was high
For whenever we didn't have food enough
And the howlin' winds would get pretty rough
We patched the cracks and set the table with love
Cause that's what you do when you're po' folks
And we wadn't nothin' but po' folks
My mom and my dad was po' folks
My brother and my sister was po' folks
My dog and my cat was po' folks