Working for the Man

by The John preston Tribute Band

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about

W4TM is a tender ballad lamenting work in all it's miserable manifestations. Selling yourself for the wage, targets deadlines and continuous professional development. Shit job syndrome, cost improvements and eventually redundancy. Featuring Piano from Carol Hunter and guitars from Brian Eade with John Preston on vocals. Lockdown meant we couldn't experiment with bass and percussion. But Les Chappell percussionist and perfect world engineer declared the track finished after Brian emailed him some haunting pedal steel guitar.

lyrics

When you work for the man, he will get you.
Tie you up in order to protect you.
When you work for the man he will blind you.
With clauses and conditions he will bind you.

When you sing the right words you are applauded.
Empty rhetoric gets things sorted.
When you throw the right shapes you are rewarded.
Pavlov had a dog it’s been reported.

This is a song about the man.
The doctrine of supply and demand.
They say “It’s the only show in town.”
So who is this fool about to drown?

When you work for the man he will train you.
Appraise you and drain you then blame you.
This is the man who wants to own you.
To hire you out to dry and subprime loan you.

If you kill for the man, he’ll put a badge on your chest.
Call you a hero and hope you will invest.
But if the nightmares come and blow your soul away.
Then the margins are your refuge if you don’t get locked away.

This is a song about the man.
Who’ll use you all up if he can.
So here take this empty bag.
Have you ever had the feeling you’ve been had?

If your work for the man is a success.
Then your inner life will surely be a mess.
Though you may live to be old.
You’ll never repossess the soul you sold.

This is the man who will nail you.
Who’ll radicalise you and torture you then jail you.
Under cross examination he will fail you.
He will immolate you and then he will inhale you.

This is a song about the man.
Who’ll use you all up if he can.
So here take this empty bag.
Have you ever had the feeling you’ve been had?
Have you ever had the feeling you’ve been had?

credits

released August 22, 2020
Piano, Carol Hunter
Guitars, Brian Eade
Vocals, John Preston
Mixed and produced by Les Chappell

Written by JPTB 2019
recorded at Perfect World studios

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