White Slave
(Joe Hill)
1. One little girl, fair as a pearl,
Worked every day in a laundry
All that she made, for food she paid,
So she slept on a park bench so soundly.
An old procuress spied her there
And whispered softly in her ear:
Cho: "Come with me now, my girlie, don't sleep out in the cold
Your face and tresses curly will bring you fame and gold.
Automobiles to ride in, diamonds and silks to wear,
You'll be a star bright down in the red light, you'll make your fortune
there.
2. Same little girl, no more a pearl,
Walks all alone by the river,
Five years have flown, her health is gone,
She would look at the water and shiver.
Whene'er she'd stop to rest and sleep
She'd hear a voice call from the deep:
3. Girls in this way fall everyday
And have been falling for ages.
Who is to blame? You know his name
He's the boss who pays starvation wages.
A homeless girl can always hear
Temptations calling everywhere.
by Joe Hill: learnt from the singing of Fellow Worker Jim Fox of
Saint John, NB, August 1977. In the 1932 ed. of the Little
Red Songbook, a gift to us from him. JB
JB
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!