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Friday, June 19, 2015

Friday Tunes: Working Man's PhD

This week’s installment of labour themes in popular culture is Aaron Tippin’s “Working Man’s PhD”. This song is part of the “workin’ proud” genre of labour songs, fitting in nicely with similar efforts from the likes of Alabama. The basic message is that hard, physical work is laudable. There is also a subtle lyrical slam at those who don’t perform such jobs:
As a matter of fact I'd like to set things straight
A few more people should be pullin' their weight
If you wanna cram course in reality
You get yourself a working man's Ph.D.
What I most struck by was the gendered nature of the video. Obviously you can’t show the entire spectrum of work in one video. (As an aside, the 2001 book Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs offers this kind of broad snapshot). But most of the “workers” are men and the work they are glorifying is traditional blue-collar male work (e.g., carrying, lifting, pulling, building). The song was released in 1993 when issues of gender discrimination were both controversial and very topical. Perhaps this song represents a bit of cultural pushback on the then-eroding status of “men’s work”?



You get up every morning 'fore the sun comes up
Toss a lunchbox into a pickup truck
A long, hard day sure ain't much fun
But you've gotta get it started if you wanna get it done
You set your mind and roll up your sleeves
You're workin' on a working man's Ph.D.

With your heart in your hands and the sweat on your brow
You build the things that really make the world go around
If it works, if it runs, if it lasts for years
You bet your bottom dollar it was made right here
With pride, honor and dignity
From a man with a working man's Ph.D.

[Chorus]

Now there ain't no shame in a job well done
From driving a nail to driving a truck
As a matter of fact I'd like to set things straight
A few more people should be pullin' their weight
If you wanna cram course in reality
You get yourself a working man's Ph.D.

When the quittin' whistle blows and the dust settles down
There ain't no trophies or cheering crowds
You'll face yourself at the end of the day
And be damn proud of whatever you've made
Can't hang it on the wall for the world to see
But you've got yourself a working man's Ph.D.

[Chorus]

-- Bob Barnetson
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2 comments:

  1. JJLeggoJune 24, 2015 at 3:37 PM

    When I first moved to Athabasca, I often heard comments like: "There sure are a lot of women at the university." Nothing was ever said overtly, but the implication was clear: as a man, I should be working at one of the mills - leave the "women's work" to the women.

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  2. Bob BarnetsonJune 28, 2015 at 6:44 AM

    What I find most interesting at AU these days is the gender segregation in administrative roles. All of the deans, most of the VPs and (in my faculty) all of the chairs and most of the program directors are women.

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