I'm not afraid to bend my back I'm not afraid of dirt But how I fear the thing I do For the lack of honest work My family is lost to me They could not bear the hurt To see the state their boy is in For the lack of honest work I hold no blame for anyone 'Twas I who did arrange To pay my union dues so I'd Not have to learn or change And when I was replaced was I Who started down the hill And drank away my savings 'till I couldn't stop myself The prophets of a brave new world Captains of industry Have visions grand and great designs But non have room for me They see a world where everyone Is rich and smart and young But if I live to see such things Too late for me they come I know I'm not the only one To fall beneath the wheel Such company can not assuage The loneliness I feel So many are resigned to be Society's debris But I will be remembered for The life life took from me