MYSTERIES OF A HOBO'S LIFE (THE JOB I LEFT BEHIND ME) (T-BONE SLIM) (1910s)
Tune: "The Girl I Left Behind Me" (trad.)

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First published in the 17th edition of the Industrial Worker "Little Red Songbook," 1920.

I took a job on an extra gang,
Way up in the mountain,
I paid my fee and the shark shipped me
And the ties I soon was counting.
The boss he put me driving spikes
And the sweat was enough to blind me,
He didn't seem to like my pace,
So I left the job behind me.

I grabbed a hold of an old freight train
And around the country traveled,
The mysteries of a hobo's life
To me were soon unraveled.
I traveled east and I traveled west
And the shacks could never find me,
Next morning I was miles away
From the job I left behind me.

I ran across a bunch of stiffs
Who were known as Industrial Workers.
They taught me how to be a man
And how to fight the shirkers.
I kicked right in and joined the bunch
And now in the ranks you'll find me,
Hurrah for the cause - To hell with the boss
And the job I left behind me.

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