GIVE 'EM AN INCH
(Peggy Seeger)

The man waited, the woman groaned,
She was lost in labour's toil.
Forgotten for now the long nine-month,
The act of passion and joy.
Ten fingers, then toes,
Two eyes, two ears, a mouth and a nose,
And that one inch of flesh that proclaims IT'S A BOY!
The midwife inspected his belly and bum,
Counted appendages one by one.
Took his sweet willie twixt finger and thumb,
Looked at it in wonder and said:

Does this little spike of flesh define the stronger sex?
Will this little pleasure rod put this baby next to God?
Is this the thing that gets him higher wages,
That's kept him up on top throughout the ages?
Will these round thingamabobs get this child a better job?
A pilot, not a stewardess; a doctor, not a nurse;
Professor, not a teacher; a chance to get there first -
The sceptre that makes kingdoms, the key that opens doors,
The reason why this baby won't be scrubbing kitchen floors.

She laid the little dickie down and gave a weary smile:
Give 'em an inch - and they'll take a mile.

(Mrs. Elf, it was a pleasure to type this little song from the Peggy Seeger songbook)

The songbook gives 1987 as the date of origin for this song.

It is preceded in the songnook by these words:

It was a delightful cartoon. The midwife had a look of wonder on her face as she held the baby boy in one hand and pinched his tiny protuberance with the other. It is a wondrous appendage. It arrives in inches and becomes the yardstick by which so much manhood is measured.

After the song there is the following little cartoon:

A boy grinning mischievously, hands in the pockets says to a girl who walks away from him confidently and unimpressed: You're only a feminists because you're UGLY.
She responds: Actually I'm a feminist because you're a boy.

Wolfgang