[lbo-talk] John Betjeman meet *Woody Guthrie

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Sun Sep 29 09:27:01 PDT 2013


Business Girls by John Betjeman


>From the geyser ventilators
Autumn winds are blowing down On a thousand business women Having baths in Camden Town

Waste pipes chuckle into runnels, Steam's escaping here and there, Morning trains through Camden cutting Shake the Crescent and the Square.

Early nip of changeful autumn, Dahlias glimpsed through garden doors, At the back precarious bathrooms Jutting out from upper floors;

And behind their frail partitions Business women lie and soak, Seeing through the draughty skylight Flying clouds and railway smoke.

Rest you there, poor unbelov'd ones, Lap your loneliness in heat. All too soon the tiny breakfast, Trolley-bus and windy street!

----------------------------

Hobo's Lullaby Woody Guthrie

Go to sleep you weary hobo Let the towns drift slowly by Can't you hear the steel rails hummin' That's the hobo's lullaby

I know your clothes are torn and ragged And your hair is turning gray Lift your head and smile at trouble You'll find peace and rest someday

Now don't you worry 'bout tomorrow Let tomorrow come and go Tonight you're in a nice warm boxcar Safe from all that wind and snow

I know the police cause you trouble They cause trouble everywhere But when you die and go to Heaven You'll find no policemen there

So go to sleep you weary hobo Let the towns drift slowly by Listen to the steel rails hummin' That's a hobo's lullaby



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