Lyrics Long Stand - David Harley

The day I started work, the foreman said to me
"I've another job for you when you've finished brewing tea
Go down to the stores and when you find old Stan
Tell him Harry sent you for a long stand"

I got a long stand all right: I stood an hour or more
Till Stan got tired of the joke and sent me back to the shop floor
Well I didn't think it funny, but I laughed and held my peace
Even when they sent me back for a tin of elbow grease

Still I did my bit, till I was pensioned off in '69
From apprentice to foreman, all down the production line
Many's the lad I've sent myself when things were getting dull
For a can of striped paint or a pound of rubber nails

But the joke they're playing now, I just don't think it's fair
Even when you get your ticket, the work just isn't there
The safest job in England is handing out the dole
For every man that gets a job they turn away a hundred more

For now the work is scarce, again, the queues are building up
The streets are full of lads and lasses looking out for jobs
But when you've just left school, you hardly stand a chance
They're sending every lad in England for a long stand

They say that if you've got the gumption you can do just as you please
They say you'll do all right with a bit of elbow grease
But with a hundred out for every job, it's few that stand a chance
They're sending every lad in England for a long stand
They're sending every lass in England for a long, long stand