Workin' Hands

©2007
Wayne Cook

Down in Mississippi back in 1962
They was pullin’ corn and filling trucks and listenin’ to the blues
It was hard work and hard money and Klansmen in the streets
You could hear the rumble of the people’s restless feet

Life was hard but life was good, and a story to be told
I liked what I felt and I liked just feelin’ bold
Courage was a word that we never thought about
We just did what we did and ignored the rolling clouds

There was thunder, there was noise, there were battle lines drawn
There was activists who were throwing the gauntlet down
All we wanted was a little work, a little fun and Saturday in the park
All I wanted was a good woman to hold with a lovin’ heart

Working long, workin’ hard, workin’ hands don’t often kill
You gotta serve somebody and we-all be servin’ still
So I work for my 5 dollars and a bit o’ supper going home
You take all your money and bank it in that brick house downtown