The Ballad of Willy Robbins

Willy Robbins was a hard workin' fellow An' each morning he'd kiss his wife twice an' tell her Oh sweetie I know we're just starting out But down at work that tower's still being built And Mr. Taylor I think he told me Not until that tower's built would he pay me So Willy picked up his hard hat, gloves and pail And he combed back his graying hairs By noon each room would be tidied and clean By nine Willy would be back in time to eat Then like many workin' men he'd shower, watch TV And beside his dear wife he'd fall fast asleep Yet two weeks passed by an' the check never came Mr. Taylor holds his initial claim The building undone, no money to be seen Willy and his wife with little to eat The pay week gone, yet it was she who grew tired The man she married she no longer admired The house dirty, the heat pipes cough The jam jars nearly empty, the apples soft The bedroom dusty, the bedsheets unmade While Willy sleeps Margaret lies awake Was it her time to leave, she did contemplate Each night at the bus depot Willy waits alone For the no. 35 to take him home His arms weary, his tongue bound Like Sisyphus he feels unearthing a rock from the ground Just to push it up a mountain to watch it roll back down Willy Robbins was the hardest workin' fellow town