Grand Coulee Powder Monkey
Words and New Music Adaptation by Woody Guthrie
Contact Publisher - Woody Guthrie Publications/BMG Chrysalis
Good morning, Grand Coulee, Good morning little man;
Good morning, Grand Coulee, Good morning, little man;
Do you need a champion powder monkey...On your big Grand Coulee Dam.
Just tell me, little feller, what might be your trade?
Just tell me, little feller, what might be your trade?
I’m a feather man and a chinker, and a powderman from A to Z.
I could use a good mucker, I could use a good climber, too;
I could use a good mucker, I could use a good climber, too;
So, if you could climb and muck, I guess maybe I could use you.
No, Captain, I’m not a climber, I’m not a mucker, neither one’
Captain, I’m not a climber, not a mucker, neither one;
I was holdin’ a stick of dynamite in my hand the day-day I was born.
I heard yer lowboss tell the flunky, you need a powderman bad;
I heard yer lowboss tell the flunky, you need a powderman bad;
I wanta show that Spokane girl just how ta lay this mountain down.
I snatched bolls way back thru Georgia, dipped sheep in big Montan;
Snatched bolls way back thru Georgia, dipped sheep in big Montan;
Tryin’ ta beat my way with a case of TNT to yer grand Coulee dam.
Bossman, bossman, bossman, if ever the champion pwoderman you see;
Bossman, bossman, bossman, if ever the champion pwoderman you see;
Yer lookin’ at him right this minute, ‘cause that champion powderman is me.
Come here, Mister powder, lemme see how straight ye drill a drill;
Tell that Powderman come over here, lemme see him drill a drill;
Lemme watch him drop off a cliff or two, to help me fill my fill.
I drilled a million holes and I drilled my holes all night;
I drilled a million holes and I drilled my holes all night;
I filled my fills and I tamped all my fuses down tight.
I waited a minute for that sun to light up my sky;
I waited a minute for that sun to light up my sky;
I pushed down on my handle and I raised the country ten miles high
Ten miles high, and when she settled back down still;
Ten long miles high, and when she settled back down still;
The marble was finished and loaded and loose dirt filled in the fill.
Loose dirt fell down and made a whole new rivers bed;
Loose dirt fell down and made a whole new rivers bed;
Cap’n yelled: “I’ll give ye a job.” But I was buried way down dead.
© Copyright Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. (BMI)
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