Stop writing Literature, You garrulous Indian
a life of toil for the man in the centre
a hub in the peripheral tireless wheel
where he go then where he go this working man
he go on waking people working at waking man
no words cling now no words meant in blame
the tongue he lash the words they now tame
no shock of blast open laughter rock the hall
everyman there say there sure were a man
a man no fear cowed in communion to other
made for no gods made for no demons either
all men he know best when he see just once
no second thought resurrect the man if bad
so go tell the magi no trek in sight in sky
here a man be born here he so sure die
other no like see one so bright stand up high
other no like feel like sky fall low into ocean
what make ‘m i say with feeling so just
is sure he different he force hisself work
work work work work an' again work
he work nite an' nite so 50-hour in day
where he go then where he go this working man
he go on waking people working at waking man
where you go from word born here now
turn and twist all whoring the alphabet
‘don't write anything you can get published'
so publish only what you can't call your own
writing like reading's a public coital act
so showing your work is exhibitionism
‘why don't you send your stuff around
keeping it to yourself's sheer masturbation'
reading-watching-listening's just voyeurism
so sending wares around is prostitutionism
where he go then where he go this working man
he go on waking people working at waking man
he it was in minesweeper capture aurora borealis
message from extrasensory enter into he word
in Bengal waters alone he hear No-man cry
only in deepdown psyche water drip drip dry
then on land he no see reason to the fight
so he let he wrists spill he guts to the fill
then he take the world on all by he torn self
he spare no skin in dug-Malayan-jungle-out
what he do what he think he do he no tell
everybody meet man an' no see albatross hang
he no tell story like ol' mariner in dream
he go wake people from dumb dead trance
many many people high up no like this act
some call him stuckup other just ‘im damn
where he go then where he go this working man
he go on waking people working at waking man
is all he do then what kind of working this
is big work man ‘cause most body dead sleep
where he go then where he go this working man
he go on waking people working at waking man
Dedicated to Eric Mottram,1924 - 1995
(© T. Wignesan 13-15 October 1995. Pub. in 'Radical Poetics (Inventory of Possibilities) ', London,1997.)
* Eric N. W. Mottram held a personal Chair, since 1983, in English and American Literature at King's College, University of London where he was first appointed as lecturer in American Literature in 1960. A prolific poet (34 vols.) and critic (15 vols.) , he also taught at Zurich, Singapore and Gröningen after obtaining a Double First in English Tripos from Cambridge in 1950. He was a recepient of the American Learned Societies award in 1965 and had also subsequently taught at North Western University and New York University at Buffalo. He edited 22 issues of the Poetry Society's Review in the seventies and was largely responsible for introducing Beat literature in Europe. He authored Algebra of Need on William Burroughs.
poem by T. Wignesan
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Related quotes
Work To Do!
i came from a generation
that worked.... was born to
work, daylight to dawn,
for everything we had.
we grew our own food, we
cut firewood, we worked
with our hands.
we were taught to work...
we built houses, bridges,
paved roads... worked on
farms, worked in sawmills,
worked in factories...
whatever it took for food
and shelter...
and if a neighbor got hurt,
or sick, and couldnt work...
we helped him and his family
till he could.
those of us left who can work
are still working, a lot of us are
out of work, and cant find work!
and so the world has changed...
it seems like a lot of people
spend more time avoiding work
than working... a lot of people
look for the easy way out...are
dependent on society...
still a lot of good and willing people
just need help.
they call this progress...based
on technology, and looking out for
number one. seperated, almost islands...
greed has taken the place of the bent back!
so when it all falls apart, and that will
be soon, what happens? who knows how
to survive? who has the backbone?
things to think about, and yes...
work to do!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Workers Of America
good work...
hard work that you're
respected for, compensated
fairly for.....
no work is menial!
the man who picks up
and hauls your trash,
just as important,
just as worthy,
as the banker or businessman!
picking fruit, working in hospitals,
working on machines...
all needed!
all work done well,
is poetry in itself!
do your job!
hold your head up!
and employers,
pay your people well!
the workers of America,
the backbone of freedom!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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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
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Matthew & Son
Up at eight, you can't be late
For matthew & son, he won't wait.
Watch them run down to platform one
And the eight-thirty train to matthew & son.
Matthew & son, the work's never done, there's always something new.
The files in your head, you take them to bed, you're never ever through.
And they've been working all day, all day, all day!
There's a five minute break and that's all you take,
For a cup of cold coffee and a piece of cake.
Matthew & son, the work's never done, there's always something new.
The files in your head, you take them to bed, you're never ever through.
