Versions

Version	Length	Source	Availability
Studio	2:40	Mark Seymour Undertow album.	Moderately common. Available new in CD and digital form.

Recommended Version.

Commentary

From Mark’s track by track guide to Undertow:

(dedicated to the memory of Tony Medina)

Money will never compensate for the pain and suffering inflicted on Australian workers who have been exposed to asbestos dust.

“Everything that sustains the wealth creation of our society has been built on the graves of workers who’ve perished to get us to this point.” -Bob Carr

Lyrics

We’re in the furnace; we’re on the floor
I’m making payments on my Clubsport Commodore
Fifteen weeks from now and she’ll be mine
I’ll take the big bucks home anytime

My jack hammer into the wall
Pretty soon the dust is gonna fall
Asbestos from long ago
She’s the devil you know

I know the danger; I know the risk
I can think of jobs a whole lot worse than this
Don’t mean to gamble; don’t mean to boast
But I take home a whole lot more than most

So come on mister, stand in line
I’ll come around knock down your garage any time
That old poison form long ago
She’s the devil you know

We’re on the load-out kicking around
Asbestos football, across the ground
We were legends, without a care
Breathing in that toxic shit hanging in the air

My friend got dusted, something had to give
When they told him he had six months to live
That old poison from long ago
She’s the devil you know

Takes many hands to do a load
There’s no future in that dead end road
All that pain from long ago
She’s the devil you know