Friday Tunes: EMS Anthem

This week’s installment of labour themes in popular culture is "EMS Anthem" by Farooq Muhammad. I’ve been seeing to a fair bit of trash-tweeting about unionized public-sector workers in the wake of the New Democrat election win. Some of its suggests that the NDs will roll over in contract negotiations with public-sector unions (ha!) and the rest is just ideological distain for the public sector.

The idea that private-sector jobs (e.g., convenience store clerk) are always “better” than public sector jobs (e.g., teacher) is incorrect right-wing dogma. EMS Anthem offers an interesting antidote to this belief, by examining the life of New York paramedic.

In the song Muhammad talks about the value of his job (“Savin' lives/Is what we do every day/Hopin' for you/Just to see the next day”) and the personal cost of doing it (“and damn you better believe /I cryin my eyes out any time I see /a poor baby that got murdered in his sleep”). 

While it is often easy to see the value of certain public-sector jobs like first responders nurses and teachers, there are few public sector jobs without value. Whether it is protecting the watershed or ensuring public institutions are clean and that public records are correct and accessible, these jobs have high social value. 

Perhaps more workers should start rapping—I know faculty council would be a lot more interesting with a hip-hop vibe. ("I'm wearin' the robe/Got the mortar board/I second the motion/Pedants galore")



Here we go again
Now I'm back in the saddle
Hotter than cayenne
With my EMS friends

Workin' in the ambulance
Waitin' for the next one
Dispatch droppin' jobs
Non stop, all ya' got

6-3, en route
Headed to the call
Pedal to the floor
Diesel fumes from exhaust

Streets criss-cross
till you know I'm 84
Got the gear, I'm walkin'
To the front door

Hopin' for
Not another corpse
Or a life lost
already seen enough of those

entrance to the residence
An old man hangin' on
For dear life with his medicine
High con oxygen

BVM

Start CPR
Gonna keep him goin'
But you know it's up to God

Ready for war
Fightin' death nail to the wall
Pumpin' harder than an engine
But we never stall

Never give up hope
You know you're gonna make it
We're here servin' you
Don't ever mistake it

Savin' lives
Is what we do every day
Hopin' for you
Just to see the next day

When death starts knockin'
Gettin' near
We'll be there
Don't ever fear

I am EMS
And I swear by my anthem
And I pray to God
To guide all of my actions

now please be singer
not voice not melodic
listen up partner
i'm a certified medic

workin' these streets of NYC
and if it wasnt for the bills
man i'd do it for free

ya'll stop the bleed
apply the lead
help those in need
and damn you better believe
i cryin my eyes out any time i see
a poor baby that got murdered in his sleep

lord have mercy for the evil that i've seen
pd on the scene for another body bloody shoutin 85 forthwith emts
expeditiously with expertise
we're the ones u need and if it wasn’t for us

there'd be a lot more people lay bitin the dust
spillin blood from their guts
supreme treatment from a team u can trust
doing it steady trained and ready

Never give up hope
You know you're gonna make it
We're here servin' you
Don't ever mistake it
save a life what we do everyday
hoping for you just see the next day
when death starts knocking gettin near

we'll be there never fear
I'm EMS and i swear by my anthem
and i pray to God to guide all of my actions

never do we hesitate going to calls we get sent
barricades near deaths even bomb threats hence
we just keep it movin at the speed of light
now we clickin the lights and we're hittin the strobe
for another man shot in the occipital lobe
we just go never stop stayin on it siren blasting drivin faster 

the golden hour dodgin traffic when it gets tragic hustlin' every time

doing what we gotta do no need for a thank you
were doin' it for passion
showin' you compassion not for fashion
or cashin any check just here to save ur neck
never once do we fret drippin sweat yea you guessed
we're the best ems never rest to the test
we posses what we need for success
ideal it doesnt get more real FDNY EMS

never give up hope you know ur gonna make it
we're here servin u dont ever mistake it
save a life what we do everyday hoping for you just see the next day
when death starts knocking gettin near
we'll be there never fear 

I'm EMS and i swear by my anthem

and i pray to God to guide all of my actions x2

-- Bob Barnetson