Hot Cargo, 1979

Nancy White, “No Hot Cargo” 

No Hot Cargo (Lines You Don't Cross) By Nancy White

Oh, the morning fog rolled in
to the port of old Saint John
and the ship from Argentina rolled in too.
Come to pick up heavy water
to keep the Junta ticking,
but for one long day that cargo couldn't get through.
Because a picket line was forming at the harbour gate
with a message for two governments that couldn't wait
and the longshoremen who came to work to start their shift at nine
not one crossed that picket line.

Chorus:

They said, “We don't care about our wages
and we don't care about the boss.
When your brothers and sisters are dying,
there's lines you just don't cross.” 
No Hot Cargo for Argentina!
No Hot Cargo for Argentina!
No Hot Cargo for Argentina!

Well, they'd heard that in Argentina
the unions had been crippled,
no right to strike and their soldiers in control.
And leaders like Piccinini
are locked away in prison
and each day the torture chambers take their toll.
And the government of Canada just shuts its eyes
and says, “There's business deals we've got to finalize.
There's a market for reactors and we long to see it grow.” 
But for one long day the Saint John people said, “No!” 

Chorus

Well, a list of 17 prisoners
was sent to Buenos Aires
with demands for their release immediately.
And it looks like Argentina
needed heavy water badly
'cause three days passed and seven were set free.
And the fishermen and the railway clerks who walked that picket line,
should have our heartfelt thanks for giving Ottawa the sign
that although our glorious leaders may be morally threadbare,
some workers in this country really care.

Chorus

Source: Nancy White. Recorded from Sort of Political (1980). Used with permission. For more Nancy White visit: borealisrecords.com/artists/nancy-white/. Transcription by George Vair.