When I was a young man (as all good tales begin) I was taught to hold out my hand And for my pay I worked an honest day and took what pittance I could win Now I'm a working John and I'm a working Joe and I'm doing what I know for God and the Economy Big brother watches over me And the state protects and feeds me And my conscience never leaves me And I'm loyal to the unions who protect me at all levels And as I grew, the winds of fortune blew and the bank smiled down upon me And mortgaged to the hilt I threw the breeze of caution behind me Now I'm a working John and I'm a working Joe and I'm good at what I know And God and the Economy have blessed me with equality Now I'm equal to the best of you And better than the rest of you who would criticise my success in times of national unrest Now I own my horseless carriage in its central-heated garage And I commute eighty miles a day --- up at seven to make it pay I direct ten limited companies with seeming consummate expertise two ulcers and a heart disease a trembling feeling in both knees --- I'm a working John and I'm a working Joe