Millworker

From the Musical "Working" based on the book by Studs Terkel [Intro] / [Verse 1] Now my grandfather was a sailor he blew in off the water My father was a farmer and I his only daughter took up with a no-good millworking man from Massachusetts who dies from too much whiskey and leaves me these three faces to feed [Interlude]      [Verse 2] Mill-work ain’t easy; mill-work ain’t hard Mill-work it ain’t nothing but an goddman awful boring job I’m waiting for a day dream to take me through the morning and put me in my coffee break where I can have a sandwich and remember [Chorus 1] Then it’s me and my machine for the rest of the morning for the rest of the afternoon and the rest of my life [Verse 3] Now my mind begins to wander to the days back on the farm I can see my father smiling at me swingin’ on his arm I can hear my grand-dad’s stories of the storms out on Lake Erie where vessels and cargos and fortunes and sailor’s lives were lost [Verse 4] Yes but it’s my life has been wasted and I have been the fool to let this manufacturer use my body for a tool I can ride home in the evening staring at my hands swearing by my sorrow that a young girl ought to stand a better chance [Chorus 2] So may I work the mills just as long as I am able and never meet the man whose name is on the label And it’s me and my machine for the rest of the morning for the rest of the afternoon and the rest of my life