The Lost Banjo
		- Words and music by David Bernz © 1990s

Verse 1 

G	        A				D						
I went out walking with my friend Peter
	  G		        A		        D
And he told me ‘bout the trouble on his mind
           G		A	      B min
How he was getting old and forgetful
	G				A
And a banjo he was trying hard to find
	          G			     A			D
He said “I remember traveling with those union singers
	   G			A	     D
For the shouting stomping, singin’ C.I.O.
	G		A		        D	          D/C#   B min
And rambling with Woody through the cold Montana hills
		G		A	           D
But I’ve forgotten where I put my old banjo


Verse 2 
        A					     D
I remember singing out for peace and justice
           A			  D
Until ’41 when we all had to go
         G			A		         B min
And fight that war against those fascist bastards (or “armies”)
		 G							A
We should’ve stopped them back in Spain when we fought Franco
	 G		         A		      D
And I remember meeting Toshi at the fair (or “dance”)
         G			      A		     D
And laughing when she didn’t tell me ‘no’
	      G  			A	D	   D/C#   B min 
And I can picture our fine wedding, just like yesterday
	         G		          A		            D
But I’ve forgotten where I put my old banjo


Verse 3 

I still smell the musty isle of Saipan
How the whole darn barracks sang in the latrine
I remember coming home and starting over
And writing that fine “Hammer Song” with Lee
Then I crisscrossed this whole country with the Weavers
They put our songs up on the hit parade
Until that gang in Congress called us “un-American”
But wasn’t that sweet music that we made
And my feet still feel the long march to Montgomery
Singing “We Shall Overcome” with Dr. King
At every turn those bigots tried to stop us
The louder and the stronger we did sing
Then we marched to end that war in Indo-China
We all shouted “Hell No! We Won’t go!”
And I remember Nixon leaving, in a very dark hour
But I’ve forgotten where I out my old banjo


Verse 4

Then I stood on the decks of the Clearwater
To make the Hudson cleaner for us all
I made my maple syrup in the springtime
And sailed down through the crimson in the fall
I recall the love of all my friends and family
And my grandson “Tao” he helps me with the show
But I’m gonna need just one of you to tell me
Where this old folksinger left his old banjo

Yes I’m gonna need just one of you to tell me
Where this old folksinger left his old banjo”

(Here I usually say “this song could end right here…)

Verse 5 

But a few days later someone found the banjo
Lying by the roadside in the shade
And it was back in Peter’s hands, and his fingers touched the strings
And once again we heard the music play…



David Bernz - The Lost Banjo

The Pete Seeger Song by Louisa Scott © Jan 29, 2014
He was an old man
But he would still chop wood,
He would always smile
And make you happy like only he could.
Now teardrops burn
As they fall from the sky, Shouting Abi –yo -yo Please come by.
Old Pete Seeger
Didn’t think he’d ever go,
He was a man of peace
We’ll remember him I know.
Old Pete Seeger
Didn’t think he’d ever go,
He was a man of peace
We’ll remember him I know.
Now just in dreams
He appears on the Clearwater,
We see him in the silver sky at sundown.
His songs come back to me, Every moment’s a great memory, Wherever there is singing
He’ll be around.
Old Pete Seeger
Didn’t think he’d ever go,
He was a man of peace
We’ll remember him I know.
Old Pete Seeger
Didn’t think he’d ever go,
He was a man of peace
We’ll remember him I know.


Louisa Scott - The Pete Seeger Song

I Call Them All Love Songs		words and music by Greg Artzner & Terry Leonino

G                                                C                       Bm
I call them all love songs, ’cause that is what they are
Em                       D                           C
Love, though the road be smooth or rough
Em                 C                                       Bm
Love for this crazy world and all humanity
Em       (D)        C         G      D
Still we know love alone is not enough

G                                     C          G
It’s about the workers in solidarity
Em                     D                     C
And about their singing on the line
G                                         C                   Bm
A song about their dream to make a better world
Em                           C                      D
Like a beacon through the night, we let it shine
Em                               C                           G
A hope for the planet, the home that we all share
Em                    D                          C
That we may strive to heal the damage we have done
Em                                           C                   Bm
A lament about wrong of war, and standing to defy
Em     (D)         C              G            D
Or a song about the peace that we have won.

