Labour & Pop Culture: Hard Working Man

This week’s installment of Labour & Pop Culture is “Hard Working Hands” by Dave Gunning and Ron Hynes. The song is about the end of a working life, written from the perspective of shipbuilders who are mourning the loss of their identities now that they don’t work anymore.

We built those boats down at the shipyard for 40 years or more
Took a break for the time we served in the war
Another evening at the legion with the TV's evening news
Lookin' back is all we ever do

Retirement is often associated with various psychological effects, such as identity disruption and a search for meaningful engagement with society as well as a way to fill the days. Essentially, retirement can mean the loss of an important (and often long-term) source of identity for some workers. Some workers may attempt to reframe their identity, drawing upon personal characteristics that endure and were associated with their former jobs. For example:

An endless wire, that runs through these days
Deepens the lines that run across my face
But if you want to know the kind of man I am
Take a look at these hard workin' hands

In this way, this song is about a process (albeit not necessarily a successful or completed one) of workers making peace with end of their working lives.



We built those boats down at the shipyard for 40 years or more
We only laid our hammers down when left for the war
Now these days I watch the night fall across a tired floor
Far too old for working anymore

Wake the same hour every morning to join the morning crew
We line up at the coffee shop to get the morning news
We still wear the same clothes, wear the same old shoes
Lookin' back is all we ever do

An endless wire, that runs through these days
Deepens the lines that run across my face
But if you want to know the kind of man I am
Take a look at these hard workin' hands

There's a map that has hardened in my skin
Everywhere I go I take every place I've been
The lifeline is a highway through the towns of memories
Every scar has a story

An endless wire, that runs through these days
Deepens the lines that run down my face
But if you want to know the kind of man I am
Take a look at these hard workin' hands

We built those boats down at the shipyard for 40 years or more
Took a break for the time we served in the war
Another evening at the legion with the TV's evening news
Lookin' back is all we ever do

An endless wire, that runs through these days
Deepens the lines that run through my face
But if you want to know the kind of man I am
Take a look at these hard workin' hands
Take a look at these hard workin' hands

-- Bob Barnetson