And they've been working all day, all day, all day!
He's got people who've been working for fifty years
No one asks for more money cuz nobody cares
Even though they're pretty low and their rent's in arrears
Matthew & son, matthew & son, matthew & son, matthew & son,
And they've been working all day, all day, all day!
song performed by by Cat Stevens
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Motionless
Work
Work
That's what I need to do
Work
Work
I feel so lazy
Working machine
Working machine
That's what I need to be
I need to make my grades go sky high
Make the entire house gleam
Make the best meal ever
Work
Work
Why don't I start
I should just work
All the time
Push everything else away
Instead I sit here
Staring at the T.V.
Staring at a book
Staring at my family
Staring at a magazine
Nanny's making supper
I really should go help
I should take over
And while I'm at it
I should study for my test
And dust, too
But instead I sit
And sit
And sit
And sit
And sit
Just staring,
Watching my life pass me by
poem by Candace Johnson
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Conversations: Angels And Demons
was talking to a truckdriver
that just came in off the road
yesterday.
he said: 'pretty much the same,
everywhere i go, people either
aint working, cant find work,
or if they are working, cant
make enough money to get by on...
dont care what they say on the tv...'
i told him, ' it's the same thing here,
people keep coming in and telling me
they dont know what they're gonna do.
a friend of mine called me last night,
50 years old, worked all of his life,
and said he just cant make it... cant
find any work.'
poem by Eric Cockrell
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My advice to an aspiring actor would be to never stop learning or working for what you want. Nothing comes easy, ever, if you want something, you have to work for it. By working for it I mean work on your craft, learn from people who have something to teach. It's just like anything else, practice makes perfect.
quote by James Lafferty
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Workin' For The Man
Workin' For The Man
Roy Orbison
Hey now you better listen to me everyone of you
We got a lotta lotta lotta lotta work to do
Forget about your woman and that water can
Today were working for the man
well pick up your feet
we've got a deadline to meet
I'm gonna see you make it on time
Don't relax
I want elbows and backs
I wanna see everybody from behind
'Cause your working for the man working for the man
you gotta make him a hand when you're working for the man
Oh well I'm pickin' 'em up and I'm laying 'em down
I believe he's gonna work me into the ground
I pull to the left I heave to the right
I wanna kill him but it wouldn't be right
'Cause I,m working for the man working for the man
gotta make him a hand when you're working for the man
Well the boss man's daughter sneaks me water
everytime her daddy's down the line
she says meet me tonight love a me right
and everything is gonna be fine
So I slave all day without much pay
'cause I'm just abiding my time
'cause the company and the daughter you see
Their both gonna be all mine
Yah I'm gonna be the man gonna be the man
Gotta make him a hand if I'm gonna be the man
working for the man working for the man
gonna be the man gonna be the man
Gotta make him a hand working for the man
From: Deise (Julio C Pereira
)
song performed by by Roy Orbison
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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State Of The Union (In Closing)
we, the working people
of America, demand our dignity!
we demand equality, and fairness!
we are all immigrants here!
yet no human being is illegal.
we demand the right to work,
and to educate our children.
we demand shelter, and healthcare!
we are a hard working, hard fighting
people... we demand a
hard working, hard fighting President!
we know that you are limited
by the hand of the controlling elite,
at the mercy of the corporate machine.
dont be just a figurehead.
your choice!
freedom is a work in progress.
the real revolution is in
the human heart, in the mind.
we are ready for change,
and willing to act.
be ready, and willing!
there are no small people,
we are all people.
we will not be owned!
we cannot go back to the
bigoted, ignorant ways of the past.
you are our best option,
be the man!
most of all, we demand the action
that follows words well spoken.
be the action!
poem by Eric Cockrell
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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All Day
Well Im hiding my eyes from the morning sun
And I keep on working till the work is all done
But a voice in my head keeps ticking away
As the sweats hosed down from yet another day
Well he works hard
And he lives hard
And he breaks his back without nothing to gain
While the boss man sits around and drinks champagne
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one transition
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one decision
Well Im peeling the blisters off my working hand
Is that what it takes to make you understand?
That its something you read, not something you meant
To be slaving away without a shred of integrity
He worked hard
And he lived hard
And he broke his back without nothing to say
While the man in control was just laughing away
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one transition
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one decision
Was it something you read?
Was it something you meant?
Was it something you said?
Or was it heaven sent?
