The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #28733   Message #4149171
Posted By: Jim Dixon
03-Aug-22 - 05:41 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: The Alphabet Song variations
Subject: Lyr Add: HOUSEWIFE’S ALPHABET (Peggy Seeger)
This was mentioned by Okthen back on 18-Dec-00:


HOUSEWIFE’S ALPHABET
As recorded by Peggy Seeger on “An Odd Collection” (1996)

1. A is for altar where we go astray.
B for the bills that begin the next day.
C for the cuffs and the collars of shirts.
D is for dishes and dusting and dirt.
E is my energy draining away,
And F is for floors to be swept every day.
G for girlhood that's gawky and gone,
And H, fed-up housewife that's singing this song.

CHORUS: Wearily, it's merely a good woman's day,
Cooking and cleaning and tidying away.
If ever you finish, remember that when
You wake up tomorrow, it all starts again.

2. I is for ironing for kids in their teens.
J is for jerseys and jumpers and jeans.
K for the kitchen for years upon end
I've lived with leftovers and laundry from friends.
M is my mending; there's mile upon mile.
N for the nappies in a big stinking pile.
O for the odd jobs, the odd one or two,
Like pushing the pram or unplugging the loo. CHORUS

3. Q is for quarreling of chicks in my nest.
R is for referee and a one-minute rest.
S for the shopping in snow, sleet or rain,
And T for that toilet; it's stopped up again.
U is for underwear, grimy and soiled.
V for those things that you peel, chop and boil.
W for woman and washing machine.
We both need attention; you know what I mean. CHORUS

4. We've got no union; it's eight days a week.
They're crammed into seven; I'm out on my feet.
So much to do, where should I begin?
But I got all my lifetime to finish it in.
W for wings, if I had them I'd fly.
X marks the spot where I sit down and cry.
Why Z for yours truly, I've gone on too long,
And so has the system and so has this song. CHORUS

CODA: If this song was housework, you'd sing it and then
You'd go back where you started and sing it again
And again and again and again and again.