It’s the struggle of poor people just fighting to get by
And the greedy who take more than their share
A song about the ones who help to feed body and mind
Of their brothers and their sisters anywhere
A song about walkin’ not just talkin’ as we go
Remembering the good things that we do
A song about standing with and for each other now
For we know love is not enough to see us through

A song about searching, searching for the truth
And about the things that are unknown
It’s about freedom and the struggle that goes on
A story of the country you call home
A song about the river ever flowing to the sea
From the mountains in the north, forever tall
A dream of Clearwater and the wind that fills her sails
It’s a song about a song about us all

January 28, 2014
for Pete Seeger, May 3, 1919-January 27, 2014

Magpie - I Call Them All Love Songs

Let Me Sing You A Song  
(For Pete Seeger) © 1/28/14 - Joe Jencks, Turtle Bear Music, ASCAP

You’ve asked me here to tell you
About my neighbors and my friends
To talk about the who and what
The where and how and when
Well I won’t give you anything
You don’t already know
But if you’d like 
I’ll sing that list of songs before I go

Chorus:
Let me sing you a song
About the people that I love
The poets and philosophers
The workers and the wanderers 
The ones who walk the picket lines
Who dare to stand and fight
And the ones who hold their babies close
And rock them through the night


V.2
Now you say it’s un-American 
To do the things I do
Well I sing for justice, liberty
And Civil Rights it’s true
But I say it’s un-American
To ask me how I vote
How I pray or what I believe
But here’s a song I wrote

Chorus

V.3
If you want to send me to prison
I guess that’s the way it’ll be
‘Cause I won’t feed you fodder
For your paranoid machine
If the price of my silence is shackles
Well then fellas, take me away
For I will live to sing again
And rise with a brand new day

Chorus & Tag

Joe Jencks - Let Me Sing You A Song

"Red Ribbon" by Martin Swinger and Brian Kaufman

SONGWRITER(S): Nick Russo and Betina Hershey
SONG TITLE: “Get Us Out Of Fear Land”
WEBSITE: http://banjonickaru.com/
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3jDTfhIZQ
ARTIST BIO: NYC based Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches is explosive fusing world music with folk,country, roots, New Orleans, 1920s and originals. 

Band members have worked with Paul McCartney, Julia Roberts, Sam Mendes, Paul Simon, Wynton Marsalis; performed on ABC's Good Morning America, WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, Kansas City Folk Festival main stage, Horses Sing None of It, Ladies In The House On Line Fest, Blue Plate Special, Extended Play Sessions, Relix and appeared in movies, Mona Lisa Smile, Away We Go, Disney's Enchanted and PBS Masterpiece, The Chaperone. 

"Americana music at its purest and most impressive" No Depression

“Unfailingly high-spirited." LONDON TIMES

LYRICS:

Get Us Out Of Fear Land
(Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches)
music/melody, Betina Hershey chords/harmony/arrangement/producer Nick Russo

Get us out of fear land
Lead us through the night
Get us out of fear and Take us to the light
If we don’t talk about how we feel
If we don’t believe this future’s real
The hate we’re hearing’s been ‘round too long
So if we’re silent, all we are is wrong
Get us out of fear land
Lead us through the night
Get us out of fear and Take us to the light
(to A major chord for 8 measures)
I may prefer the quite way
But now it’s time to disobey
And though we’d rather sleep or hide
It’s time to stand up at your side
Get us out of fear land
Lead us through the night
Get us out of fear and Take us to the light
(to A major chord for 8 measures)
If we don’t stand up, and stand up now
If we all falter, say we don’t know how
If we don’t stand up, hand in hand
We’re selling ourselves to the hatred land
Get us out of fear land Lead us through the night
Get us out of fear and Take us to the light
(to A major chord for 8 measure (or longer on cue))
Shake us out of fear land
Lead us through this night
Wake us out of fear and
Take us to the light
(to A major chord for 8 measures; (or longer on cue))
CHORUS: Take us to the light Take us to the light

Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches - "Get Us Out Of Fear Land";

SONGWRITER(S): Mike Glick
SONG TITLE: “We Shall Be Free”
WEBSITE: www.generations-music.org
ARTIST BIO: Mike has toured both solo and as Mike Glick & The New Song Project, in the USA and abroad in Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. Robert Palmer, The New York Times, said about them
that, “The material has the sound and rhythms of Brazilian... and Afro-Cuban music
(and) is more rousing and musically substantive than the music of city folksingers
of previous generations.” Avante in Lisbon, Portugal raved, “Poetic lyrics....rhythmic diversity, brilliant improvisation and versatility distinguish this highly original group.” And Pete Seeger  called Mike “one of the best songwriters going.”
These days Mike performs solo and with his son Aleksi in their group Generations focusing on the blues and progressive music (both politically and musically) while blending soulful vocals with virtuoso guitar playing. They have released two CDs including “Generations: Two for the Blues.”

