About The Song
“The Factory” is a mid-1980s country song recorded by Kenny Rogers and released as a single in early 1988. Written by Bud McGuire and Fred Knobloch, it appears on Rogers’ 1987 RCA album I Prefer the Moonlight. The studio version runs a little under four minutes (most listings give around 3:50) and was produced by Brown Bannister. Issued as the third U.S. single from the album—after “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine” and the title track—it continued Rogers’ run of narrative-driven country songs during the later part of his RCA tenure.
The album I Prefer the Moonlight was released in 1987 as Rogers’ final studio project for RCA. Recorded across several Nashville and Los Angeles studios with multiple producers (including Bannister, Richard Landis, Rob Galbraith, Kyle Lehning, Larry Butler and Brent Maher), the LP mixed romantic ballads with more story-based material. “The Factory” was positioned on the album as one of the key narrative tracks, contrasting with love songs such as “I Prefer the Moonlight” and the Ronnie Milsap duet “Make No Mistake, She’s Mine,” which all reached the country Top 5 when issued as singles.
Lyrically, “The Factory” is told from the viewpoint of a man looking back on his father’s life as a factory worker. Verses describe the father leaving for work before dawn, coming home exhausted at night and measuring his life in years spent on the line. The narrator remembers how his dad would sometimes talk about dreams that never quite happened, but also how he kept going for the sake of his family. The chorus underlines the central idea: the factory may not have made the father rich, but it gave him a way to provide, and that quiet sacrifice becomes the song’s emotional centre.
As the story develops, the song broadens into a reflection on work, aging and generational change. The narrator explains that the father eventually retires and, not long after, passes away. Standing in the empty plant, or thinking about it from a distance, the son realises that the building and machines were only part of the story; what mattered more was the pride his father took in doing his job as well as he could. The lyric suggests that, in an era when factories were closing or moving, people like the song’s subject were being forgotten, even though their labour had built much of the world around them.
Musically, “The Factory” is arranged as a slow to mid-tempo country ballad with contemporary 1980s production. The recording uses keyboards, electric bass, drums and electric guitar, with subtle steel-guitar or pad textures adding colour in the background. Brown Bannister’s production keeps the focus on Rogers’ vocal, allowing him to shape the narrative with clear, conversational phrasing. There are no extended instrumental solos; instead, short fills between lines support the story without distracting from it. The overall sound sits comfortably within late-1980s Nashville country-pop, but the lyric’s working-class detail gives it a more traditional country feel.
On the charts, “The Factory” gave Rogers another solid late-1980s country single. In the United States, it reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1988, while in Canada it climbed into the Top 10 on the RPM Country Tracks listing. Those showings confirmed that, even as production trends and younger artists were reshaping country radio, there was still room for Rogers’ brand of story-song. While it did not aim for pop crossover like some of his earlier hits, it strengthened the country profile of the I Prefer the Moonlight album late in its run.
Over time, “The Factory” has often been noted by fans and commentators as one of Kenny Rogers’ most sympathetic blue-collar narratives from the 1980s, echoing the storytelling approach of earlier hits like “Coward of the County” while using a more modern sonic palette. It appears on compilations that focus on his RCA years and on playlists collecting his later country Top 10s. For listeners exploring this part of his catalogue, the song offers a clear example of how Rogers combined contemporary production with classic country themes of family, work and quiet sacrifice.
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Lyric
I can’t say that he loved his work
But he fed a family of nine
Papa never heard of a union
He logged his scale in time
But he was a lucky man at least he had a job
Down at the factory
40 years cut across his back
Fightin’ it tooth and nail
Work was hard enough to make a man
Forget his fear of Hell
He was a thankful man he had a job
Down at the factory
Sometimes through the walls at night
I’d hear him on his knees prayin’, “Lord
Please help me through another day
Give me strength and bless this house
This family of mine and thank you, Lord
For my job down at the factory”
It’s hard for a man to build a life
On a miller’s pay
But like father just like son
At least I could pay my way i’m a lucky man
I’ve got a job down at the factory
As I put my kids to bed
Wonder what’s in store
Ask the Lord for a better way
‘Cause they deserve much more
Than to raise their own with just a job
Down at the factory
Sometimes when it’s late at night
I get down on my knees prayin, “Lord
Please help me through another day
And give me strength and bless this house
This family of mine and, thank you, Lord
For my job down at the factory”
We got more than some at least I got a job
Down at the factory