William Brown

Words: Arthur Hagg, Arr. John Jordan
Adapt­ed: Protest in Harmony

A nice young man was William Brown,
He worked for a wage in a north­ern town.
He worked from six till eight at night,
Turn­ing a wheel from left to right.

Keep that wheel a‑turning (×3)
And do a lit­tle more each day.

The boss one day to William came
And said “Look here, young what’s your name.
We’re not con­tent with what you do.
So turn a lit­tle hard­er or out you go.”

So William turned and made her run
Three times round in the place of one.
He turned so hard he soon was made
Lord High Turn­er of the trade.

William turned with the same sweet smile,
The goods he made grew such a pile;
They filled the room and the room next door,
And over­flowed in the base­ment floor.

The nation heard the won­drous tale,
The news appeared in the Sketch and Mail;
The rail­ways ran excur­sions down,
All to see young William Brown.

But sad the sequel is to tell
He turned out more than the boss could sell.
The mar­kets slumped and the price went down
Sev­en more days and they sacked young Brown.

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