Related quotes: We are born with dreams...

Immigrants in Our Own Land

We are born with dreams in our hearts,
looking for better days ahead.
At the gates we are given new papers,
our old clothes are taken
and we are given overalls like mechanics wear.
We are given shots and doctors ask questions.
Then we gather in another room
where counselors orient us to the new land
we will now live in. We take tests.
Some of us were craftsmen in the old world,
good with our hands and proud of our work.
Others were good with their heads.
They used common sense like scholars
use glasses and books to reach the world.
But most of us didn’t finish high school.

The old men who have lived here stare at us,
from deep disturbed eyes, sulking, retreated.
We pass them as they stand around idle,
leaning on shovels and rakes or against walls.
Our expectations are high: in the old world,
they talked about rehabilitation,
about being able to finish school,
and learning an extra good trade.
But right away we are sent to work as dishwashers,
to work in fields for three cents an hour.
The administration says this is temporary
So we go about our business, blacks with blacks,
poor whites with poor whites,
chicanos and indians by themselves.
The administration says this is right,
no mixing of cultures, let them stay apart,
like in the old neighborhoods we came from.

We came here to get away from false promises,
from dictators in our neighborhoods,
who wore blue suits and broke our doors down
when they wanted, arrested us when they felt like,
swinging clubs and shooting guns as they pleased.
But it’s no different here. It’s all concentrated.
The doctors don’t care, our bodies decay,
our minds deteriorate, we learn nothing of value.
Our lives don’t get better, we go down quick.

My cell is crisscrossed with laundry lines,
my T-shirts, boxer shorts, socks and pants are drying.
Just like it used to be in my neighborhood:
from all the tenements laundry hung window to window.
Across the way Joey is sticking his hands
through the bars to hand Felipé a cigarette,
men are hollering back and forth cell to cell,
saying their sinks don’t work,
or somebody downstairs hollers angrily
about a toilet overflowing,
or that the heaters don’t work.

I ask Coyote next door to shoot me over
a little more soap to finish my laundry.
I look down and see new immigrants coming in,
mattresses rolled up and on their shoulders,
new haircuts and brogan boots,
looking around, each with a dream in their heart,
thinking they’ll get a chance to change their lives.

But in the end, some will just sit around
talking about how good the old world was.
Some of the younger ones will become gangsters.
Some will die and others will go on living
without a soul, a future, or a reason to live.
Some will make it out of here with hate in their eyes,
but so very few make it out of here as human
as they came in, they leave wondering what good they are now
as they look at their hands so long away from their tools,
as they look at themselves, so long gone from their families,
so long gone from life itself, so many things have changed.

poem by Jimmy Santiago Baca
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes

The World Looks Upon Us With Worried Eyes

look at us who want to really finish the work
this afternoon
look at us being looked at the world with
worried eyes
it is reminding that if we finish this work
on time
the work shall soon finish us
earlier than expected
look at this world that looks down upon us
it is not sleeping
it keeps reminding that there is no apocalypse
of earth and rock
the sun will always be there until it finds us all gone.

poem by Ric S. Bastasa
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Work To Make It Work

(r palmer)
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve it
Push it along
It's all there for you to feel it
Help your self to one that you can't deal with
Ain't no way that you could steal it
You misunderstand if you get greedy
Ah push
Work work work to make it work push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve
Don't confine your dreams to bed
You'll get scared if you get lazy
If you can't take enough to satisfy yourself
Then you'll go crazy
Wont do no good thinking
You got to do it
So it don't come easy the first time
Practice makes perfect, you know that i'll try hard
Use it or lose it
You got to put your heart and soul into it
Yeaheheh
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to move it
Push it along
Work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve
It's all there for you to feel it
Help your self to one that you can't deal with
Ain't no way that you could steal it
You misunderstand if you get greedy forget wishful thinking
You can do it
You just need a push to make a start
If you don't succeed the first time
Try and try again
Use it or lose it
You got to put your back into it
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to move it
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to move it
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve

song performed by by Robert Palmer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Admiration... For Those Who Work!

i have a deep admiration
for the common working people
of the world...
having lived among them,
worked and sweated with them,
i sing their struggle!

farmers toiling day and night,
nurses pulling double shifts.
factory workers doing time and again,
carpenters and masons building.
black and white and all colors,
working their lives by faith.
and immigrants, often called illegal,
(though no human beings are illegal!) ...
who come here and work for whatever wage,
trying to build a dream for their families.
let us not forget women,
too often underpaid and treated as less...
truckdrivers, and those who work the docks,
steel workers, cooks, and trash collectors...
all leave me in awe...

there are many who cant work,
these should always be taken care of.
but the ones that could work if they would work,
who can work, and wont...
well... i have a problem there!

i was taught to work as a child...
taught respect, dignity, and honesty...
and so i believe, and so i live...
in admiration for those who work!

poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Welcome back To School!