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one transition
All day (you work and you work and you work and)
In life, theres just one decision
song performed by by Ministry
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Love Working On You
(jim collins/craig wiseman)
You woke up this morning
Changes were taking place
You looked in the mirror
A smile was all over your face
cause out of nowhere
Someone was there
Who dared to climb
Those walls you made
Its exciting, a little frightening
But girl dont you be afraid
Thats just the love working
Love working on you
Thats just the love working
Working on pulling you through
Cant even remember
All the sorrow that you left behind
Its a brand new day
Theres a bright new way
And your tears have turned into wine
You never forget
When your eyes met
Or just how clearly you could see
Where the turns are deep in your heart
That lead you to believe
Thats just the love working
Love working on you
Thats just the love working
Working on pulling you through
All of the while you felt forsaken
And all of the while
Loves been waiting, waiting
Suddenly you see how it could be
If we all only felt this way
And for a while girl you can see this world
Looking through the eyes of fate
Thats just the love working
Love working on you
Thats just the love working
Working on pulling you through
Thats just the love working
Love working on you
Thats just the love working
Working on pulling you through
Thats just the love working on you
Thats just the love working
Working on pulling you through
song performed by by John Michael Montgomery
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Old Joe The Black Cattle Dog
Old Joe the black cattle dog has known a better day
Around his jaws he is looking rather gray
He still works cattle but at a much slower pace
A young dog is being trained to take his place,
Old Joe a great cattle dog from a great working line
Is getting old for working cattle at nine
Though still keen to work nowadays he easily tire
The old legs tiring though he still has the desire
To work at cattle but his owner Jimmy say
That Joe is nearing his final working day
He will retire him he has done enough
At his age working cattle for him is too tough
He was a renowned working dog in his prime
But dog and master must bow to father time.
poem by Francis Duggan
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Waking dream
Ooh waking dream ooh waking dream
That causes all my agony
I heave with anguish meshed with misery
For your departure like the rapture
Has taken any hope for a blissful eternity
Ooh waking dream ooh waking dream
Pawn has made its move to take the queen
A lonely king to make seven moves
To escape with pride and not to loose
Waking dream that fades away
Like a beautiful sunset that ends a day
Usher darkness into my life
With madness is how I cope at nights
Hide any weakness in murkiness
Having every answer and still I guess
Ooh waking dream ooh waking dream
Your a reflection of a dying memory
poem by Raymond Valadez
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My American Dream
Author unknown (sung by dan peek)
Found on heard.
I always thought that I wanted a long, new, shiny cadillac
That a real man wears five hundred dollar suits upon his back
I always thought that I needed a big, old house with a million dollar view
But baby, since we fell in love, all I needed is you
Waking up (waking up) to my american dream
Shes a long haired, blue eyed, country girl
Shes better than a fantasy
Waking up (waking up) to my american dream
And I would not trade the whole wide world
For what she means to me
Shes pretty as the moonlight on the gulf of mexico
And her heart is pure and true as any california gold
I put her on a pedastel like lady liberty
Know there is no finer girl from sea to shining sea
Im waking up (waking up) to my american dream
Shes a long haired, blue eyed, country girl
Shes better than a fantasy
Waking up (waking up) to my american dream
And I would not trade the whole wide world
For what she means to me
Waking up (waking up) to my american dream
Shes a real live, blue eyed, country girl
The best thing Ive ever seen
And I would not trade the whole wide world
For what she means to me
Im waking up (waking up) to my american dream
Im waking up (Im waking up) to my american dream
song performed by by America
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Workaholic
R- ray a- anita
Ok, let's go to work!
The workaholic!
The workaholic!
R: the workaholic he works every day
24 hours, no time to play
He won't quit; he's addicted to work
I think he's going out like a jerk
Working, working, what can you do?
See the light from a different point of view!
Ready in the morning for the bell to chime
I think he's glad it's working time!
The workaholic!
A: work your body, baby work your soul!
Keep on workin' workin' to the bone!
Work your body, baby, work your soul
I'm a workaholic when i'm on the floor!
The workaholic!
R: first like a jerk, why you always work?
Messing up your mind with that paperwork?
The only thing is to break ball
Is working, yo, and that's all
They do it for money, but he for fun
He won't get away until the job is done
For drinkin' drinkin' like an alcoholic
The guy is just a workaholic!
The workaholic!
A: work your body, baby work your soul!
Keep on workin' workin' to the bone!
Work your body, baby, work your soul
I'm a workaholic when i'm on the floor!
The workaholic!
The workaholic!
The workaholic!
song performed by by 2 Unlimited
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Working In The Big Durian
My friend Kelly said
with regard to working
in private high schools
in the Indonesian city
of Jakarta on the island
of Java a modern mega
city. The Big Durian.
