When Will We Be Paid Lyrics - The Staple Singers

When will we be paid for the work we've done 

When will we be paid for the work we've done 

We fought in your wars in every land 

To keep this country free, y'all, for women, children, and men 

But every time we ask for pay or a loan 

That's when everything seems to turn out wrong 

We been beat up, called names, shot down and stoned 

Every time we do right, somebody say we're wrong 

Tell me 

When will we be paid for the work we've done 

When will we be paid for the work we've done 

Listen 

We worked this country from shore to shore 

Our women cooked all your food and washed all your clothes 

We picked cotton and laid the railroad steel 

Worked our hands down to the bone at your lumber mill 

Tell me 

When will we be paid for the work we've done 

When will we be paid for the work we've done 

Will we ever be proud of "My country, tis of thee"? 

Will we ever sing out loud, "Sweet land of Liberty"? 

When will we be paid for the work we've done?