Lyrics
Hey, hee, hi, ho, pickin' cotton all day
Hey, hee, hi, ho, just a-pickin' away
White folks knows I'm workin'
They knows gon' be no shirkin'
Hee, hi, ho, I knows I'll get my pay
Ain't no use kickin' 'cause I'll be pickin'
Till all my children is grown
Then I'll shuffle and skip and scuffle
To have a field of my own
All my life, I've been makin' it
All my life, white folks takin' it
This old heart, they's just breakin' it
Ain't got a thing to show for what I done done
But things get brighter, loads get lighter
I'll keep a-pluckin' away
Sing my song like I'm happy and gay
All day
Just tell the world for me
My soul's done set me free
That's the song I'll sing
Till they put me under the clay
Oh, chil'en, stop your grumblin'
Oh, that's a block for stumblin'
Just keep on workin' and praisin'
You'll see that you'll conquer someday
Ain't no use kickin' 'cause I'll be pickin'
Till all my children is grown
Then I'll shuffle and skip and scuffle
To have a field of my own
All my life, I've been makin' it
All my life, white folks takin' it
This old heart, they's just breakin' it
Ain't got a thing to show for what I done done
But things get brighter, loads get lighter
I'll keep a-pluckin' away
Sing my song like I'm happy and gay
All day
Just tell the world for me
My soul's done set me free
That's the song I'll sing
Till they put me under the clay
