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Writing about “Song of the Shirt” was my favorite assignment.  Reading information in the form of lyrics and then trying to relate to that type of life allowed me to understand the plight of those women on different personal levels.  First, I thought how thankful I was that my life is so much different than the mill workers.  The song’s message put complaining about my homework into perspective.  Secondly, I thought about women in other countries during this same time period.  From past research I know that Europe’s history of industrial labor abuses is just as dismal as our own.  Then I finally asked myself if the history of yesterday had changed anything about today.  “Sweat shops” do still exist in many countries.  “Sweat shops” operate illegally in this country, as well, with unscrupulous shop owners taking advantage of a labor pool of illegal immigrants.  I realized that “Song of the Shirt” may always be sung.