Welcome Back To School

Welcome back to school
Summer's over and once again school rules
It's now September a long way from June
Glad to have you welcome back to school

Let's get down to business
You have had your fun
Summer vacation is now long gone
Now it's time to learn

Welcome back to school
Learn prepare to take command of your world
Put control of your future in your hands
It's good to welcome you back to school

We are going to make learning fun
With that in mind we have updated our curriculum
Don't look so serious show some enthusiasm
All together now are we ready are we ready to learn

Welcome, welcome, welcome
Welcome back to school.

Anthony S.Phillander©080912

poem by Anthony Shurland Phillander
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Lovingly Do The Work

Work is
Life...
Life is work...

Any work is not
Wrong...
Without work is
Worng...

Human every budy works
Wny way too work...s
Work is making you...
Work is given good life

For you...and your's...
So...
Understand too work
Earn money too work...

Live life with your work...
Love too work...
Learn to do the work...
Lovingely do the work...

poem by Otteri Selvakumar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Saw A New World

I SAW a new world in my dream,
Where all the folks alike did seem:
There was no Child, there was no Mother,
There was no Change, there was no Other.

For everything was Same, the Same;
There was no praise, there was no blame;
There was neither Need nor Help for it;
There was nothing fitting or unfit.

Nobody laugh’d, nobody wept;
None grew weary, so none slept;
There was nobody born, and nobody wed;
This world was a world of the living-dead.

I long’d to hear the Time-Clock strike
In the world where people were all alike;
I hated Same, I hated Forever;
I long’d to say Neither, or even Never.

I long’d to mend, I long’d to make;
I long’d to give, I long’d to take;
I long’d for a change, whatever came after,
I long’d for crying, I long’d for laughter.

At last I heard the Time-Clock boom,
And woke from my dream in my little room;
With a smile on her lips my Mother was nigh,
And I heard the Baby crow and cry.

And I thought to myself, How nice it is
For me to live in a world like this,
Where things can happen, and clocks can strike,
And none of the people are made alike;

Where Love wants this, and Pain wants that,
Where all our hearts want Tit for Tat
In the jumbles we make with our heads and our hands,
In a world that nobody understands,
But with work, and hope, and the right to call
Upon Him who sees it and knows us all!

poem by William Brighty Rands
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Where Eagles Do Not Ever Dare! (Fresh Medicos are under scare!)

When girls must marry ’fore ’tis late,
And boys can’t think of any date,
With future bleak despite degree,
From world of books, they are not free!

While parents expect them to earn,
They have to continue to learn;
And being paid a paltry sum,
They’re forced to work by keeping mum!

While other students live like kings,
To modern doctors, woes, life brings;
Just blame the politics that’s rife,
For giving them, so much of strife!

Shame on the ones, who plan health-care!
They do not want doctors to fare;
Top bureaucrats who choose lucre,
Make youngster’s lives, mediocre!

In land beset with corruption,
(And doctors are no exception) ,
The few who work for noble cause,
Are given not the clime to pass!

Will not a young leader arise,
And cut the wrong-doers to size?
Is there no party good and wise,
Which fights for fairness, speaks no lies?

Where seniors will not ever go,
They plan to send the fresh medico!
What can a growing plant do there,
Where mammoth trees can’t even dare?

poem by John Celes
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Cool Water

Day by day ... whistle while you work ... our
Backs are breaking ... up from hollow earth ...
From end to end ... the noise begins ... in the
Human battle stations ... and the big ones
Coming in
Work, work, work, work ... work till holes are
Filled ... work, work, work, work ... bags of
Bone and skin ... lovers hold hands ... tossing
Their heads ... tangled in hair ... tied to earth
... with skin and glue
But their skin is the same as yours
Coming in for the world to see
They can sit at the table, too
The same blood as you and me
Speak very softly .. hold my hand ... someone is
Sleeping ... in my bed ... priests pass by ...
Worms crawl in ... one dreams to be ... one dream
For all
His skin is the same as yours
Is he not made the same as you?
And some have fallen down
And blood spilled on the ground
Work, work,work
Till his life is doneu
The old man .. is at our door ... and hes
Knocking ... knocking ... as his neighbors weep
... each day repeats ... are we nothing in your
Eyes? ... someone answer, someone answer ... this
Rusted garden gate ... can barely even stand ...
Their work is over now ... and rest will be at
Hand
Is their skin not the same as yours?
Can they sit at the table to drink
Cool water
Cool wateru
And his lungs are filled with rain...
And the waters rushing in...

