One of my longer term research projects is a content analysis of songs about work and labour and this one sits squarely in the category I’m tentatively labeling “workin’ proud.” The interesting part of this song is that its simple lyrics provide a chronicle of blue-collar jobs from the perspective of a worker—identifying what is important and real to him or her.
Montana sings about tools (“Ratchet in my left and a flat head in my right’), the work process (“Just a hundred and thirty-two steps/Making machines out a steel and sweat”) and the working conditions (“Over and over again like a record that’s on repeat”). He also sings about workers’ place in the production process (“And I’m just one of a thousand parts”) and the repetition of this cycle, that stretches across workers’ lives (“Clocked out about 5 p.m./Wake up in the morning, do it all again”).
Punched in just about five
Ratchet in my left and a flat-head in my right
Hoping that I’ll hear about a raise by the end of the week
Just a hundred and thirty-two steps
Making machines out a steel and sweat
Over and over again like a record that’s on repeat
[Chorus]
And it’s all manufactured time
When you’re on the assembly line
Building products made to sell
Moving on a conveyer belt
And it’s a job for a diligent heart
And I’m just one of a thousand parts
You might think I’ve got it rough but I don’t mind
Working on the assembly line
All day in steel-toed boots
Vacation days that I’ll never use
There’s a rumor going ‘round
that’s got nothing to do with me
Charlie swears he’s gonna quit
Put his two weeks in and that’s it
He’s been talkin’ that way since the summer of ‘93
[Chorus]
[Chorus]
It ain’t a job for everyone but it’s mine
Working on the assembly line
On the assembly line
Clocked out about 5 p.m.
Wake up in the morning, do it all again
-- Bob Barnetson
You might think I’ve got it rough but I don’t mind
Working on the assembly line
All day in steel-toed boots
Vacation days that I’ll never use
There’s a rumor going ‘round
that’s got nothing to do with me
Charlie swears he’s gonna quit
Put his two weeks in and that’s it
He’s been talkin’ that way since the summer of ‘93
[Chorus]
[Chorus]
It ain’t a job for everyone but it’s mine
Working on the assembly line
On the assembly line
Clocked out about 5 p.m.
Wake up in the morning, do it all again
-- Bob Barnetson
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