A Song by Sarah Ogan Gunning
I hate the company
bosses
I'll tell you the
reason why
They cause me so much
suffering
And my dearest friends
to die
Oh yes, I guess you
wonder
What they have done
to me
I'm going to tell
you, mister
My husband had T.B.
Brought on by hard
work and low wages
And not enough to
eat
Going naked and hungry
No shoes on his feet
I guess you'll say
he's lazy
And did not want to
work
But I must say you're
crazy
For work he did not
shirk
My husband was a coal
miner
He worked and risked
his life
To try to support
three children
Himself, his mother,
and wife
I had a blue-eyed baby
The darling of my
heart
But from my little
darling
Her mother had to
part
These mighty company
bosses
They dress in jewels
and silk
But my darling blue-eyed
baby
She starved to death
for milk
I had a darling mother
For her I often cry
But with them rotten
conditions
My mother had to die
Well, what killed your
mother
I heard these bosses
say
Dead of hard work
and starvation
My mother had to pay
Well, what killed your
mother
Oh tell us, if you
please
Excuse me, it was
pellagra
That starvation disease
They call this the
land of plenty
To them I guess it's
true
But that' s to the
company bosses
Not workers like me
and you
Well, what can I do
about it
To these men of power
and might
I tell you, company
bosses
I'm going to fight,
fight, fight
What can we do about
it
To right this dreadful
wrong
We're all going to
join the union
For the union makes
us strong