Friday Five: Bossman

There are many, many country songs about work. A common element in these songs is the hatred of the bossman. You know, that guy who lets you dream just to watch ‘em shatter. In fact, you’re probably just a step on his ladder (unless you happen the boss, in which case you’re probably great. You’re certainly cool, if only for the fact that you read The 9513.). Today is National Boss’s Day, so let’s pay tribute, if by “tribute,” you mean “a list of five songs which feature rotten authority figures.”

• 5. “Down on Penny’s Farm” – The Bently Boys
  That George Penny sure sounds like a prince: “he’ll work you all summer and rob you in the fall”. The Bently Boys recorded this sharecropping song in 1929; Gid Tanner & His Skillet Lickers later recorded it as “Down on Tanner’s Farm.”
  
• 4. “Big Boss Man” – Kentucky Headhunters
  The Kentucky Headhunters cover Elvis Presley covering Jimmy Reed. Turns out that a few country artists liked “Big Boss Man” enough to record their own versions, and one pro wrestler liked it enough to use it as his ring name.
• 3. “Take This Job and Shove It” – Johnny Paycheck
  The foreman’s a meanie with a new flattop (the preferred hairdo of staid authority figures everywhere), but one day Johnny’ll make him pay. How? I’m a little afraid to ask.
• 2. “John Henry” – Bruce Springsteen
  It was the boss who brought that steam drill around in the first place. Based on my years of watching Law & Order, I think that makes him somewhat culpable in ol’ John Henry’s death.
• 1. “Oney” – Johnny Cash
  When it comes to boss songs, “Oney” is the best; Cash sings about a new retiree and his plans on getting revenge for 29 years of mistreatment. The song ends before the plan is actually enacted, but Cash’s cackle as “Oney” fades out leaves the listener with a good mental picture of what’s about to go down.