One More Day Than Them

A song by Peter Hicks and Geoff Francis©Peter Hicks and Geoff Francis

Me and Sandy, we got up each day
And we stood by the factory gate,
Where each day we'd hear that whistle blow
At around fifteen past eight;
And the scabs' bus drove right past our line,
They never looked us in the eye,
One shouted, "At least we're working, mate",
"Not when we're done," said I.
And this woman from the local press
Came at me with a pad and pen;
She asked, "How long more can you hold out?",
I said, "One more day than them."

Chorus:
If we've told them once, we've told them twice,
And we told them again and again;
That no matter what we're holding out
One more day than them!

Well, the bosses sure thought they were smart
When they tried to cut our pay,;
They said, "We can hire the likes of you
For fifty bucks a day."
But they didn't count on the union,
We were solid, every man
And every woman in that factory
Stuck firmly to our plan.
And this expert in a suit and tie
On the TV news at ten,
He asked, "How long more can you hold out,"
I said, "One more day than them."

There was times it kinda got to us,
Living hand to mouth each day,
The media called us wreckers,
We just wanted a decent wage;
But we stood together, all of us,
No, not one of us gave in,
And we knew that if we hung in there
The bosses would cave in.
Then we got this call from the manager,
Asking what we meant to do;
He asked, "How long more will you hold on?"
We said, "One more day than you!"

Their order books, well they were full,
But production lagged behind,
'Cos the scabs brought in to work our shifts
Couldn't make the goods in time;
He said he wanted to talk to us,
And that his words were good and true,
We said, "That's good, 'cos we'll be holding out
Just one more day than you."

Now me and Sandy, we get up each day
And we go through that factory gate,
Where each day we hear that whistle blow
At around fifteen past eight;
Well it's dirty work, an' it's tiring work
And it sure ain't any fun,
But we hold our heads up proud and tall,
Just a-knowing that we won.
No, we didn't fear the bosses threats
When they tried to drive us down,
'Cos when workers all together stand
Solidarity is found,
So if anybody asks of you,
Just you tell 'em again and again,
That no matter what, you're holding out,
Just one more day than them;

And if we've told them once, then we've told them twice,
And we'll tell them again and again;
That no matter what we're holding out
One more day than them!

And if we've told them once, then we've told them twice,
And we'll tell them again and again;
That no matter what we're holding out
Just one more day than them!

One More Day Than Them

Notes