“Yes, I want to go back
and work for myself.
I love working with
the kids and don’t mind
dealing with the parents
but the people who you
end up working for don’t
treat you like a human,
you are only property to
do what they want, when
they want, for as long as
they want. I work myself
hard enough, don’t need...”
Yes Jakarta is not
overflowing with the milk
of human kindness.
Do unto others
as you would have
others do unto you
can be rare here.
Indeed an epidemic
of selfishness is not
unknown in western
developed countries.
Is it not a sign of the times?
poem by Terence George Craddock
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Car Wash
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(This is a Shark Tale exclusive)
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(Here we go again) (2004)
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(Say what, say what) (phenomenal hit)
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
(Yeah)
Ooh, do do do do do do do
Car wash, car wash
Ooh, do do do do do do do
Car wash, car wash
(Yeah, let's drop it on 'em like this)
Ooh, do do do do do do, na na na ah, ooh
Ooh, do do do do do do, na na na ah, ooh
You might not ever get rich, ha
Let me tell you it's better than digging a ditch
There ain't no telling who you might meet
A movie star or maybe a common thief
Working at the car wash (oh oh, yeah yeah)
At the car wash, yeah (ooh, yeah yeah)
At the car wash (sing it with me now)
Working at the car wash, yeah
(Oh, oh)
Come summer the work gets kind of hard
This ain't no place to be if you're planning on being a star
Let me tell you it's always cool
And the boss don't mind sometimes if you're acting like a fool
Working at the car wash (oh oh, yeah yeah)
At the car wash, yeah (ooh ooh ooh)
At the car wash (ow said, now come and work it with me now, yeah)
Working at the car wash, yeah
Said, said, said, sing
(Work and work)
Well those cars never stop coming
(Work and work)
Keep those rags and machines humming
(Work and work)
My fingers to the bone
(Work and work)
Keep on and can't wait till it's time to go home
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Hey, get your car washed today
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Fill up and you don't have to pay
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Hey, get your car washed today
Give it up, right away
Missy Elliott:
Work at the, car wash
Sharks in the water make they jaws lock
When I swim through the grim, I'm too hot
Y'all can make y'all bets
Y'all small tuna fish, I'm one big catch
Shark slayer, bow down playa
'Cause this right here will be your worst nightmare (nightmare)
Work that, work that, pop back, hurt that
Turn this up and bang it all up in the surface
(Work and work)
9 to 5 I gotta keep that fat stack coming
(Work and work) (work it)
No matter how big the shark is, the right keep running
(Work and work)
Washing cars ain't no place to be a superstar man
(Work and work)
That's why I work, and work
Working at the car wash (ohhh, yeah)
At the car wash, yeah (come on work it, baby work it, say now)
At the car wash (ahh)
Working at the car wash, yeah
So come on, come on, come on, come on, come on
Ooh, do do do do do do, na na na ah, ooh
(Now keep it coming)
Ooh, do do do do do do (woo, so), na na na ah, ooh
(You may not ever get rich, but hey)
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Hey, get your car washed today (hey)
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Hey, get your car washed today
(Ooh ooh ooh)
Hey, get your car washed today (phenomenal hit)
song performed by by Christina Aguilera
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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If they're working in a workshop somewhere, where there is, let's say, uh... only twenty people, or something like that, that's still, when they work and do a scene, that's still working in front of somebody.
quote by Ray Walston
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Usually when you're working is when people want you to work. They don't want you as much when you're not working. That's the frustrating nature of our business.
quote by Faith Ford
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I am a King While Working
Working is very nice and fine
It gives a very healthy sign
The working pleasure is mine
I want to work again and again
I am adequately compensated
While working I am not irritated
By sweat my body is irrigated
My efforts will never get wasted
To work I feel very very hungry
Too much work makes me not angry
To do work I always love to agree
I behave like a well-watered tree
My hands may look dirty
My age may be fifty
I love to do my duty
My body ever feels thirsty
I will never grudge
I will ever budge
I will never dodge
I will take a pledge
I care not my body being sweated
I worry not by being disappointed
Only to work I am appointed
To do duty only I am created
Till my last breath
I will toil on this Earth
My birth must give mirth
Only six feet land I am worth!
I will distribute cash
Secretly I will not stash
To work I will make a dash
Lazy feelings equal trash
Day and night I will truly toil
Under the Sun which will boil
I will pray to the mother soil
To make sweat better than oil
O- God- Help me wake up
O- God- Help me make up
Any task, help me take up
Any riddle, help me rake up.
poem by Mailrangam Visvanathan Venkataraman
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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