Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dirt

Don’t be afraid of the dirt, my boy,

     That comes from the furnace or file;

Each man who is great

                        In workshop or state

     Has worked in the dirt for awhile.

Take hold of the job with a good strong hand,

     Don’t think of your skin or shirt;

There’s honor sublime

                        In a hand of grime,

     Don’t be afraid of the dirt.

You look at the boss in his spotless clothes,

     And wish you were clean like he;

But the boss sometime

                        Has savored of grime,

     Or the boss he could hardly be.

There’s honor in scars from the battlefield,

     Be willing and ever alert;

Don’t loiter or shirk

                        Take hold of the work,

     And don’t be afraid of the dirt.

Jan. 15, 1903