One More Round
One More Round - meaning Summary
Work, Dignity, and Resistance
The poem asserts dignity in labor while rejecting dehumanizing servitude. Through its repetitive refrain it frames work as honorable but insists workers are not "slaves" or mules; endurance is voluntary, not enforced. The speaker connects family and community experience of hard work to a collective refusal to be exploited, turning simple, rhythmic lines into a rallying chorus for self-respect and solidarity among laboring people.
Read Complete AnalysesThere ain't no pay beneath the sun As sweet as rest when a job's well done. I was born to work up to my grave But I was not born To be a slave. One more round And let's heave it down, One more round And let's heave it down. Papa drove steel and Momma stood guard, I never heard them holler ‘cause the work was hard. They were born to work up to their graves But they were not born To be worked-out slaves. One more round And let's heave it down, One more round And let's heave it down. Brothers and sisters know the daily grind, It was not labor made them lose their minds. They were born to work up to their graves But they were not born To be worked-out slaves. One more round And let's heave it down, One more round And let's heave it down. And now I'll tell you my Golden Rule, I was born to work but I ain't no mule. I was born to work up to my grave But I was not born To be a slave. One more round And let's heave it down, One more round And let's heave it down.
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