Down to the Bone

Done to the Bone  —  © 2014 Myron Schreck

Working – (Working) – Working – (Working)–
Working on the line ’till it’s time to go home
Sweating  straining, never complaining
Working my fingers down to the bone

Keep moving forward – stay on the track
Working my fingers down to the bone
Never knuckle under. Never look back. 
Working my fingers down to the bone

Chopping, sawing, lifting, hauling, 
Working on the line ’till it’s time to go home
Shoveling, hauling.  Digging and crawling
Working my fingers down to the bone

Some folk are born unto privilege
Some folk are born to be rich
But I was born for manual labor
On a line, in a mine or a ditch.   

So I keep on …
Working – daytime – working – nighttime
Working on the line ’till the whistle blows
Muscles aching — back be a’breaking
Working my fingers down to the bone

Dig a hole, dig a hole, in the meadow
For a grave with a simple tombstone 
Lay me down when I’m dead, 
With these words at my head
“Worked my fingers … down to the bone”

Peeling, slicing, chopping, dicing, 
Working on the line ’till it’s time to go home
Weaving, knittin’, sewing and stitchin’
Working my fingers down to the bone

Listen children … I’ve learned this:  
Life is a mighty hard road …
If you ain’t educated, you ain’t got a choice.
You’ll be working your fingers down to the bone

Working – (Working) – Working – (Working)–
Working on the line ’till the Lord calls me home
Pain and hunger –   won’t steal my thunder
Working my fingers down to the bone