The Idiot

I often take these night shift walks
 When the foreman's not around
 I turn my back on the cooling stacks
 And make for open ground
 Far out beyond the tank-farm fence
 Where the gas flare makes no sound
 I forget the stink and I always think
 Back to that Eastern town
 I remember back six years ago
 This western life I chose
 And every day the news would say
 Some factory's going to close
 Well, I could have stayed to take the dole
 But I'm not one of those
 I take nothing free, and that makes me
 An idiot, I suppose
 So I bid farewell to the Eastern town
 I never more will see
 But work I must so I eat this dust
 And breathe refinery
 Oh, I miss the green and the woods and streams
 And I don't like cowboy clothes
 But I like being free and that makes me
 An idiot, I suppose
 ♪
 So come all you fine young fellows
 Who've been beaten to the ground
 This western life's no paradise
 But it's better than lying down
 Oh, the streets aren't clean, and there's nothing green
 And the hills are dirty brown
 But the government dole will rot your soul
 Back there in your hometown
 So bid farewell to the Eastern town
 You never more will see
 There's self-respect and a steady cheque
 In this refinery
 You will miss the green and the woods and streams
 And the dust will fill your nose
 But you'll be free, and just like me
 An idiot, I suppose