Without us nothing’s moved nor made
No building and no bricks
Without us no foundations laid
And nothing broken fixed
Without our labour they’ve no purpose
No profits, only losses
The bosses always need the workers
But workers don’t need bosses
When traders thought they owned a race
They shipped them off like cattle
Paraded in a market place
Then bought and sold as chattel
Possessed from cradle into grave
And whipped to work them faster
A master always needs a slave
But slaves don’t need their master
They bid to hire them, paid and picked them
Had them work their pulleys
Bullies surely need their victims
But none of us needs bullies
Purchased, traded, flogged like objects
Papers fed to fool us
Rulers need to own their subjects
But subjects don’t need rulers
When factory owners run away
When nothing’s left to rob
When workers run it day to day
We do a better job
When times get tough they turn deserters
And make us bear their crosses
The boss is nothing without workers
But workers don’t need bosses
Their promises ring hollower
As cash tills fill their pockets
The prophets need their followers
The flock does not need prophets
Defer and work’s their exhortation
Their scriptures keep us servants
The preachers need a congregation
But workers don’t need sermons
Everything’s that’s been produced
Is made by workers’ hand
Each innovation introduced
Each way to work the land
We even labour in our homes
And in domestic service
Make meals, make beds, use brushes, combs –
We even make new workers!
So tell your boss to take a hike
Get unionised and protest
Why don’t your bosses go on strike?
‘Cos nobody would notice!
Employers, fat cats, guv’nors, burghers
They don’t produce a sausage
The boss is useless without workers
But workers don’t need bosses
