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NO MORE SHALL I WORK IN THE FACTORY
No more shall I work in the factory
To greasy up my clothes,
No more shall I work in the factory
With splinters in my toes.
cho: It's pity me, my darling,
It's pity me, I say,
It's pity me, my darling,
And carry me away.
( Repeat after each verse)
No more shall I hear those Bosses say
"Boys, you'd better doff."
No more shall I hear those Aossess say
"Spinners, you had better clean off"
No more shall I hear the drummer wheels
A-rolling over my head;
When factory girls are hard at work,
I'll be in my bed.
No more shall I hear the whistle blow,
To call me up so soon:
No more shall I hear the whistle blow
To call me from my home.
No more shall I see the super come,
All dressed up so fine:
For I know I'll marry a country boy
Before the year is round.
No more shall I wear the old black dress,
Greasy all around;
No more shall I wear the old black bonnet,
With holes all in the crown.
From Hard Hitting Songs, Guthrie et al
@work @factory @mill
filename[ NOMOFACT
TUNE FILE: NOMOFACT
CLICK TO PLAY
RG
LEWISTON FACTORY GIRL
When I set out for Lewiston,
Some factory for to find,
I left my native country,
And all my friends behind.
The factory bell begins to ring
And we must all obey;
And to our old employment go,
Or else be turned away.
Come all ye weary factory girls
I'll have you understand,
I'm going to leave the factory
And return to my native land.
No more I'll lay my bobbins up,
No more I'll take them down,
No more I'll clean my duty work
For I'm going out of town.
No more I'll oil my picker rods,
And scour up my loom;
No more I'll say to my overseer,
"May I stay out till noon?"
And since they've cut my wages down,
To nine shillings per week,
If I cannot better wages make,
5Some other place I'll seek.
Now soon you'll see me married
To a handsome little man,
'Tis then I'll say to you factory girls,
Come see me when you can.
From Jim Douglas
Collected from Susie Carr Young, Annie Marsden and Mary E. Hindle
@work @mill
filename[ LEWSFACT
TUNE FILE: LEWSFACT
CLICK TO PLAY
RG
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Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry on this song:
No More Shall I Work in the Factory
DESCRIPTION: "When I set out for Lowell, some factory for to find, I left my native country And all my friends behind." The worker lives a life driven by the factory bell. She plans to leave the factory and go home. She will soon be married and live a freer life
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1915 (JAF Vol. 28)
KEYWORDS: work worker hardtimes home weaving factory technology
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Cohen-AFS1, pp. 15-18 "The Factory Girl" (1 text plus a reproduction of a broadside)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 122-124, "The Lowell Factory Girl" (1 text); pp. 125-126, "No More Shall I Work in the Factory" (1 text)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 331-332, "The Factory Girl" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 128, "The Factory Girl" (1 text)
DT, NOMOFACT
RECORDINGS:
Dorsey Dixon, "The Factory Girl" (Testament t-3301, a version adapted by Dixon from a version sung by his sister Nancy)
Mike Seeger, "A Factory Girl" (on MSeeger02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "A Laundry Song" (lyrics)
cf. "The Laddie Wi' the Tarry Trews" (theme)
NOTES: The oldest version of this song seems to be the "Lowell Factory Girl" text quoted in the description; this broadside is very full. Greenway believes this version originated before 1840; the wages mentioned fit 1830, and the Panic of 1837 killed off many of the small New England farms, meaning that the factory girl would have no home to which to return. Cohen dates his broadside print to the 1840s.
The localized "Lowell Factory Girl" gradually spread and generalized, producing the more universal text "No More Shall I Work in the Factory." As the latter consists almost entirely of verses found in the former, however, they can surely be considered one song.
This should not be confused with the J. A. Phillips song "The Factory Girl" (c. 1895), which begins, "She wasn't the least bit pretty, And only the least bit gay." - RBW
Last updated in version 3.5
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