song performed by by Talking Heads
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Why Work Ourselves Hard

Hard workers are long lived that does seem a lie
For the harder you work the sooner you may die
You drive a car hard though it's engine and body is strong
It quickly wears out it does not last that long
Hard work on the ageing body does take it's toll
Relaxation is good for the muscles and the soul
A time to recover when you are feeling tired
A balance in life is the thing most desired
By sensible people who know how to relax
Too much of hard work on your health a huge tax
In a World where many are driven by greed
The more money we have the more we think we do need
Why work ourselves hard when we can live on less
The heart it lives longer without strain and stress.

poem by Francis Duggan
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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An Attitude

The life never ment to be the same for all of us
It's just destines game
I don't have someone to blame
And I've always believed everything that happens to us has a reason beyond
Just we always come out of the darkest ways holding lights within hearts
Everything is there for a good reason I believe

Some of us with laughter was came to the life
Some of us with tears since their first breath are friends
Just this is how the life always used to be unfair
But something I've got never sufferings and tears would change the realities
Only thing they can do to bring more sadness more tears
It's all about patience
If you have nothing to change for what are your sufferings
They have nothing to do just to make things worse and harder to bear
The life is a school some of us graduates holding in their hands hearts filled with patience and charity
Some go to wrong ways it always depends to our attitudes and good seeds inside us.

I've chosen my path to God
I can see clearly the way that guides me to God
My attitude the positively look to the life
I can't turn the blacks to the whites
I don't have a magic stakes
To change impossibility's
I try to do my best to go ahead
With wright steps
But if there are things can't be changed in life
I'll never chose the darkened ways to make my changes
Just to feed my own interests
There are things are therefore to stay
You have to believe
It's about your attitudes.

poem by Sossi Khachadourian
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Work To Make It Work 99

Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve it
Push it along
Its all there for you to feel it
Help your self to one that you cant deal with
Aint no way that you could steal it
You misunderstand if you get greedy
Ah push
Work work work to make it work push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve
Dont confine your dreams to bed
Youll get scared if you get lazy
If you cant take enough to satisfy yourself
Then youll go crazy
Wont do no good thinking
You got to do it
So it dont come easy the first time
Practice makes perfect, you know that Ill try hard
Use it or lose it
You got to put your heart and soul into it
Yeaheheh
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to move it
Push it along
Work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve
Its all there for you to feel it
Help your self to one that you cant deal with
Aint no way that you could steal it
You misunderstand if you get greedy forget wishful thinking
You can do it
You just need a push to make a start
If you dont succeed the first time
Try and try again
Use it or lose it
You got to put your back into it
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to move it
Push it along
Work work work to make it work
Push it along
Work work work if you want to improve
Work work work to m

song performed by by Robert Palmer
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Four Letter 'Work' Song

Work me up, work me out, work me flip side down.
Work me here, work me there, work me with renown.
Work me hot, work me greedy,
work me through and through.
Work me to the very marrow,
work me just like I'd work you.
Work me proud, work me late,
work me do not hesitate.
Won't you let me work for you?
Work me til I'm black and blue.
Work me steady, work me needy, work me to a lather.
Work me til my backbone breaks, and the buzzards gather.
Work me in, work me under, work me til I bleed,
Work me over red hot coals, work me like a boss in need.
Work me nasty, work me silly, work me through the clover.
Up down, 'n' in between, into a slipknot sweet Jehovah.
Work me, work me, go ahead.
Work me, work me, til I'm dead.

