Work Songs
Robert Cenek
Post a Comment
Some workers “whistle while they work.” Others, too encumbered to hymn or sing aloud, sing vicariously through IPODS and streaming music such as Last.fm.
Singing in the workplace has helped workers in different settings and epochs to reduce feelings of boredom. In the United States, many people associate work songs with American slaves, who sang songs to remind them of their homeland.
In America, the most famous slave songs were typically in a call-and-answer format, where a lead would sing a verse or verses and the other workers would respond with a chorus. One very famous song from this era is Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, a spiritual. Frederick Douglass, a slave that escaped to New York, noted in 1845 that:
“While on their way (to work), the slaves would make the dense old woods, for miles around, reverberate with their wild songs, revealing at once the highest joy and the deepest sadness. They would compose and sing as they went along, consulting neither time nor tune. The thought that came up, came out, if not in the word, in the sound; and as frequently in the one as in the other. They would sometimes sing the most pathetic sentiment in the most rapturous tone, and the most rapturous sentiment in the most pathetic tone. This they would sing, as a chorus, to words which to many would seem unmeaning jargon, but which, nevertheless, were full of meaning to themselves. I have sometimes thought that the mere hearing of those songs would do more to impress some minds with the horrible character of slavery, than the reading of whole volumes of philosophy on the subject could do.”
Here is an interesting catalog of songs with a work-related theme. They may not be “true” work songs in the sense that people often sing them for the reasons cited above. Rather, they simply demonstrate that covering the work world in a more melodic sense still captures listeners.
A more detailed listing can be found at http://www.planningcommunications.com/jf/work_songs.htm
Out of Work — Gary U.S. Bonds. With a little help from the Boss, Mr. Bonds briefly revived his career with this satire of the Ford Administration’s sad efforts to “whip inflation now” (remember the “Win” buttons that proliferated during that recession?). Album: On the Line, 1982.
Get a Job — The Silhouttes first recorded this — before Sha–Na–Na revived it.
Shangri–La— The Kinks. Arguably, one of the greatest songs in rock history, this tune reminds us why we work when it isn’t a job we love. Album: Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1969; and the Kinks’ Kronikles.
Get Back in Line — The Kinks. An extraordinarily poignant tune tells the tale of working stiffs who have to wait to be picked by the union to work that day. “All I want to do is make some money and bring you home some wine,” sings Ray Davies. It’s songs like these that raise the Kinks far above the songs for which they are most famous. Available on what many critics consider to be one of the very best compilations ever published, The Kink Kronikles. Reprise 6454. Check it out!
Maggie’s Farm — Bob Dylan. He may not have wanted to work on Maggie’s farm no more, but Dylan used this song to introduce his folk audience to his rock and roll side amid boos.
Welcome to the Working Week — Elvis Costello. An incendiary tune from back when Elvis had fire. Album: My Aim is True, 1977.
Soon as I Get Home — Babyface. This man works all day and he’ll cook dinner, buy your clothes, pay your rent, and more … as soon as he gets home from work. Who said there are no good men left anymore? Album: Babyface, 1989.
Salt of the Earth — Rolling Stones. A low–key gem about working people.
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments