Marilyn O'Malley
Original Music


THE FISH

There's a man by the river sittin' there fishin'
But his mind is off beyond
He's a good-hearted hard-workin' simple kind of man
Looking for some basic truth
And a reason to go on
Catches a trout and throws it back
Sayin, "fish I know how it feels
To be reeled in for the kill"

chorus:
.. How can my lifetime be so short when the night is oh so long
.. How can a man try so damned hard
.. Still feel like he's done something wrong
.. Something wrong
.. Something wrong

My daddy was killed by a fallen log
with a chainsaw in his hand
But he told me when I was a boy
If you don't work you ain't a man
Ain't a man
Aint' a man
My job at the mill was long and hard
But it was better than no work at all
I've been feeling like a no-count loser
Since a year ago last Fall
Last Fall
Last Fall

chorus
You can work yourself to death
Or you can die in poverty
Grease the wheels with your self-respect
Until you run empty
Run empty
Run Empty
When you're just a working man
they'll grind you down to the bone
But if they take your job away
You've got nothin of you own
Of your own
Of your own

Chorus
Repeat first verse without chorus

Marilyn O'Malley © 1984