Without A Net lyrics:
"Retired"

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I earned a union wage, so I've paid off my home.
Now I've got my years in so my time is all my own.
Thirty years of labour to reap what I have sown,
Now, thanks to my union, I'm retired!

Three decades is a long time to work in just one place,
To do the same job all day long at a steady, grinding pace.
Just another rat arunning, but today I won my race
And, thanks to my union, I'm retired!

You can go down to the factory and look out on the floor
At the men who make machine parts, and never know what for.
You can look down at the drill press, but you won't see me no more
'Cause, thanks to my union, I'm retired!

I remember in the early days I walked a picket line.
I'd rather have been working than carrying that sign,
But I knew that if I didn't fight I wouldn't get what's mine
Now, thanks to my union, I'm retired

You can go down to the factory and look out on the floor
At the men who make machine parts, and never know what for.
You can look down at the drill press, but you won't see me no more
'Cause, thanks to my union, I'm retired!

Now the boss was very pleasant when I turned in my time
And thanked me very kindly for working through my prime,
As though he wouldn't screw me now to save himself a dime
But, thanks to my union, I'm retired!

You can go down to the factory and look out on the floor
At the men who make machine parts, and never know what for.
You can look down at the drill press, but you won't see me no more
'Cause, thanks to my union, I'm retired!

Now the bosses tell us we don't need the unions any more.
They'll pay us fairly any way, so what's the union for?
You listen to them now, my friend, then count on dying poor
And working 'til the moment you expire.

You can climb up to the boardroom where the air is fresh and clean,
Where they'll tell you you must work for less because the times are lean.
You're just another cog in the corporate machine
And they want you to work 'til you expire.

Or you can go down to the factory and look out on the floor
At the men who make machine parts, and never know what for.
They won't be there forever, because those guys know the score
And, thanks to their union, they'll retire!
Yes, thanks to the unions, we retire!