G            G6             G              G6
When I was a little girl, I wished I was a boy.
G                G6                G              G6
I tagged along behind the gang and wore me corduroys.
G
Ev'rybody said I only did it to annoy,
          A7               D7
but I was gonna be an engineer.

G                             A    B
Mama told me, "Can't you be a la - dy?
     C          G           Am          D7
Your duty is to make me the mother of a pearl.
G                                  B7    C7
Wait until you're older, dear, and may - be
G                   D7       G
you'll be glad that you're a girl."

Em          Bm      Em
Dainty as a Dresden statue,
                   Bm
gentle as a Jersey cow -
Cm                    G
Smooth as silk, gives creamy milk.
C             G
Learn to coo. Learn to moo.
Bm                        Am    D7
That's what to do to be a lady now.

G      G6                G                           G6
When I went to school, I learned to write and how to read,
G             G6             G         G6
Some History, Geography, and Home Economy.
G               G6               G                G6
And typing is a skill that every girl is sure to need
G             G6             G                   G6
To while away the extra time until the time to breed.
G                     G6
And then they had the nerve to say,
      G                 G6
"What would you like to be?"
             A7               D7
I says, "I'm gonna be an engineer!"

G                                  A    B
No, you only need to learn to be a la - dy.
     C          G           Am              D7
The duty isn't yours for to try and run the world.
G                              B7   C7
An engineer could never have a ba - by!
G                    D7       G
Remember, dear, that you're a girl.

G             G6           G            G6
So I become a typist and I study on the sly.
G                G6              G          G6
Working out the day and night so I can qualify,
G                  G6               G                 G6
And every time the boss come in, he pinched me on the thigh,
             A7               D7
Says, "I've never had an engineer!"

G                             A    B
You owe it to the job to be a la - dy.
          C          G             Am              D7
It's the duty of the staff for to give the boss a whirl.
G                                  B7    C7
The wages that you get are crummy, may - be,
G                       D7       G
But it's all you get, 'cause you're a girl.

Em            Bm    Em                                Bm
She's smart! (for a woman). I wonder how she got that way?
     Cm                G
You get no choice, you get no voice,
C                G
Just stay mum, pretend you're dumb,
Bm                          Am    D7
That's how you come to be a lady today!

G               G6           G                G6
Then Jimmy came along and we set up a conjugation;
G             G6               G            G6
We were busy every night with loving recreation.
G                  G6              G              G6
I spent my day at work so he could get his education,
        A7            D7
And now he's an engineer!

G                                  A    B
He says "I know you'll always be a la - dy.
          C          G          Am              D7
It's the duty of my darling to love me all my life.
G                                B7   C7
Could an engineer look after or obey me?
G                     D7       G
Remember, dear, that you're my wife!"

G                G6           G               G6
As soon as Jimmy got a job, I studied hard again.
G                 G6            G                G6
Then, busy at my turret-lathe a year or so, and then,
G                     G6              G                G6
The morning that the twins were born, Jimmy says to them,
            A7                  D7
"Kids, your mother was an engineer."

G                              A    B
You owe it to the kids to be a la - dy,
 C           G          Am         D7
Dainty as a dishrag, faithful as a chow.
G                                 B7   C7
Stay at home; you got to mind the ba - by.
G                   D7    G
Remember, you're a mother now.

G            G6                   G               G6
Every time I turn around there's something else to do -
G               G6            G               G6
Cook a meal or mend a sock or sweep a floor or two.
G             G6              G                 G6
Listen in to Jimmy Young - it makes me want to spew!
      A7                D7
I was gonna be an engineer!

G                               A    B
I really wish that I could be a la - dy;
C               G                   Am                D7
I could do the lovely things that a lady's s'posed to do.
G                                        B7  C7
I wouldn't even mind, if only they would pay me
G                 D7     G
And I could be a person too!

Em            Bm    Em                                Bm
What price - for a woman? You can buy her for a ring of gold;
   Cm                G
To love and obey (without any pay);
          C                     G
You get a cook and a nurse (for better or worse).
Bm                            Am    D7
You don't need a purse when a lady is sold.

G               G6             G                     G6
But now that times are harder and my Jimmy's got the sack,
G              G6                 G                 G6
I went down to Vickers. They were glad to have me back;
G                 G6           G              G6
I'm a third-class citizen, my wages tell me that,
          A7                D7
But I'm a first class engineer!

G                                  A    B
The boss, he says, "I pay you as a la - dy;
 C               G            Am             D7
You only got the job 'cause I can't afford a man.
G                                      B7  C7
With you I keep the profits as high as may be;
G                     D7        G
You're just a cheaper pair of hands!"

Em                 Bm        Em                           Bm
You got one fault! You're a woman. You're not worth equal pay.
   Cm                     G
A bitch or a tart, you're nothing but heart;
 C                    G
Shallow and vain, you got no brain;
Bm                       Am     D7
Go down the drain like a lady today!

G                G6           G                G6
I listened to my mother and I joined a typing pool;
G                G6              G                   G6
I listened to my lover and I put him through his school;
G                  G6        G               G6
If I listen to the boss, I'm just a bloody fool -
            A7          D7
And an underpaid engineer!

G                                  A    B
I been a sucker ever since I was a ba - by,
     C               G           Am           D7
As a daughter, as a lover, as a mother and a "dear,"
G                                     B7   C7
But I'll fight them as a woman, not a la - dy,
G                     D7    G
I'll fight them as an engineer.