Our first rock opera is about an unnamed young woman in 1910's New England who works 16-hour days at the mill to keep her younger brothers and sister alive. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States was a big influence on the development of this material. Anna wrote the lyrics for part one after writing the music with Westy.
lyrics
Hour by hour I turn the wheel
Sunrise to sunset
My hands and feet are blistered through
My body drenched in sweat
Little Liza and Tommy and Jane
Must have their bread each day
Mother is sick and Father drinks ale
And gambles our earnings away
Bound and shamed in this goddamned dress
I earn my family keep
Endure the matron's stares and jeers
And never get enough sleep