[Verse 1]
Me name is John Longstaff, in Stockton I was born
On a cold December morning, my eyes first saw the dawn
Me grandad was a sailor, he wore the jacket too
And when I found his old sea chest, I thought I'd be one too
Now when I was 10 the slump began and I did not know why
My belly should be empty and my lips should be dry
There were jam jars for cups and there were newspapers for plates
And all us kids a-waiting outside the factory gates
And it's

[Chorus]
"Mister! Mister! Mister!" wе said
"Mister! Mister! Mister!" wе bled
"Mister! Mister!" we sang like the dead
"Mister! Oh, Mister! Can you spare any bread?"

[Verse 2]
One day we pinched two duck eggs from a shop on Norton Road
And we ran back to Willie's house to cook our little load
But Willie's mum, she were so poor, she never had a pan
So we thre them in the kettle and soon it boiled and sang
But two rozzers traced us and they searched the whole house through
They found the pantry empty and all our stomachs too
Says Willie's mum "Would you like some tea? The kettle's on the job"
Those rozzers smiled and shook their heads and they left her two bob
Chorus]
"Mister! Mister! Mister!" we said
"Mister! Mister! Mister!" we bled
"Mister! Mister!" we sang like the dead
"Mister! Oh, Mister! Can you spare any bread?"

[Verse 3]
When I left school at 14, I found meself a job
12 hours a day in the rolling mill I toiled for my 8 bob
With the furnace men, the roller and the heaver over man
And the scars from those sharp edge springs I've still got on my hands
But one day misfortune took the heel from off me clog
And down upon the black hot steel, I fell like a dog
There were burns on me back and hands, I couldn't carry on
And when I left the hospital I found my job had gone

Chorus]
"Mister! Mister! Mister!" we said
"Mister! Mister! Mister!" we bled
"Mister! Mister!" we sang like the dead
"Mister! Oh, Mister! Can you spare any bread?"

[Verse 4]
Out of work in '34 and too young for the dole
Buried under ashes like a lump of idle coal
There were men marching to London so in with them I slung
But when I said I was 15 they said I was too young
So secretly I stalked them at a slower rate
Through Darlington, Northallerton, Thirsk, and Harrogate
And when we reached the town of Leeds they found out me plan
They said that I could march with them, for now I was a man