when will we be paid

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

we have worked this country from shore to shore

our women cooked all your food and washed all your clothes

we picked all your cotton and laid the railroad steel

worked our hands to the bone at your lumber mill

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

we fought in your wars in every land

to keep this country free

y'all

for women

children

and men

but anytime we ask for pay alone

that's when everything seems to turn out wrong

we've been beat up

called names

shot down and stoned

but every time we do right

someone say we wrong

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

we have given our sweat and all our tears

we stumbled through this life for more than 300 years

we've been separated from the land which we knew

stripped of our culture

people you know it's true

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

when will we be paid for the work we've done?

will we ever be proud of my country