I saw Lily Brown lose her hand in the oil refinery Oh so clear like autumn dew drops scattered on the air I saw Lily Brown when the chain snapped quick as lightening And she fell quick as anything onto the grating there I felt Lily Brown gasp her last inside of my arms And she was warm and then was cold Grease slick in her hair Who knew Lily Brown? She was lonesome just like everyone And her eyes shone gold at midnight in the sodium glare I knew Lily Brown She was kind when I was lonely Took my shift from four 'til noontime And she combed my hair Who was Lily Brown before she was one more body? A crisp malfunction soon replaced and soon repaired I bore Lily Brown after she lay and rigid And the Earth was soft and yielding in the summer air I loved Lily Brown who lost her life to the oil refinery Oh so clear like autumn dew drops scattered on the air