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