Buddy Bee Anthony

poem by Buddy Bee Anthony
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Black Messiah

Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So dont shoot me for saying mine
Everybody talking about racial equality
cos everybodys equal in the good lords eyes
But if I told you that God was black
What would you think of that
I bet you wouldnt believe it
Theres a self made prophet living right next to me
He said the black messiahs gonna come and set the whole world free
He looked at me with his evil eye and prophesied
And he really believed it
He said a black messiah is gonna set the world on fire
And hes no liar, cos he has truly heard the word
Everybody talking about racial equality
But Im the only honky living on an all black street
They knock me down cos they brown and I white
Everybody got the right to speak their mind
So dont shoot me for saying mine
Everyobody talking about racial equality
You hear everybody talking about equal rights
But whites white, blacks black and thats that
And thats the way you should leave it
Dont want no black messiah to come and set the world on fire
A black messiah is gonna come and rule the world
Everybody got to show a little give and take
Everybody got to live with a little less hate
Everybody gotta work it out, we gotta sort it out
Everbody got the right to speak their mind
So dont shoot me for saying mine

song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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In The Good Old Days

We'd get up before sun-up to get the work done up
We'd work in the fields till the sun had gone down
We've stood and we've cried as we have bristly watched
A hailstorm a' beatin' our crops to the ground
We've gone to bed hungry many nights in the past
In the good old days when times were bad
Chorus:
No amount of money could buy from me
The memories that i have of then
No amount of money could pay me
To go back and live through it again
I've seen daddy's hands break open and bleed
And i've seen him work till he's stiff as a board
An' i've seen momma layin' in suffer and sickness
In need of a doctor we couldn't afford
Anything at all was more than we had
In the good old days when times were bad
We've got up before and found ice on the floor
Where the wind would blow snow through the cracks in the wall
And i couldn't enjoy then, havin' a boyfriend
I had nothing decent to wear at all
So i long for a love that i never had
In the good old days when times were bad
Repeat chorus
Tag:
In the good old days when times were bad
In the good old days when times were bad

song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Good Day

The sky is blue but there are clouds in my head,
With big decisions looming ahead.
The sun is out but the room is so grey,
So much confusion headed my way.
Get positive, try to be gay.
News of the world, tea and biscuits in bed.
The headlines said that diana is dead.
She couldnt act much but she put on a show.
She always smiled even when she felt low.
I used to fancy her a long time ago.
So today has got to be a good day,
Today is gonna be a good day,
Today is gonna be a good day,
Good day, good day, good day.
Holes in my socks and I cant find my shoes.
Its no surprise that Im singing the blues.
So many holes in my life still to mend,
And someone just said that the worlds gonna end.
So today better be a good day,
Today is gonna be a good day,
Today has got to be a good day,
Good day, good day, good day, good day.
If we blow away the past with a bloody great blast,
Make it fast, make it fast.
So have a good day today because it could be your last,
Make it last, make it last.
Will it light up the sky?
Will it blot out the sun?
Well weve waited this long,
So it better be a good one.
Good day, good day, good day.
Yeah, its gonna be a good day.
Hey baby, if you come back home itll be a good day today.
They could drop a small atom bomb on the city today,
But if you walk through that door honey, you know itll be a good day.
And now survival is my only aim.
I call friends and see if any remain.
Who was that girl who used to be my flame?
Id call her if I could remember her name.
So today is gonna be a good day,
Today has got to be a good day,
Today is gonna be a good day,
Good day, good day, good day, good day.
Hey diana, Ive really got to learn to take a tip from you,
Put on my makeup and try to make the world take notice of you.
Yeah, its gonna be good day today.
Good day, gonna be a good day.
(repeat)

song performed by by Kinks
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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From Dreams to Reality

As a boy I was filled with
aspirations and dreams,
and imagined myself
a star of the silver screen.

I was a romantic unsung hero,
an adventurer, a lone ranger.
A tireless fighter against evil,
a good cause campaigner.

I was also a superhero
from comics and books.
A typical nervous Clark Kent,
with charm and good looks.

As I grew older my parents asked
what did I want to do,
to earn a good living
my whole life through.

I thought and I thought,
but I had no idea.
'An apprenticeship, ' said mother,
which filled me with fear.

At the age of almost fifteen
an interview at Rolls Royce,
An engineering apprentice,
this was my first choice.

White overalls with a red RR,
I was proud to wear,
and wore these work clothes
just about everywhere.

Everyday in the training school,
it was like being in the army.
My enthusiasm soon wore off,
it was driving me balmy.

After nine months of training
in many different trades,
they decided as a machinist
I would make the grade.

The last thing I wanted
was to work on a machine,
that churned out parts
for planes and submarines.

I told my dearest mother
that I was bored to tears,
and I couldn't work machines
for the rest of my years.

She said I couldn't resign
until I had found a career,
which taught me a trade
for the next six years.

She made enquiries
with people she knew,
and arranged for me
an engineering interview.

I met the proprietors;
a man and his wife.
I was now an apprentice,
and set up for life.

