Odes to Alpharetta · Track 19 · middle
Milton, Roswell, Johns Creek: The Four-Way Family
The four-way family of North Fulton — Alpharetta + Milton (incorporated 2006) + Roswell + Johns Creek (incorporated 2006), the way the borders blur, the way kids cross from one school district to another, the gentle sibling rivalries. The shared GA-400 spine. Sisukiro names them all with tenderness.
Lyrics
[Intro] A line on a map is just a suggestion. A story someone told the surveyor one afternoon. It doesn't account for the way the light falls. [Verse 1] Roswell, you were first, 1854. The oldest sister, down by the river. You watched Alpharetta get its name, watched the cotton fields turn into cul-de-sacs. The border between you now is just a change in the speed limit. A different logo on the side of the trash cans. A whisper in the asphalt. [Chorus] And it's Alpharetta, and it's Roswell. It's Milton, and it's Johns Creek. Four names for the same morning traffic. Four ways of saying home, stitched together By the black thread of Georgia 400. A family, whether you planned it or not. [Verse 2] Then the twins arrived on the same day. December 1, 2006. Milton, you took the horse farms and the long fences. Johns Creek, you took the river bends and the brick mailboxes. Two stacks of paper on a Fulton County counter. Signed into being, just inches apart. You don't remember a time you weren't standing side-by-side, Quietly arguing over the last patch of woods. [Chorus] And it's Alpharetta, and it's Roswell. It's Milton, and it's Johns Creek. Four names for the same summer thunderstorm. Four ways of saying home, stitched together By the black thread of Georgia 400. A family, whether you planned it or not. [Bridge] The school bus doesn't read the city limit sign. It just makes the turn at Mansell Road. Picks up a kid with a Milton Eagles sticker on his binder, drops him at a school with an Alpharetta address. We share the same complaint about the pollen in April. The rivalries are gentle, kept for Friday nights. An argument over the dinner table. [Chorus] Because you're Alpharetta, and you're Roswell. You're Milton, and you're Johns Creek. Four names for the same quiet evening. Four ways of saying home, stitched together By the black thread of Georgia 400. A family, and we're planning on it now. [Outro] Northbound, after dark. The exit signs blur into one long word. One long name.