Lyrics
When I was twelve years old, my mother walked me 'round the hill
To work all day beside her in that Charleston cotton mill
There were so many mouths to feed and so much bread to win
I will never know, I will never know what childhood might have been
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
Just a few years later, I was working at my loom
When the handsome boss from the office walked into the spinning room
His blue eyes looked me over, his fingers brushed my shirt
He said, "If you will go with me, you'll never want for work"
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
Though my answer angered him, he never said a word
But he took me off the first shift and he put me on the third
Where the hours worked grew harder, the money made grew thin
I will never know, I will never know the way things might have been
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
So here's to all the bosses that live upon the hill
And here's to all the young girls that work in the spinning mill
Here's to all the promises that run so hot and cold
In the corners of the spinning mill where love is bought and sold
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away
In the spinning mill, in the spinning mill
I've worked my life away