LYRICS:

We Shall Be Free
© 2016 words & music by Mike Glick


In the darkest times, on the roughest seas
That’s when those ties that bind feel much closer to me				 
There’s a hope and a dream that I keep deep inside
And I know some day that we shall be free

When you feel all is lost, when you feel hope is gone
And the flames of hatred are felt through the land
Well after the night there’s always the dawn
And the human spirit will revive us again

(chorus)
Oh we shall be free, yes we shall be free				 
You can’t hold back the sun, nor keep the wind from the trees
Oh, we shall be free, yes we shall be free
No you can’t crush a dream, you can’t stop history


When the lies that we’re told are no longer believed
And we won’t remain silent to those who deceive
When we recognize color but nobody cares
And our family stories are respected and shared

When every child is cherished and never neglected
And you can choose who to love and not be rejected
When no one fights ‘bout religion or where you are from
And there’s no more war, and no need for guns
(chorus)
Then we shall be free…

When the least of us can grow as much as the most
With good food, a home, and warm and clean clothes
When the sick and the dying all get love and care
That’s when we’ll know we’re finally 	there
Then we shall be free….. (2x, then repeat last line, and rit.)

Mike Glick - "We Shall Be Free"

SONGWRITER(S): Mark Kilianski
SONG TITLE: “The Blue Sky Ain't No Friend Of Mine”
WEBSITE: https://www.hootandhollermusic.com/
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8PJnpfhfiM
ARTIST BIO: Hoot and Holler (guitarist Mark Kilianski and fiddler Amy Alvey) are songwriters equally influenced by wordsmiths like Gillian Welch and Townes Van Zandt as they are to authentic mountain musicians like Roscoe Holcomb and Ola Belle Reed.
LYRICS:

I lost my dear grandma on a clear sunny day,
the gunman was 10,000 miles away
My mama and papa work hard to get by,
but it’s hard to work hard when there’s fear in the sky
I used to play in the street without worry or strife,
now I hide in my house and I pray for my life
When the clouds roll in all my cares disappear,
and I wonder “dear god, why oh why are we living in fear?”
I pray and I pray that the sky will be gray
I pray that the sun never shines
If the sky becomes clear for my life I will fear
The blue sky ain’t no friend of mine
I used to soar through the sky for my country and kin,
now I sit in a bunker and I stare at a screen
I fight with a joystick twelve hours a day,
my enemy is 10,000 miles away
I take down the bad guys and go home to my wife,
toss the pigskin with junior and thank god for my life
I hit the bottle each night, but I take home my pay,
and I wonder “dear god, why oh why are we fighting this way?”
I pray and I pray that the sky will be gray
I pray that the sun never shines
If the sky becomes clear for my life I will fear
The blue sky ain’t no friend of mine
I went to the airport to go back to my home town,
bought and eight dollar coffee and sat myself down
I looked at the TV and the newscaster said,
“It’s a bloodbath in Paris, 100 lay dead”
And every time Langley gives the order to kill,
and the reapers and predators fire at will
there’s an innocent bystander caught in that hell,
and we’re a little more likely to end up the victims ourselves
I pray and I pray that the sky will be gray
I pray that the sun never shines
If the sky becomes clear for my life I will fear
The blue sky ain’t no friend of mine

Mark Kilianski - "The Blue Sky Ain't No Friend Of Mine"

SONGWRITER(S): Judy Kass, music and lyrics; Dan Berggren, lyrics
SONG TITLE: “Look at us Marching Now”
WEBSITE: https://www.judykass.com/
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVUxDX8HaCo
ARTIST BIO: Judy Kass, draws in her audience with soulful vocals, no-nonsense lyrical storytelling and genre-bending exploration of guitar and piano. Her original music blends folk, jazz and blues with songs that cover the full gamut of mood and experience.  Judy’s 2014 debut album, Better Things and her recent release,  Beyond the Ash and Steel (2016)  both topped Folk and Roots radio charts for months after their release and appeared on the Folk DJ List of Top Albums for the years 2014 and 2016 respectively.  She was a finalist in both the Philadelphia Songwriters Project and Rhode Island Songwriting Association's 2017 competitions.
LYRICS:

