Long Stand

from Cold Iron by David A. Harley

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about

Written in the very early 1980s for the revue 'Nice - If You Can Get It', directed by Margaret Ford. It's about the practice of 'hazing' apprentices by sending them off on impossible errands, as a metaphor for the reduced opportunities for young people as manufacturing and the apprenticeship system declined in the UK. This track also appeared on the 'Hands of the Craftsman' album, and there's more information in the track notes there.

And yes, I know there's a song by Sting with somewhat similar opening verses, but mine precedes it by several decades.

lyrics

The day I started work, the foreman said to me
"I’ve another job for you when you’ve finished brewing tea:
Go down to the stores and when you find old Stan
Tell him Harry sent you for a long stand.”

I got a long stand all right: I stood an hour or more
Till Stan got tired of the joke and sent me back to the shop floor.
Well I didn’t think it funny, but I laughed and held my peace,
Even when they sent me back for a tin of elbow grease.

Still I did my bit, till I was pensioned off in ’69
From apprentice to foreman, all down the production line.
Many’s the lad I’ve sent myself when things were getting dull
For a can of striped paint or a pound of rubber nails.

But the joke they’re playing now, I just don’t think it’s fair
Even when you get your ticket, the work just isn’t there.
The safest job in England is handing out the dole:
For every man that gets a job they turn away a hundred more.

For now the work is scarce, again, the queues are building up.
The streets are full of lads and lasses looking out for jobs;
But when you’ve just left school, you hardly stand a chance
They’re sending every lad in England for a long stand.

They say that if you’ve got the gumption you can do just as you please.
They say you’ll do all right with a bit of elbow grease;
But with a hundred out for every job, it’s few that stand a chance
They’re sending every lad in England for a long stand
They’re sending every lass in England for a long, long stand

credits

from Cold Iron, released July 22, 2021
Words & Music by David A. Harley
Acoustic guitar and vocal by David A. Harley.

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about

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