The Pick And Shovel Man Poem by Francis Duggan

Who cares about the pick and shovel man
Who cares if others use him as a tool
It's part of the aristocratic plan
To keep the poor man working like a mule.

The boss he gives the foreman extra pay
And authority to use his mouth
To keep the boys working throughout the day
And give them no time to rest or look about.

It is pick and shovel men level the trench
And connect the heavy sewerage pipes
It is their backs and arms that feel the pinch
And their poor hands that wear the blistered stripes.

It's their sweat that runs the boss's expensive car
And pay the self conceited engineer
And each night you will find them in the bar
Drinking the publican's liquor and beer.

If there was no pick and shovel man
Then there also would be no aristocrat
But life it hasn't changed since time began
There has always been a mouse to feed the cat.