A G
Joe spoke no english but he had a dream
A G
And he saved up most of his pay
A G
To bring his wife and six kids from Lebanon
G D A
And settle down here to stay
A G
You could feel the prison of his loneliness
A G
He wouldn't see them for years
A G
He kept brandy behind the compressed air tanks
G D A
And he gulped it when the coast was clear
A G
Nick the Greek collected tropical fish
A G
Had to be a character too
A G
Smuggled in Pirhana just to break the law
G D A
And he fed them on kangaroo
A G
Bob's pride was his handlebar moustache
A G
Said he still combed out sand
A G
Pushed a tank through the Sahara desert
G D A
So they made him the leading hand
G D
And the summer night shifts were long and cool
D/F# D
Charlie chain smoked cigars
D/C# D/B D/A
David sweated in his speckled paint mask
G G/F# Em
As he gazed out at the stars
A G
Crazy Charlie was a Yugoslav
A G
His old straight eight Chevy could move
A G
His ambition was to live on a hippie commune
G D A
When Dave told him about free love
A G
Fred had been a farmer and a heavyweight champ
A G
Hands like a stump jump plough
A G
Moved the earth with a thrust of his arms
G D A
He was loading on the paint line now
G D
And the boys made a noise every Friday night
D/F# D
At the bar of the Hilton Hotel
D/C# D/B D/A
Downing pints and chewing the fat
G G/F# Em
Till the ten o'clock closing bell
A G
It was only rumour til the foreman came
A G
And hiding his shame with a cough
A G
He said they're cutting back down to one shift now
G D A
They're gonna have to lay you off
G D
Joe held his gaze and gulped a brandy
D/F# D
And spat it out at his feet
D/C# D/B D/A
Bob stood bolt still looking thunderstruck
G G/F# Em
Nick swore for an hour in Greek
A G
Their anger was spent in a rush of fire
A G
And smouldered out of mind
A G
When they shook hands on that last grey day
G D A
Each was in his way resigned
A G
Then a few days later I saw old Joe
A G
Looking like he'd aged ten years
A G
Drunk on the tiles at the Stag Hotel
G D A
And he couldn't hold back the tears
G D
Fred had talked of his grueling heavyweight bouts
D/F# D
I remembered what he'd said
D/C# D/B D/A
There's no giving up on that killing floor
G G/F# Em
If you don't fight you're dead
A G
If you work with your hands for your livelihood
A G
Some day you might have to choose
A G
When the class war rages on the factory floor
G D A
If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight you loose...
