Don't Be Too Polite Girls - words & audio

A song by Glen Tomasetti © Glen Tomasetti 1969
Tune "All Among The Wool"

We're really on the way, girls, really on the way,
Hooray for equal pay, girls, hooray for equal pay,
They're going to give it to most of us, in spite of all their fears
But do they really need to make us wait three years.

Chorus
Don't be too polite girls, don't be too polite,
Show a little fight girls, show a little fight,
Don't be fearful of offending, in case you get the sack
Just recognise your value and we won't look back.

I sew up shirts and trousers in the clothing trade,
Since men don't do the job I can't ask to be better paid
The people at the top rarely offer something more
Unless the people underneath are walking out the door.

They say a man needs more to feed his children and his wife,
Well, what are the needs of a woman who leads a double working life?
When the whistle blows for knock-off it's not her time for fun
She goes home to start the job that's not paid and never done.

Don't be too afraid girls, don't be too afraid,
We're clearly underpaid girls, clearly underpaid,
Tho' equal pay in principle is every woman's right
To turn that into practice, we must show a little fight.

We can't afford to pay you, say the masters in their wrath
But woman says "Just cut your coat according to the cloth"
If the economy won't stand then here's the answer boys,
"Cut out the wild extravagance on the new war toys".

All among the bull girls, all among the bull,
Keep your hearts full girls, keep your hearts full
What good is a man as a doormat, or following at heel?
It's not their balls we're after, it's a fair square deal.

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In Australia women still earn less then men, not just because many work in caring professions (child care, elder care, teaching - all low paid professions!) & have less in their superannuation to help them in their retirement, & it has recently been noted that our scheme of deferred fees for tertiary education (Higher Education Loan Program) is also a millstone around female necks as repayment only cuts when earnings reach a certain level.