who a century or two ago we built our church and mark the common out we raised the town hall next so we could have our say about the taxes whether we need another teacher for the school in town meeting comes around we know our rights and no harm if we disagree in all that matters we neighbors hold together we work from sun to doc if you can call just work a job that helps make a body feel at peace while doing it or home a bit with pleasure when it's art isn't something foreign we look at in the showcase it's in the blankets that we've spoken and woven right at home it's in the patchwork quilt sold by our daughters at a quilting bee for someone's bridal chest it's in the locks and hinges that the blacksmith shapes it's in the baskets that are woven in the neighborhood to fit our household needs from marketing to mending when water wheels are better fitted to do the work in human hands we rig up the machines to saw the wood or the corn for hominy grits and johnny cake a while ago that corn was on the stock above the pumpkins right yellow one night the neighbors met the shelley years together they did the job in no time so they could clear the old bon floor and choose their favorite partners for the dances it was lasting harmony between the soil and what we built are planted there we used our hands and mastered what we laid on hands on working and living we found the balance the time with us and we were part of it we never let our cities grow too big for us to manage we never pushed the open land too far away with youngsters took it in the haying field the mill the daily chores with teachers we old ones had good years of family life our own children or years before the ripe fruit as fruit machines production to expand production there's good and we can kitchen sinks and calicoes already made in tons and carload lots enough for tens thousands millions millions faster and faster better and better don't make us any happier to know there's millions like us living here on top of it as prisons where a guy sent up a crime can get a better place to live in than we can give our children smoke makes prosperity they tell you smoke makes prosperity no matter if you choke on it heap what it meant for them is poison in the air we breathe there's poison in the river the fog and smoke billowed right up and choke us don't tell us that this is the best that you can do and building cities built this place what good is here and how do we get out again we're asking just asking we never get the gritty feel out of our nose our minds our lungs our guts we never get a chance to see how blue the sky can be unless the mills are all shut down smoke makes prosperity they say does this mean that there's no way out for us there must be something better why can't we have it a decent hold big money you make a bow and raise a pilot makes another pile for you follow the crowd we've reached a million two million five million watches grow going up it's new it's automatic it dictates record seals sterilizer stems and delivers in one operation without human hand bad what am i offered sold who's next the people yes follow the crowd to the empire city the wonder city the windy city the passion city the people yes the people