The Man In Overalls

He gets up in the early morn,

     While others are abed;

It makes no difference if he

     Aching back or head,

He always has to be on deck

     The moment labor calls;

He cannot stop for little things,

     The man in overalls.

He starts the engine on its round,

     He makes the light and heat;

He makes the clothes upon your back,

     The shoes upon your feet.

He holds the throttle well within

     His hand, whate’er befalls;

You feel at ease to ride behind

     The man in overalls.

He doesn’t count for very much

     In social life, not he;

But were it not for him I say,

     Where would this good world be?

He owns not much, he’s simply here

     To answer labor’s calls –

O, yes, he owns the ballot box,

     The man in overalls.

Nov. 13, 1904