Lyrics Ewan MacColl, Charles Parker, Peggy Seeger - I may be a wage slave on Monday...

I may be a wage slave on Monday,
But I am a free man on Sunday.

I’ve been over Snowdon, I’ve slept upon Crowdon
I’ve camped by the Wain Stones as well,
I’ve sunbathed on Kinder, been burnt to a cinder, and many more things I can tell.
Me rucksack has oft been my pillow,
The heather has oft been my bed,
And sooner than part from the mountains,
I think I would sooner be dead.

I’m a rambler, I’m a rambler from Manchester way,
I get all me pleasure the hard moorland way -
I may be a wage slave on Monday,
But I am a free man on Sunday.

I once loved a maid, a spot welder by trade,
She was fair as the rowan in bloom,
And the blue in her eyes matched the blue moorland skies,
And I wooed her from April till June.
On the day that we should have been married
I went for a ramble instead,
For sooner than part from the mountains,
I think I would rather be dead.

I’m a rambler, I’m a rambler from Manchester way,
I get all my pleasure the hard moorland way -
I may be a wage slave on Monday,
But I am a free man on Sunday.

We used to have some lovely times, Jack and I, rambling, winter and summer and… didn’t matter if
it was raining, we used to go every Sunday. Because sometimes, of course, he worked Saturdays, so
it was every Sunday we went. We made a lot of friends, with being members of the Manchester
federation we met many of their members on our walks, and Jack he liked walking a long way, seeing
how far he could go. I would rather not go so far but we used to go some very long rambles. Been
over Kinder, he took a party over Kinder. Most of our walks were round Edale and Hope, Castleton,
used to go through the Winnerts, and Cavedale, Mam Tor, all those spots. We always finished at
Castleton, came back from Hope. Whenever we hiked, we always came back… From Hope.

John Axon smiled at the thought that Later he’d be celebrating,
And he smiled when he thought of the Stockport pub
Where a pint of mild was waiting.

John Axon was a dancing man,
On his pins he was light and nimble,
And often he’d stand on the old footplate,
Whistling an old-time jingle.

To forget himself he had all these social activities, like this dancing and parties, and always had a
little bit of a song, like, on the footplate, a very nice chap indeed to work for.

He liked going to parties, and dancing. Oh yes, he loved the music, and he was always whistling the
tunes. Wasn’t really very interested in dancing at first, but I’ve always liked dancing, so he thought
he’d try, and he really enjoyed it, but of course railwaymen can’t go every week, they have to just go
when their turns permit them to go. And… he was always talking about trains, and, course my boys
used to say why don’t you shut the shed door now you’ve come away, but he really loved trains.