There are several versions of this on Mudcat ...
I never quite absorbed the original song but I heard it somewhere and fell in love with the chorus and first verse, so much so that they kept going round in my head. I also recalled hearing the phrase .... "the boss man said "young what's your name" but I didn't have anything else (pre Mudcat days). So here's what I dreamed up to fill in the gaps, and I must say that I'm kind of proud of it. It's a little more positive than the original, in fact my friend says that I've turned poor William into a 'capitalist pig". I prefer to think of him as a bit of a lovestruck entrepeneur. Oh well, it has found its way into my world in this form and I thought I'd share it with you all ... Long live the folk process!
Keep That Wheel A-Turnin' [William Brown]
(with added words by Michael Carbonneau - CT/USA
A bright young man was William Brown,
He worked for a wage in a Northern town
He turned the wheel from left to right,
From eight in the morning 'till six at night
Keep that wheel a-turnin' Keep that wheel a-turnin'
Keep that wheel a-turnin' … and do a little more each day
Bill had his eye on Lucy May,
Who kept up the books each Saturday,
They met in the pub and danced in the town,
Until her name was Lucy Brown
Keep that wheel a-turnin' Keep that wheel a-turnin'
Keep that wheel a-turnin' … and do a little more each day
One afternoon when tea break came,
The boss man says "young what's your name",
A pension just might come your way,
If you stay here 'till your dying day
Keep that wheel a-turnin' Keep that wheel a-turnin'
Keep that wheel a-turnin' … and do a little more each day
Now William's shop is all his own,
And Lucy keeps the books from home,
And every week when he hands out the bob,
He tells all the boys to "stay on the job".
Keep that wheel a-turnin' Keep that wheel a-turnin'
Keep that wheel a-turnin' … and do a little more each day
What's the verdict from the Mudcat peanut gallery?
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sj