Piece Work in the Factory

A Birmingham factory floor song, straight from lived memory — the presses pounding, the piece work, the lads who became the machine.

Piece work on the capstan lathe — two and six an hour, a tanner bonus for hitting your thousand piston rods, and the presses pounding out a rhythm that shook the whole street. The suds, the oily grime, the cuppa and cheese sarnie at break, the time and motion men counting every move — and the lads who never stopped the motor, rode the clutch, and became the machine.

This one's for everybody who ever worked to the boom-boom of the presses and found a bit of music in the din.

Written from my own years on the Birmingham factory floor. Created with the help of AI as a creative tool — the words and the memories are all mine.

The Ginger Biggles Label