Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle
Lyric guide

The Work Song

Read The Work Song lyrics by Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle Canonical path: /kate-anna-mcgarrigle/the-work-song Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

The Work Song

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Back before the blues were blue

When the good ol' songs were new

Songs that may no longer please us

'Bout the darkies, about Jesus

Mississippi minstrels color of molasses

Strummed their banjos to entertain their massas

Some said garbage, others cried art

You couldn't call it soul, you had to call it heart

Backs broke bending digging holes to plant the seeds

The owners ate the cane and the workers ate the weeds

Put the wood in the stove, the water in the cup

You worked so hard that you died standing up

When I was a little thing

Papa tried to make me sing

Home Sweet Home and Aura Lee

These were songs that my daddy tought me

Camptown Races and Susannah Don't You Cry

Gentle Annie still brings a tear to my eye

Label it garbage, label it art

You couldn't call it soul, you had to call it heart

Backs broke bending digging holes to plant the seeds

The owners ate the cane and the workers ate the weeds

Put the wood in the stove, the water in the cup

You worked so hard that you died standing up

Sing me songs of days gone by

Make me laugh, make me cry

Break my female heart in two

Sing me songs that say "I love you"

Lower your eyes, raise your hand to your breast

Sing me one about the sun setting in the west

Backs broke bending digging holes to plant the seeds

The owners ate the cane and the workers ate the weeds

Put the wood in the stove, the water in the cup

You worked so hard that you died standing up

Wood's in the stove, water's in the cup

You worked so hard that you died standing up

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Who performs "The Work Song"?

Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle performs "The Work Song", and this lyric page sits inside the Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "The Work Song"?

Yes. The related section below points to EXCURSION à VENISE and Hurle Le Vent with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Kate & Anna Mcgarrigle's lyric pages.

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