Written by Ray Glaser and Bill Wolff, 1947; additional verse written and song performed by Marion Wade - From the album, IWW Rebel Voices: Songs Of The Industrial Workers Of The World, 1987
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Lyrics:
Oh, if you want a raise in pay, all you have to do
Is go and ask your boss for it, and he will give it to you.
Yes, he will give it to you, my friend, he will give it to you.
A raise in pay without delay, oh, he will give it to you.
Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around,
Dig it with a hoe, it will make your garden grow.
For men who own the industries, I’m shedding bitter tears.
They haven’t made a single dime in over thirty years.
In over thirty years, my friend, in over thirty years,
Not one thin dime in all that time in over thirty years.
Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around,
Dig it with a hoe, it will make your garden grow.
“The cost of living ain’t so high.” So says the media.
“This talk of living being hard is commie propaganda.
Just commie propaganda, friend, just commie propaganda.
From Karl Marx to Mao Zedong, just commie propaganda.”
Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around,
Dig it with a hoe, it will make your garden grow.
It’s fun to work on holidays or when the day is done.
Why should they pay us overtime for having so much fun?
For having so much fun, my friend, for having so much fun,
Paying overtime would be a crime for having so much fun.
Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around,
Dig it with a hoe, it will make your garden grow.
The men who own the industries, they own no bonds or stocks.
They own no yachts or limousines or gems the size of rocks.
They own no big estates with pools or silken BVDs
Because they pay the working folk such fancy salaries.
Oh, put it on the ground, spread it all around,
Dig it with a hoe, it will make your garden grow.