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* GRIST FOR THE MILL *

WINNIE

It takes a runnin' crick,
A turnin' rock,
A heavy sack of corn,
And a water wheel.
You've got to grind it down.

SEAN, ED, NEWTON

Crush it down.

WINNIE

Go against the grain...

WINNIE, SEAN, ED, NEWTON

To make a meal.

WINNIE

Off in the hollers there's all sorts of trouble brewin'
Where them backwoodsmen ply their trade.
The law may get 'em if it finds out what they're doin',
But if it does, still the miller will get paid.

You take them fine, fat kernels off the corncob.
But it won't make liquor in your still.
No, you can fuss and fiddle,
But the step that's in the middle can't be missed,
And it's grist for the mill.

HAZEL

 You take them fine fat kernels off the corncob.

WINNIE

You take them fine fat kernels off the cob.

HAZEL

But it won't make liquor in your still.

WINNIE

It won't make liquor in your still.

HAZEL, WINNIE

No, you can fuss and fiddle,
But the step that's in the middle can't be missed,
And it's grist for the mill.

HAZEL, WINNIE, SEAN, ED, NEWTON

Oh, all the world gets crushed beneath the grindstone,
But still the miller gets her fill.
And while that wheel keeps turnin'
There's a lesson for the learnin'.

HAZEL, WINNIE

And the gist of it is,
No matter what may be the business,
With a twist,

HAZEL, WINNIE, SEAN, ED, NEWTON

It's all grist for the mill.


© 2009 by Peter Mills