The Bank Clerk

I'D LIKE to be a bank clerk, and sit inside a cage, I'd like to take and hoard away the toiler's weekly wage; I 'd like to sit behind a drawer with gold and greenbacks lined, I 'd like to read the writing on the checks rich men have signed, It must be nice to shut up shop at 3 and cease to fret, And then I wish that I could have the holidays they get. I'd like to be a bank clerk, with a pen behind my ear, To go to work at 9 and know that quitting time's so near: To occupy a cage in which no office bores can sit, With nothing else to do but take in cash and care for it. I 'd like to be a bank clerk; that I 'm not is my regret; Just think of all the holidays the weary bank clerks get. I love the name of Lincoln and the name of Washington, I like to think about the way George made the British run; I 'd like to take a day off, too, to honor him, I say, And I would also like to rest on Decoration Day; I love this land of freedom, and I like to sing her praise, But I wish I were a bank clerk to enjoy her holidays.