The conversation takes an awkward turn
At the local diner table
And it used to be easy to avoid an angry word
Now I’m no longer able

I missed the protests of the “civil rights” years
Signing occasional petitions
But complacency ended when actions soon revealed
The truth of the lesson

CHORUS
 I never did much marching
Wasn’t one for marching
Look at me marching now

My neighbor hasn’t stopped to chat in a while
Her smile grows tighter as she greets me
And my kid says his friend is scared to go to school
Afraid they’ll come for the family

Because the stakes are at an all-time high
And the situation’s dire
We can no longer wait to take our place at their side
Late arriving soldiers

CHORUS
We never did much marching
Not much marching
Look at us marching now
(Repeat)

Good soldiers come together heeding the call
Side by side sister and brother
And it’s left , right –right, left each and all
Putting one foot before the other

CHORUS
We never did much marching
Never did much marching
Look at us marching now

We never did much marching
Not much marching 
Look at us marching now

Oooh look at us marching 
Oooh look at us marching now 
Oooh look at us marching 
Oooh…

Judy Kass-Look at us Marching Now

SONGWRITER(S): Eleanor Kleiner
SONG TITLE: “Fat Cat”
WEBSITE: www.thewhisperingtree.com
ARTIST BIO: At the heart of The Whispering Tree are singer/songwriter Eleanor Kleiner and multi-instrumentalist Elie Brangbour. With their deep-reaching sound, haunting vocals and vivid lyrics, this Franco/American duo have been captivating audiences around the world since meeting at music school in London.
LYRICS:

FAT CAT 
The Whispering Tree

You're a fat cat, that's what they call you
the hateful masses, who don't understand you
with their sweaty hands, outstretched towards you
you don't owe them anything at all

It's survival of the fittest and you are the king
that's the way it is and how it's always been
you didn't make the game but you're gonna play it
and you're gonna win

How do you sleep, how do you sleep
In your tower on your satin sheets?
Sweet, sweet and deep.

There are documents and lawyers to separate you
from the things that go on down there, somewhere beneath you
so far away it could never reach you
you're safe here, your hands are clean

The law's on your side when you own the law makers
you paid good money for movers and shakers
friends in high places to get it done
it's just commerce, it can't be wrong

How do you sleep, how do you sleep
In your tower on your satin sheets?
Sweet, sweet and deep

You're a fat cat, that's what they call you
but deep down you know they really adore you
People toast your name, pull out your chair
they know what you've done but they don't care.
You're well loved and respected,
well spoken, well connected
with your shiny cars, your suit and tie
but if I met you in the jungle you'd eat me alive

How do you sleep, how do you sleep
In your tower on your satin sheets?
Sweet, sweet and deep

High above the mess that you've made

Demo

Eleanor Kleiner - "Fat Cat"

SONGWRITER(S): David Roth, Karen Drucker, JD Martin
SONG TITLE: “Home of the Brave”
WEBSITE: www.davidrothmusic.com
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL4Rb4TT0F0
ARTIST BIO: David's songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, NASA’s Space Shuttle “Atlantis”, Peter, Paul, &amp;amp; Mary and Kingston Trio CDs (and 13 of his own), the Rise Up Singing and Rise Again songbooks, and countless venues in this and other countries (and now other WORLDS) for three decades.  He is also Executive Director of SummerSongs, the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreats, and creator/host of Cape Cod’s Full Moon Open Mic, which showcases local musicians and has raised over $14,000 for neighbors in need since 2005.  www.davidrothmusic.com
LYRICS:
Home of the Brave 
© 2017 by David Roth, JD Martin, and Karen Drucker

For the past four years Guadalupe checked in
To the Phoenix office of immigration
Both of her kids US born
But that all changed the day they took her away

in the home the brave and the land of the free
we are immigrants and pilgrims and refugees
from every nation, one family
when you come for Guadalupe
you come for me

