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I'm an ordinary man, nothin' special, nothin' grand,
I've had to work for everything I own;
Oh then, I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I got,
Enough to keep my family and my home.
And they say the times are hard, and they've handed me my cards,
They say there's not the work to go around;
Oh, when the whistle blows gates will finally close,
Tonight they're going to shut this factory down,
And they'll tear it down.
Never missed a day or went on strike for better pay,
For twenty years I served them best I could;
Now with a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget,
Loyalty through the bad times and through good.
Now the owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad,
But the captains of industry won't let him lose;
He still drives a car and smokes his cigar,
And still he takes his family on a cruise,
He'll never lose.
How it seems to me such a cruel irony,
He's richer now than ever he was before;
Now my cheque is spent, and I can't afford the rent,
There's one law for the rich, one for the poor.
Everyday I try to salvage some of my pride,
To find some work so I might pay my way;
Ah, but everywhere I go, the answer's always no,
There's no work for anyone here today,
No work today.
And so condemned I stand, just and ordinary man,
Like thousands beside me in the queue;
I watch my darling wife try to make the best of life,
And God knows what the kids are goin' to do.
Now that we are faced with this human waste,
A generation cast aside;
For as long as I live, never will forgive,
For you've stripped me of my dignity and my pride.
You've stripped me bare.
You've stripped me bare.
You've stripped me bare.
