Killing Floor

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Redgum

Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals and Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were soon joined by Chris Timms on violin. All four had been students at Flinders University and together developed an intensely passionate and outspoken outlook. They are best known for their protest song exploring the impact of war in 1983's "I Was Only Nineteen (A Walk in the Light Green)", which peaked at #1 on the National singles charts. The song is in the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) list of Top 30 of All Time Best Australian Songs created in 2001. more »

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Joe spoke no english but he had a dream
And he saved up most of his pay
To bring his wife and six kids from Lebanon
And settle down here to stay

You could feel the prison of his loneliness
He wouldn't see them for years
He kept brandy behind the compressed air tanks
And he gulped it when the coast was clear

Nick the Greek collected tropical fish
Had to be a character too
Smuggled in Pirhana just to break the law
And he fed them on kangaroo

Bob's pride was his handlebar moustache
Said he still combed out sand
Pushed a tank through the Sahara desert
So they made him the leading hand

And the summer night shifts were long and cool
Charlie chain smoked cigars
David sweated in his speckled paint mask
As he gazed out at the stars

Crazy Charlie was a Yugoslav
His old straight eight Chevy could move
His ambition was to live on a hippie commune
When Dave told him about free love

Fred had been a farmer and a heavyweight champ
Hands like a stump jump plough
Moved the earth with a thrust of his arms
He was loading on the paint line now

And the boys made a noise every Friday night
At the bar of the Hilton Hotel
Downing pints and chewing the fat
Till the ten o'clock closing bell

It was only rumour til the foreman came
And hiding his shame with a cough
He said they're cutting back down to one shift now
They're gonna have to lay you off

Joe held his gaze and gulped a brandy
And spat it out at his feet
Bob stood bolt still looking thunderstruck
Nick swore for an hour in Greek

Their anger was spent in a rush of fire
And smouldered out of mind
When they shook hands on that last grey day
Each was in his way resigned

Then a few days later I saw old Joe
Looking like he'd aged ten years
Drunk on the tiles at the Stag Hotel
And he couldn't hold back the tears

Fred had talked of his grueling heavyweight bouts
I remembered what he'd said 
There's no giving up on that killing floor
If you don't fight you're dead

If you work with your hands for your livelihood
Some day you might have to choose
When the class war rages on the factory floor
If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight you lose

If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight
If you don't fight you lose
If you don't fight you lose

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