Sky was black, Lord, rain came pouring down   Number 12 bus shuffling down Shaw Road way   Mules keep spinning, black-faced lifers peck the ground   Sun comes up like lightning over Tandle Hills grey    We are mill boys, stuck on the hill boys   Stuck in the mill boys, 'till our dying day   We are mill boys, stuck on the hill boys   Stuck in the mill boys, 'till our dying day      Cotton mill will get you, boy, she'll take you to your grave   Tell you boy to use your head, apprentice out your days   You'll end up a nothing, buy, with cotton as your trade   Sun comes up like lightning over Tandle Hills grey       We are mill boys, stuck on the hill boys   Stuck in the mill boys, 'till our dying day   We are mill boys, stuck on the hill boys   Stuck in the mill boys, 'till our dying day      It's easy to see a poor boy's blues   When he's working every day   It's harder to be there in his shoes   He was born to be that way