The song mentions autoworkers, steel mill workers, construction workers, cashiers, firefighters, postal carriers, farmers, coal miners, truck drivers, warehouse workers, waitresses, mechanics, and police officers.
Run through the list and look for the women (or, more accurately, occupations traditionally associated with female employment). I see cashiers and waitresses. While this may say more about my male-and-pale biases than those of Alabama, but what I see in the song is that workers—especially workers whose efforts receive praise—are mostly men in mostly blue collar jobs.
Fair enough--that is likely who buys Alabama records! But there is school of thought that suggests that entertainment (e.g., songs and television shows) has a greater ability to influence our beliefs and values than news programming and other factual presentations because what we see and hear in entertainment tends to be integrated into our thoughts less consciously and thus triggers little conscious refutation.
Think about the TV show Friends. Chandler’s dad (Charles Bing) is a gay drag queen. Chandler is profoundly uncomfortable with this and there are lots of fairly mean jokes about his sexuality. This clearly homophobic behaviour totally got a pass in the 1990s and early 2000s because it was styled as entertainment. Would the same ideas presented as an argument have skated by as easily? Probably not.
There are people in this country
Who work hard every day
Not for fame or fortune do they strive
But the fruits of their labor
Are worth more than their pay
And it's time a few of them were recognized.
Hello Detroit auto workers,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line
Hello Pittsburgh steel mill workers,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line.
This is for the one who swings the hammer,
Driving home the nail
Or the one behind the counter,
Ringing up the sale
Or the one who fights the fires,
The one who brings the mail
For everyone who works behind the scenes.
You can see them every morning
In the factories and the fields
In the city streets and the quiet country towns
Working together like spokes inside a wheel
They keep this country turning around.
Hello Kansas wheat field farmer,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line
Hello West Virginia coal miner,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line.
This is for the one who drives the big rig,
Up and down the road
Or the one out in the warehouse,
Bringing in the load
Or the waitress, the mechanic,
The policeman on patrol
For everyone who works behind the scenes.
With a spirit you can't replace with no machine
Hello America, let me thank you for your time...
-- Bob Barnetson
Think about the TV show Friends. Chandler’s dad (Charles Bing) is a gay drag queen. Chandler is profoundly uncomfortable with this and there are lots of fairly mean jokes about his sexuality. This clearly homophobic behaviour totally got a pass in the 1990s and early 2000s because it was styled as entertainment. Would the same ideas presented as an argument have skated by as easily? Probably not.
There are people in this country
Who work hard every day
Not for fame or fortune do they strive
But the fruits of their labor
Are worth more than their pay
And it's time a few of them were recognized.
Hello Detroit auto workers,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line
Hello Pittsburgh steel mill workers,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line.
This is for the one who swings the hammer,
Driving home the nail
Or the one behind the counter,
Ringing up the sale
Or the one who fights the fires,
The one who brings the mail
For everyone who works behind the scenes.
You can see them every morning
In the factories and the fields
In the city streets and the quiet country towns
Working together like spokes inside a wheel
They keep this country turning around.
Hello Kansas wheat field farmer,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line
Hello West Virginia coal miner,
Let me thank you for your time
You work a forty hour week for a livin',
Just to send it on down the line.
This is for the one who drives the big rig,
Up and down the road
Or the one out in the warehouse,
Bringing in the load
Or the waitress, the mechanic,
The policeman on patrol
For everyone who works behind the scenes.
With a spirit you can't replace with no machine
Hello America, let me thank you for your time...
-- Bob Barnetson
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