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Between the Wars

by Billy Bragg

on Brewing up With (1984)

[verse 1]
I was a miner
I was a docker
I was a railway man
Between the wars

[verse 2]
I raised a family
In time of austerity
With sweat at the foundry
Between the wars

[verse 3]
I paid the union
And as times got harder
I looked to the government
To help the working man

[verse 4]
But they brought prosperity
Down at the armory
We're arming for peace, me boys
Between the wars

[verse 5]
I kept the faith and
I kept voting
Not for the iron fist
But for the helping hand

[verse 6]
For theirs is a land
With a wall around it;
And mine is a faith
In my fellow man

[verse 7]
Theirs is a land of
Hope and glory;
Mine is the green field and
The factory floor

[verse 8]
Theirs are the skies all
Dark with bombers;
And mine is the peace we knew
Between the wars

[verse 9]
Call up the craftsmen
Bring me the draftsmen
Build me a path
From cradle to grave

[verse 10]
And I'll give my consent
To any government
That does not deny a man
A living wage

[verse 11]
Go find the young men
Never to fight again
Bring up the banners from the
Days gone by

[verse 12]
Sweet moderation
Heart of this nation:
Desert us not
We are between the wars