Digital Tradition Mirror

Stung Right

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Pennywhistle notation and Dulcimer tab for this song is also available

Stung Right
(Joe Hill)

As I was hiking 'round the town to find a job one day,
I saw a sign: "A thousand men are wanted right away"
To take a trip around the world in  Uncle Sammy's fleet,
I signed my name a dozen times upon a great big sheet.

cho: I was stung right, stung right, S.T.U.N.G.
     Stung right, stung right, E.Z. mark that's me
     When my term is over and again I'm free
     There'll be no more trips around the world for me.

The man, he said, "The U. S. Fleet, it is no place for slaves,
"For everything you have to do is stand and watch the waves
But in the morn, at five o'clock, they woke me from my snooze,
To scrub the deck and polish brass, and shine the captain's shoes.

One day a dude in uniform to me began to shout;
I simply plugged him in the jaw, and knocked him down and out
They slammed me right in irons then and said, "You are a case."
On bread and water then I lived for twenty-seven days.

One day the captain said, "Today I'll show you something nice
"All hands line up, we'll go ashore and do some exercise."
He made us run for seven miles as fast as we could run,
And with a packing on our back that weighed a half a ton.

Some time ago when Uncle Sam he had a war with Spain,
And many of the boys in blue were in the battle slain,
Not all were killed by bullets, though; no, not by any means,
The biggest part that were killed by Armour's pork and beans.

From The IWW Song Book; tune from American History Songbook, Silverman
See also Browned Off
RG

Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!