©1985 April F. Masten, All Rights Reserved

It was 1943, Tom was off at war
I tried to stay at home but I’d never been so bored
So I went to see a picture and just before the show
There was a short made by the government about a country on the go

There was Rosie the Riveter in a helmet and long pants
Working in a factory, doing it for her man
That newsreel got me thinking, I had to do my share
Besides I needed money and always wanted a career

The next day I applied at a plant right down the block
Welding parts on airplane, I learned fast, I liked the job
I was the new woman, working for a wage
Some people thought it was a joke, but I was being paid

(chorus)

And I have a kind of dream now of welding a gate
I’d make it extra fancy, with curly-cues to look like lace
It’s not so much to want, it’ll make Tom proud
I can weld it at the factory, when I am allowed

When the war was over Tom did not come home
I knew I wasn’t helpless though, I could make it on my own
You see, I was the new woman, working for a wage
I was all alone now, but I was not afraid

Then one day when I got to work the girls were all outside
Somebody had locked the door after the men had arrived
My boss said it’s all over girls, welding is a man’s job
And the boys are coming home now, so go home where you belong

Oh, please, I said, I want to work. Tom is dead, and I need this job
No one can do it better than me, because I love this work,
it’s kept me strong
He just said, it’s all over, you know welding is a man’s job
Go home girls and have babies, go home where you belong

We thought we were the new woman, working for a wage
But we were just a joke to them, we were in the way

(chorus)

I have this kind of dream of welding a gate
I’d have made it extra fancy, with curly-cues to look like lace
It’s not so much to want, it would have made me proud
But because I was a woman I was not allowed
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