Not Your Father’s Union

When I was a boy, I had a little penny jar
When I was a boy, I had a little penny jar
Mowing the lawn or shoveling snow
Delivering papers in the rain
I'd stick my hand in there and I'd watch that penny jar grow

Well I had a small fortune by the time I was 12
Yeah I had a king's ransom by the time I was 12
If I wanted a bat or a baseball glove
A dozen roses for my girl
I'd stick my hand in there and I'd watch that penny jar go

That baseball glove doesn't catch every ball and the snow
Don't shovel itself, working all day in the sun
Digging ditches and feeling the sweat run
Still ain't got a dime to buy my babies some shoes

So the owner of the outfit comes out to the job
Yeah the owner of the outfit comes out to the job
In a shiny Cadillac, with a Union man and a city alderman
At his right hand, pulling each man aside with a rifleman's smirk

If I had a chance to stick it to them the way they've stuck it to me
If I had a chance to stick it to them the way they've stuck it to me
Probably get in good with the wrong sort
Make a little money on the side, cooking dope or stealing cars
Whatever pays, you know

That baseball bat comes in handy now
And all the snow seems to shovel itself
My daddy told me, "Son, you work hard and the deck will
Deal you all of the right cards"
He was an old time hand with a different kind of penny jar