I'm an ordinary man, nothin' special nothin' grand

I've had to work for everything I own

Well I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I got

Enough to keep my family and my home

Now they say that times are hard & they've handed me my cards

They say there's not the work to go around

When the whistle blows the gates will finally close

Tonight they're going to shut this factory down

Then they'll tear it down

I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay

For 20 years I served them best I could

With a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget

Loyalty through the bad times and the good

The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad

But the Captains of industry won't let him loose

He still drives a car and smokes a cigar

And still he takes his family on a cruise

He'll never lose

Now it seems to me to be such a cruel irony

He's richer now ever he was before

Now my cheque is all spent and I can't afford the rent

There's one law for the rich, one for the poor

Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride

To find some work so's I might pay my way

But everywhere I go, the answer is always no

There's no work for anyone here today

No work today

And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man

Like thousands beside me in the queue

I watch my darlin' wife tryin' to make the best of life

God knows what the kids are goin' to do

Now that we are faced with this human waste

A generation cast aside

For as long as I live, I never will forgive

You've stripped me of my dignity & pride

You've stripped me bare