 Canaries in the Mine |
| ©Linda Allen 1989 I said, "Look there, in the rafters - a swallow's made her nest" As she glided through the aircraft plant, I felt that I'd been blest But her wings just couldn't hold her, and she fell down on the floor That day the ground was littered with at least a dozen more Some of us got worried, and we picked up five or six And sent them to a lab to find out what had made them sick The lab said it had lost them, but dead birds don't fly away That night the guards shot down the rest, and took them all away Swallows in the rafters, canaries in the mine Tell us we've been poisoned, we're running out of time Two pregnant gals I know of lost their babies at that place I've seen lots of workers fainting, dragged out, and soon replaced We see the company doctors, and they say it's in our heads Or they say we've got the flu, we should go home and go to bed Some of us get headaches, and we throw up everyday Some of us get rashes, some that never go away We feel depressed and angry, some have nearly lost their minds Some have tried to take their lives, I nearly lost a friend of mine CHORUS We know that we've been poisoned by that damned formaldehyde And we've learned we'll have to live with this until the day we die We fear we'll lose our jobs if we protest or file a claim But we must not be silent or we, too, will share the blame I think about the swallows, then I think about the times When the miners used canaries to give warning in the mine And if the bird fell dead, the miners knew to get away The swallows are all dead, my God, how can they make us stay? CHORUS 2x Notes: Chemical poisoning in the workplace is shaping up to be one of the primary issues for unions in the 90's. This story was inspired by interviews with Boeing workers. |