Royces tried to change my mind
and offered a different trade,
but I was now a fabricator,
and my decision was firmly made.

poem by Orlando Belo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Sestina Of The Tramp-Royal

Speakin' in general, I 'ave tried 'em all,
The 'appy roads that take you o'er the world.
Speakin' in general, I 'ave found them good
For such as cannot use one bed too long,
But must get 'ence, the same as I 'ave done,
An' go observin' matters till they die.

What do it matter where or 'ow we die,
So long as we've our 'ealth to watch it all --
The different ways that different things are done,
An' men an' women lovin' in this world --
Takin' our chances as they come along,
An' when they ain't, pretendin' they are good?

In cash or credit -- no, it aren't no good;
You 'ave to 'ave the 'abit or you'd die,
Unless you lived your life but one day long,
Nor didn't prophesy nor fret at all,
But drew your tucker some'ow from the world,
An' never bothered what you might ha' done.

But, Gawd, what things are they I 'aven't done?
I've turned my 'and to most, an' turned it good,
In various situations round the world --
For 'im that doth not work must surely die;
But that's no reason man should labour all
'Is life on one same shift; life's none so long.

Therefore, from job to job I've moved along.
Pay couldn't 'old me when my time was done,
For something in my 'ead upset me all,
Till I 'ad dropped whatever 'twas for good,
An', out at sea, be'eld the dock-lights die,
An' met my mate -- the wind that tramps the world!

It's like a book, I think, this bloomin' world,
Which you can read and care for just so long,
But presently you feel that you will die
Unless you get the page you're readin' done,
An' turn another -- likely not so good;
But what you're after is to turn 'em all.

Gawd bless this world! Whatever she 'ath done --
Excep' when awful long -- I've found it good.
So write, before I die, "'E liked it all!"

poem by Rudyard Kipling
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Ain't Gonna Work On Your Farm No More

I ain’t gonna work on your farm no more
I ain’t gonna scrub all your floors,
I ain’t gonna take all your friends who ignore
what I do when they hide behind doors
where they pay no attention to stuff that I think,
and say, when they pay me a dime,
that I ain’t entitled to spend it on drink,
or ladies who show me good time.
I ain’t gonna work for your children or friends
who preach of the law and the Lord,
and hear all those messages God never sends
to people with who He is bored,
like I am. I ain’t gonna work on your farm,
instead I will write me a song,
and pray that its words will all sound the alarm,
for I expect to be back before long.

Mark Z. Barabak (“He’s Digging ‘Farm, ’” LA Times, June 26,2008) writes that Barack Obama’s favorite Bob Dylan song is “Maggie’s Farm, ” performed in 1995 at the Newport Festival, when he turned electric and never looked back:

I AIN’T GONNA WORK ON MAGGIE’S FARM NO MORE

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I wake up every morning
hold my hands and pray for rain
I've got a head full of ideas
driving me insane
It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor
well, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

Well, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's brother no more
He hands you a nickel
he hands you a dime
He asks you and your friends
if you're having a good time
He blames you every time you slam the door
Well, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

Well, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's Pa no more
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's Pa no more
He stubs his cigarette out in your face just for kicks
his bedroom window is made out of bricks
And the National Guard are standing at his door
well, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

Well, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's mother no more
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's mother no more
She talks to all the servants about man and God and law
and everybody swears she's the brains behind Pa
She's sixty-eight, but claim's she's twenty-four
well, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
Well, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

I try so hard to be just who I am
but everybody wants you to be just like them
They say 'see, while you're playing I get bored'? ?
well, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more

6/26/08

poem by Gershon Hepner
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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In The Good Old Days (When Times Where Bad)

Wed get up before sun-up to get the work done up
Wed work in the fields till the sun had gone down
Weve stood and weve cried as we have bristly watched
A hailstorm a beatin our crops to the ground
Weve gone to bed hungry many nights in the past
In the good old days when times were bad
Chorus:
No amount of money could buy from me
The memories that I have of then
No amount of money could pay me
To go back and live through it again
Ive seen daddys hands break open and bleed
And Ive seen him work till hes stiff as a board
An Ive seen momma layin in suffer and sickness
In need of a doctor we couldnt afford
Anything at all was more than we had
In the good old days when times were bad
Weve got up before and found ice on the floor
Where the wind would blow snow through the cracks in the wall
And I couldnt enjoy then, havin a boyfriend
I had nothing decent to wear at all
So I long for a love that I never had
In the good old days when times were bad
Repeat chorus
Tag:
In the good old days when times were bad
In the good old days when times were bad