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doing business as Shining Armour Records

Lyrics for Millworker
By James Taylor

Written for his play "Daddy Loves his Work", this song speaks the thoughts of workers everywhere, whether in a mill in North Carolina, or industrial England.

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

 

Millwork ain't easy

Millwork ain't hard

Millwork it ain't nothing

But an awful boring job

I'm waiting for a daydream

To take me through the morning

And put me in my coffee break

Where I can have a sandwich

And remember

 

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

 

Now my mind begins to wander

To the days back on the farm

I can see my father smiling at me

Swinging on his arm

I can hear my granddad's stories

Of the storms out on lake eerie

Where vessels and cargos and fortunes

And sailors' lives were lost

 

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

 

So may I work the mills just as long as I am able

And never meet the man whose name is on the label

 

It be me and my machine

For the rest of the morning

And the rest of the afternoon

Gone for the rest of my life

To order the album or just to get in touch, e-mail Lou at lou@yeidel.co.uk

You can also write to:
Shining Armour Records
3/3 Silver Street
Hawick, Scotland
TD9 0AD

Song List

To listen, download tracks or buy the CD, go to:

Buy the CD

or

Early Morning Rain
Bird On The Wire
Colorado Exile
Calico Silver
Across the Borderline
Cherokee Fiddle
Me and My Uncle
The Land of Plenty
Pancho and Lefty
Rain
Boys in the Band
Millworker
Late Show
In My Secret Life