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Words & music (c) David A. Harley
Originally written in the early 1980s for a revue directed by Margaret Ford, but not used.

Because I wanted to reflect the sort of rough humour I often encountered in various industrial settings around that time, it originally included a reference to a misogynistic 'joke' I'd heard about a female worker described as 'the factory bike', not because I found it amusing, but because it was the way people often talked in those settings. When I found the song again, I decided that any authenticity it added wasn't worth the discomfort.

Jack-easy is slang for very easy. If I remember correctly, it was also the name of a strip cartoon in one of the tabloids about a stereotypical British workman.

My background at the time was in wood-machining, not engineering, so don't take the terminology too seriously. It was more about writing a sort of pseudo-sea-shanty. Perhaps it will get caught up in the current shanty craze, but probably not...

lyrics

Easy Jack Easy (Harley)

Bread and beer and a roof for your head
Easy, Jack, easy
Spinning a lathe until you drop dead
Easy, Jack, take it easy

Three pound an hour while you're on your feet
And all the chips and baked beans you can eat

When I was still young and in my prime
I'd knock out those countersinks ten at a time

Now I've got wise and a rick in my back
I keep two on the table and eight on the rack

Here comes the foreman, the lord of the shop
I'd give a day's pay to see his pressures drop

When you get your ticket, best take it from me
Leave eight on the table and two up your sleeve

credits

from Hands of the Craftsman (expanded edition), released March 25, 2021
Words & Music, and vocals, by David A. Harley

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David A. Harley England, UK

David Harley is a former professional musician, administrator, IT security editor, author and researcher, and former much else that is even less impressive. He now lives in Cornwall. More info at whealalice.com

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