Working in Music

Rachel Marie
Jul 22, 2017 · 5 min read

There are many themes that can be found within music and there are many topics that music expresses. I am going to talk about how much has portrayed the working world over the decades…

To begin I am going to open with a classic song that most Americans know from their childhood. The song is called “I’ve been Working on the Railroad” first recorded by Sandhills Sixteen in 1927, however it was originally published under the title “Levee Song” in 1894 (Wikipedia). This song talks about what it is like to work on the railways. It has a simple tune with melodic repetition.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Levee_Song_from_Carmina_Princetonia_%281898%29.jpg
start the video at 1:36

Some of the earliest songs that we have learned about were sung by African Americans. There are many black slave songs that talk about their work life and conditions. I am going to talk about the “Quitting Time Song” written by Samuel Brooks in 1939. It is a simple song with melisma and a narrow vocal rang; there are no instruments in this song, it is purely vocals. It expresses personal experiences about what it feels like to be a slave in a brief manner. Rather than watching the clock waiting to get off of work, they watched the sun…

“Oh, the sun’s goin’ down and I won’t be here long,Oh, the sun’s goin’ down and I won’t be here long,Oh, then I be goin’ home.Oh, I can’t let this dark cloud catch me here,Oh, I can’t stay here long,Oh, I be at home.”


Moving along music continues to talk about slavery and working, however people start singing about getting an actual job. I am now going to discuss a song written in 1957 by The Silhouettes black quartet called “Get a Job.” This song features four part harmony and is accompanied by only a drum and piano with a saxophone solo. The lyrics talk about a man who cannot find a job despite his efforts and the turmoil it causes at home.


Continuing into the 60’s we examine the “Chain Gang” song by Samuel Cooke released in 1961. This song is talking about the working life of prisoners, who seemingly were being worked like slaves “All day long they work so hard
Till the sun is goin’ down.” This song is upbeat with a repeated chorus and several different versus. There seems to be a band accompanying the singer with strings as well. There also seems to be a choir singing in in the background.

Also released in this decade was “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles in 1964. As an English Rock and Roll band, this song was iconic for its time because it spoke to millions. It talks about working hard all day but that seeing the woman's face at the end of the day makes it all worth it. This song is written in a major key and has an upbeat tempo accompanied by a full house band.


Skipping into the 80’s there are so many songs to mention, so let’s go in chronological order of release.

Starting with Dolly Partan’s “9 to 5” released in 1980. I love this song! It truly exemplifies what it feels like to work all day everyday. This is a classic country song, and putting into perspective of the beginning of the Feminist movement this song was HUGE talking about a woman working all day everyday, “climbing up the ladder,” having men not give you any recognition or credit and”only use you for your mind.” This song tells the truth about what it was like for women in the workplace during the 80's. For a country song, it was very pop like in sound with a full band including some brass instruments.

Next we have Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend” released in 1981 talking about how you work hard all week so that you can relax on the weekend. This is a classic rock hit! This song just makes you want to dance with its upbeat tempo kept with the drums, an electric guitar solo, and stretched vocal range! Every time I listen to this song I bob my head along to the beat.

Lastly released in 1985 we have an Alabama song, “40 Hour Work Week.” This song talks about the ones who work for the benefit of others, “Not for Fame of Fortune, But the fruits of their labor.” “They keep this country turning around.” Basically this song sends a shout out to those who work the blue collar jobs that are not flashy, but it they did not work then the rest of consumers would not be able to survive. This is a classic country song as it used guitar and a drum set with piano as well. It also features some syncopation in the instrumentals of the music. There also seems to be several backup singers in the song.


The 1990’s were a full of music, but one song worth mentioning is “National Working Woman’s Holiday” by Sammy Kershaw from 1994. This is another country song with a basic 4/4 time beat and moderate tempo and simple vocal range. This song is sung by a man protesting women being over worked.


Welcome to the 21st century!

Kenney Chesney’s 2007 song “ Shiftwork” is great! it talks about blue collar work that is hard and sweaty with union pay and horrible hours! This song has a chill beach vibe with the percussion accompaniment and harmonica with electric guitar and electric keys.

Next we have Alan Jackson’s “Hard Hat and a Hammar” released in 2010 talking about how there is nothing wrong with a blue collar job because “God Bless the working man!” This is a simple moderate tempo country song with electric guitar, violin, and drums accompanying the simple lower ranged vocals.

Lastly, I will mention the song “Drinking Class” released in 2014 by Lee Brice. Yet another country song, it has more of the modern country feel with the upbeat tempo and advanced instrumentals towards the ends, it actually opens with a slow tempo and a piano and drum accompaniment and the vocals slowly climb the scale up to the chorus. This song talks about how those who work “eight hour shifts” “Monday through Friday” “belong to the drinking class.” This song describes how most people feel after a long day at work or a long week; they just want to relax after they “bust their [butts].”


All in all, while there are many themes throughout music, it is meant to be an outlet. When the topic of work is being discussed I find that many songs along this theme are truthful and sincere. When people talk about work, they want to vent about how harsh things are, which is great because you can feel their emotion through their music! Work related music is more empathetic than other themes in my opinion.

note: there are many songs that were not mentioned, these are just the ones that came to mind right off the bat…

Source:

Wikipedia. “Ive Been Working on the Railroad.” Wikipedia. July 15, 2017. Accessed July 21, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ive_Been_Working_on_the_Railroad.

Rachel Marie

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This is the blog for my MUSI 2040 class.

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