For the past two years Kamal made his rounds
Interfaith Medical Center, New York City
Went to Sudan to visit his mom
But everything changed, he couldn’t come back, he was stranded

in the home the brave and the land of the free
we are immigrants and pilgrims and refugees
from every nation, one family
when you come for Guadalupe
you come for me

Give me your tired, your poor, huddled masses
This is America, built by dreamers
Yearning to breathe free

If I had to leave my country what would I do
If the way I dressed was a trigger for you
If I’m not welcome here where would I go
Could I sail away on an unknown ocean of hope

in the home the brave and the land of the free
we are immigrants and pilgrims and refugees
from every nation, one family
when you come for Guadalupe
for Kamal
when you come for my neighbor
you come for me

David Roth- "Home of the Brave"

SONGWRITER(S): Dave Richardson
SONG TITLE: “We Got A Boat”
WEBSITE: www.daverichardsonfolk.com
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzES_ya_9lc&t=204s
ARTIST BIO: With his warm, expressive voice and his acoustic guitar, Dave Richardson invites listeners to experience snippets of life through his songs: a fragment of overheard conversation, the recollection of a feeling, a snapshot of an event. His songs reflect a unique point of view steeped in folk traditions and infused with an undeniably modern lyrical and musical sensibility. Dave can be found performing in folk clubs, bars and cafes, and open-air venues across New England. He is planning an extended tour to support his first nationally released studio album, engineered, mixed, and co-produced by Dan Cardinal (Josh Ritter, Arc Iris, Lula Wiles) and due out in early 2018.
LYRICS:

Comfort got the best of me
I filtered out what I didn't want to see
Sat and looked on silently
I won't do that no more

We can't wait on the world to change
Gotta do a little something everyday 
Little by little we can chip away
That's how things get done

Ooooooh the rain does pound the wind does blow
Ooooooh we're not drowning we got a boat
Ooooooh up on the deck or down below 
Ooooooh plenty of room, so get on board

I look out my window and all is calm
It's easy to believe the fighting’s done
But I know that the war rages on
There's so much left to do

No matter how many songs I gotta make
Whistles I blow rules I break 
Calls I place or meetings I take
I will be heard

Chorus

Lend a hand give up your seat
Stop to rest but don't retreat
Out of the house and into the streets 
Lets get together now

If we keep our candles burning bright
And put them together make a big spotlight  
Aim it at truth, just and right
Follow that light back home 

Chorus

Dave Richardson - "We Got A Boat"

SONGWRITER(S): Crys Matthews
SONG TITLE: “Battle Hymn for an Army of Lovers”
WEBSITE: http://www.crysmatthews.com
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://youtu.be/ZaN2H25kTts?t=50s
ARTIST BIO: Crys Matthews is nothing if not ambitious. In August, she simultaneously released both a new full-length album, ‘The Imagineers’ and an EP, ‘Battle Hymn For An Army Of Lovers’. These collections showcase two sides of Matthews’ dynamic songwriting; ‘The Imagineers’ is a selection of thoughtful songs about love and life while ‘Battle Hymn For An Army Of Lovers’ tackles social justice themes.
Matthews blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass and funk into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies and punctuated by honest, original lyrics. Having been compared to everyone from Toshi Reagon to Tracy Chapman to Ruthie Foster, Matthews’ eclectic infusion of genres has won her honorable mentions at the 2013 and 2014 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest and extensive radio play from Woman of Substance radio to WTJU-Charlottesville and WMRA-Harrisonburg to KBOO-Portland.

A prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews has found inspiration in her surroundings; from driving through the Blue Ridge Mountains to the compelling and heart-breaking love story of Richard and Mildred Loving. Thoughtful, realistic and emotional, Matthews’ songs speak to the voice of our generation and remind us why music indeed soothes the soul.

LYRICS:

v1. Change is coming once again,
except this time, it feels like the world's about to end.
White-robed devil's in plain sight,
angry protests in the streets night after night,
and it weighs heavy on my mind.
Why are we so quick to run backwards after all this time?
But I won't let it change my heart.
I was born full of love and hope and, when I die, that's how I'll depart.
Ch. And when you find yourself
incapable of seeing eye to eye
Remember: when they go low,
we go high.

v2. Change is coming — that's for sure.
We gave a madman all the keys and let him walk right in the door.
And I don't think he'll see the light,
until the whole world is on fire, but that's alright.
We will still be here when he's gone,
and if it doesn't kill us all, well it sure will make us strong.
Don't let four years change your heart!
We are not born hating each other -- now is not the time to start.

