Im Gonna Be An Engineer

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When I was a little girl, I wished I was a boy.
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I tagged along behind the gang and wore me corduroys.
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Ev'rybody said I only did it to annoy,
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but I was gonna be an engineer.

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Mama told me, "Can't you be a la - dy?
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Your duty is to make me the mother of a pearl.
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Wait until you're older, dear, and may - be
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you'll be glad that you're a girl."

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Dainty as a Dresden statue,
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gentle as a Jersey cow -
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Smooth as silk, gives creamy milk.
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Learn to coo. Learn to moo.
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That's what to do to be a lady now.

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When I went to school, I learned to write and how to read,
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Some History, Geography, and Home Economy.
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And typing is a skill that every girl is sure to need
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To while away the extra time until the time to breed.
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And then they had the nerve to say,
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"What would you like to be?"
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I says, "I'm gonna be an engineer!"

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No, you only need to learn to be a la - dy.
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The duty isn't yours for to try and run the world.
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An engineer could never have a ba - by!
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Remember, dear, that you're a girl.

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So I become a typist and I study on the sly.
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Working out the day and night so I can qualify,
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And every time the boss come in, he pinched me on the thigh,
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Says, "I've never had an engineer!"

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You owe it to the job to be a la - dy.
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It's the duty of the staff for to give the boss a whirl.
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The wages that you get are crummy, may - be,
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But it's all you get, 'cause you're a girl.

Em            Bm    Em                                Bm
She's smart! (for a woman). I wonder how she got that way?
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You get no choice, you get no voice,
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Just stay mum, pretend you're dumb,
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That's how you come to be a lady today!

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Then Jimmy came along and we set up a conjugation;
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We were busy every night with loving recreation.
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I spent my day at work so he could get his education,
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And now he's an engineer!

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He says "I know you'll always be a la - dy.
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It's the duty of my darling to love me all my life.
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Could an engineer look after or obey me?
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Remember, dear, that you're my wife!"

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As soon as Jimmy got a job, I studied hard again.
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Then, busy at my turret-lathe a year or so, and then,
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The morning that the twins were born, Jimmy says to them,
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"Kids, your mother was an engineer."

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You owe it to the kids to be a la - dy,
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Dainty as a dishrag, faithful as a chow.
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Stay at home; you got to mind the ba - by.
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Remember, you're a mother now.

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Every time I turn around there's something else to do -
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Cook a meal or mend a sock or sweep a floor or two.
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Listen in to Jimmy Young - it makes me want to spew!
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I was gonna be an engineer!

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I really wish that I could be a la - dy;
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I could do the lovely things that a lady's s'posed to do.
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I wouldn't even mind, if only they would pay me
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And I could be a person too!

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What price - for a woman? You can buy her for a ring of gold;
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To love and obey (without any pay);
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You get a cook and a nurse (for better or worse).
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You don't need a purse when a lady is sold.

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But now that times are harder and my Jimmy's got the sack,
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I went down to Vickers. They were glad to have me back;
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I'm a third-class citizen, my wages tell me that,
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But I'm a first class engineer!

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The boss, he says, "I pay you as a la - dy;
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You only got the job 'cause I can't afford a man.
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With you I keep the profits as high as may be;
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You're just a cheaper pair of hands!"

Em                 Bm        Em                           Bm
You got one fault! You're a woman. You're not worth equal pay.
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A bitch or a tart, you're nothing but heart;
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Shallow and vain, you got no brain;
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Go down the drain like a lady today!

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I listened to my mother and I joined a typing pool;
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I listened to my lover and I put him through his school;
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If I listen to the boss, I'm just a bloody fool -
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And an underpaid engineer!

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I been a sucker ever since I was a ba - by,
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As a daughter, as a lover, as a mother and a "dear,"
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But I'll fight them as a woman, not a la - dy,
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I'll fight them as an engineer.