Mary's Little Lot, song lyrics

Song: Mary's Little Lot
Lyrics: Mary C. Hudson

Music: to the children's tune of "Mary had a Little Lamb"
Year: 1906 ⁽¹⁾
Genre: Children's song
Country: USA

Mary had a little lot,
The soil was very poor;
But still she kept it all the same,
And struggled to get more.

She kept the lot until one day,
The people settled down,
And where a wilderness had been,
Grew up a thriving town.
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
Then Mary rented out her lot,
(She would not sell, you know),
And waited patiently about
for prices still to grow.

They grew, as population came,
And Mary raised the rent.
With common food and raiment now,
She could not be content.

She built her up a mansion fine;
had bric-a-brac galore;
And every time the prices rose,
She raised the rent some more.
This song was originally posted on protestsonglyrics.net
"What makes the lot keep Mary so?"
The starving people cry;
"Why, Mary keeps the lot, you know,"
The wealthy would reply.

And so each one of you might be,
"Wealthy, refined and wise";
If only you had hogged some land,
And held it for the rise."

Notes:

1 - p. 773, Machinists' Monthly Journal, Vol. 18, No. 8, August 1906, Washington, D. C.. by the International Association of Machinists.

2 - Men's Get-Together Songs" "all the songs you love to sing," Ellen Jane Lorenz 1938, p. 119, Lorenz Publishing Company

3 - Songs of Peace, Freedom and Protest, by Tom Glazer, published by David McKay Company, 1970, p.214-215.