Ch. And when you find yourself
incapable of seeing eye to eye
Remember: when they go low,
we go high.

Bridge: There's a song penned for soldiers --
it says, "let us live to make men free."
We're all sisters.
We're all brothers.
Standing on each others' shoulders
there's no wall we cannot scale.
We are an army of lovers,
and we shall not fail.

Ch. So when you find yourself
incapable of seeing eye to eye
Remember: when they go low,
we go high.

Crys Matthews - "Battle Hymn for an Army of Lovers"

SONGWRITER(S): Chris LaVancher
SONG TITLE: “Nostalgia”
WEBSITE: http://chrislavanchermusic.com
ARTIST BIO: 2014 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist – Chris LaVancher spins tales from such a genuine, heart-felt place you can’t help but believe his stories and love the broken characters that inhabit them.
LYRICS:

There was a single flashing red light
In the center of my town
Three blocks of businesses 
‘Til the Walmart shut ‘em down
But I grew up in better days
When five and dimes were still a thing
Dad worked in the Foundry
Turning metal into springs

Every man could get a job
If he was willing to work hard
Get himself a family
A house, a car, a yard
Kids could play from dawn to dusk
Hide and seek and kick the can
TV was good back then
With Jonny Carson and Ed McMahon

Chorus:
They say you can’t go back again
It’s just your memory of how things were back then
Nostalgia paints a picture bright
But it don’t always get it right

Mom was in the kitchen
Always there for us kids
Kept our house neat and clean
And kept her dreams well hid
Laundry in the morning
Dust and sweep the afternoon
Set the dinner right on time
That’s all she was allowed to do

She told me once, she thought that she
Could make more of her life
More than just a mother
And more than just a wife

Chorus:
They say you can’t go back again
It’s just a memory of how things were back then
Nostalgia paints a picture bright
But it don’t always get it right

Yesterday she voted for a woman president
83 years of holding her truth self-evident
But this country is divided
Things went the other way
Dad voted for the man who’d bring him
Back to those good old days

But my mother she’s a dreamer
She’s not the kind to quit
She’s stepping out to rallies
In a pink hat that she knit

Chorus:
And she won’t go back again
To someone’s fantasy of how things were back then
Nostalgia paints a picture bright
But it don’t always get it right

Chris LaVancher - "Nostalgia"

SONGWRITER(S): Bev Grant
SONG TITLE: “I Am A Sewing Machine”
WEBSITE: www.bevgrant.com
VIDEO PERFORMANCE: https://youtu.be/k0aVfT3AtNI
ARTIST BIO: Bev Grant is the 2017 winner of the Joe Hill Award and the ASCAP Jay Gorney Award for  her song “We Were There,” written for her multi-media performance piece of the same name. She founded and directs the Brooklyn Women’s Chorus and performs as a solo singer/songwriter.
LYRICS:

I am a sewing machine, stitching your stylish new clothes
And right beside me others just like me sit here neatly in rows
My person works here each day, she can’t be more than 15
She’s constantly railed at, pushed and assailed to work faster at her machine

	Chain stitch, overlock, drop feed, never stop
	My needle’s stitching all day
	Persons, they come and go
Hired to make me sew, fired if they disobey

Sometimes she makes a mistake or answers to her body’s need
They start to yell at her, make it hell for her, tell her she’s worth less than me
Sometimes, one of us breaks down, we all have limits you know
Me, they fuss over, fix, make over; her, they simply let go

	Chain stitch, overlock, drop feed, never stop
	My needle’s stitching all day
	Persons, they come and go
Hired to make me sew, fired if they disobey

	My bobbin spins around, needle up and down, flying too fast for the eye
	Fabric that’s guided by fingers so small ‘til I hear a painful cry – aye, aye, aye

I am a sewing machine, stitching your stylish new clothes
My person’s forced to work 12 hour days, she can’t afford what she sews
I sew in China, in El Salvador, Bangladesh, the Philippines
Cotton to sateen, shirt waists to blue jeans, I am a sewing machine

 I am a sewing machine

Bev Grant - "I Am A Sewing Machine"

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