Working Man's Blues

Another blues/rock number. A bit of the urban working man's frustration expressed in a song lyric.

I get up in the morning,

And I go to work.

My job is real boring,

And my boss is a jerk.

Chorus

Let's take it to the streets,

Let's turn our anger loose,

Tell the government to back off,

They are killing the golden goose.

I work all day,

For a lousy pay cheque,

I mouth off to the boss,

And I get it in the neck.

Chorus

The money that I make,

Barely pays the rent,

I get paid on Friday,

And by Monday it's all spent.

Chorus

The car I drive,

Is a rolling, rusty wreck.

I can't afford the gas,

But I say, what the heck!

Chorus

My credit cards are maxed out,

I've got no money in the bank.

I'm so far down on my luck,

There's nothing left in the tank.

Chorus

I'm working to pay taxes,

I'm working for the man,

They always want more money,

It's all part of their plan.

Chorus

© 2018 The Iron Horseman

Author's Note

A straight-up twelve bar blues rocker.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I’m no good at evaluating the musicality of a poem, so I’ll skip that part. As a poem, I would expect a little more imagination/originality, maybe. But as a song, this is exactly the way such a song goes & yours tells it straight with no flounces. I can imagine this appealing to a crowd of blue-collar working folks from the middle & south of our country. In fact, there’s a bit of the Trumpian grievance refrain that we’ve come to expect on a daily tweet basis. So please give me a pass if I can’t conjure up a load of excitement. You got it done & that’s what you meant to do! *sigh!* Fondly, Margie

[The Iron Horseman]

Lol! Thanks, Margie. I know it's not really your kind of thing, so I appreciate you taking the time to review it even more. I agree with you that it's not terribly original - I think I was channeling the Georgis Satellites at the time, maybe some old Stones too - but it is meant to be simple, direct and to state some universal complaints, while rocking to a solid bass beat. I think it manages that! There's a reason good old rock 'n' roll is still around.
I'm working on something at the moment that I think you will like more - playing with alliteration and assonance.

[barleygirl]

Feel free to read request me!

[The Iron Horseman]

Thank you, I will do that.

[casablancavic]

Nice close...whom would you think would cover this?

What artist/band?

[The Iron Horseman]

Maybe Green Day, or perhaps Cage The Elephant on this one, Vic.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

ps I just sent you a song I wrote a read request ï went to sleep

[The Iron Horseman]

Lol! I will take a peek!

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

ok ta de da te da

[The Iron Horseman]

ps. Where did you send it? There is nothing showing up in my email here.

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

I just featured it now

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

love this as a song or poem either way its true
never enough money to pay the rent food utilities rates or even cut our hair lol
you know i think this is a good song
if you played guitar it would be great

[The Iron Horseman]

I play bass guitar, Julie. Most of my songs start out with a bass riff, then the song forms around the riff!
Thank you for your kind words; they are much appreciated.

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

shame we cant hear you sing andplay on here

[The Iron Horseman]

You might enjoy the playing, but I doubt you would want to hear me sing! :D
Unless there was a huge amount of amplification for the rest of the band!

[Julie McCarthy (juliespenhere)]

ok lol
let me know if you like my song

[Onlyme]

Need to make this a top chart song for the working class man and women.

[The Iron Horseman]

I'd love that! It would be great to get some up and coming band to record it and turn it into a rock anthem!

[A. Kim Spradling]

Hello, Iron! I have been busy at work and you are singing my song!! I am at the beach (not the bathtub beach scenario we've spoken of before), the REAL LIVE BEACH!!! So, I am relaxing a bit and enjoying taking "it to the streets"! I will hopefully be writing some this summer. I SO enjoy it. Again! To quote myself as I usually do, I love, love, love, your poems and songs.. I would say that they sing to me, but that might be too cliché!! LOL Wait... I just said it anyway. I can SO relate to your work... And again I ramble on.... Thank you for sharing. You need to get some music going on with your work. It sounds like something I would like to hear at a dive bar somewhere.... Yes, me... and my alter ego... BUT, then again, it is the Belle Starrish thing to say!!

[The Iron Horseman]

Hi Belle. It's good to hear from you again. I'm glad you are out having some fun!
Thank you for all your kind words. Yes, this is a 'dive bar' kind of song, as are so many blues rockers. Let's face it, most common sense does come from the street.
I will look forward to seeing some of your new work. I need to get back to some songs and poetry, too: I have been spending my time on the new book, which is almost finished now, so...
Enjoy your sea and sun.

[maria ( rose)]

as a song writer myself I say it's magnifico!!!!!

[The Iron Horseman]

Thanks, Maria. That means a lot! I look forward to reading some of your songs.