trad
Recorded as early as 1961 by Ewan MacColl but all sourced from John Ord’s Bothy Songs and Ballads published in Glasgow in 1930, a compilation of collected Scottish songs, but it apparently also appears in the Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection which was collected between 1902-1914. Ord apparently indicates the song is at least as old as 1883. Below is a mashup of the Ewan MacColl, Martin Carthy, and Billy Ross versions with tweaks especially to second verse by Alex Ellis.
Chris Foster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqu-rGxeSBg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqu-rGxeSBg
O the working man as you can see That is what he was born to beÿ He’s neither haughty, mean nor proud Nor ever take to things too rude And he never lives above his means Or begs assistance from his friends But day and night, through thick and thin He’s working life out to keep life in Chorus: No matter friends what e’er befall The poor folk they must work away Through frost and snow, and rain and wind They’re working life out to keep life in The poor homeless woman that we saw A cardboard sign “God bless” she’s scrawled A picture sorrowful to see, I’m sure with me you’ll all agree. What work she finds can’t feed a mouse, Far less to get herself a house, Though her faith in man’s lost to chagrin She’s working life out to keep life in. O mischief mine where do you roam When reason called you weren’t at home If you take cheese from the rat Is he then free to hunt the cat If free from union’s free from dues Are you free from choice or free to choose Or free as birds blown by the wind To work life out just to keep life inÿ But rich men say that we’re to blame And we should hang our heads in shame While all their dreams of greed they sell The poor they’d leave to rot in hell And who’s to care when you grow old No chance for you the pot of gold Still the honest folk we try to win Working life out to keep life in And though oftentimes the road is hard And hunger’s stalking in your yard It’s providence in trust we’ll keep The children in their beds shall sleep But times will change and live to see A better day for you and me From Peterheid to Gretna Green They work life out to keep life inÿ