Workin' Woman Blues

It's been a long month, but alas the clouds are finally clearing and I have a few moments to spare for my dear blog.

I've been a very busy beaver.

I spent nine of my April days up at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) with my nose to the grindstone: cleaning, repairing, and breaking down Petah Coyne's retrospective, Everything That Rises Must Converge. One might think that working eight consecutive ten-and-a-half hour days wouldn't be much fun, nor a very conducive environment for creativity, but my time in North Adams was really quite wonderful.

First, it might be noted that cleaning these sculptures is extremely tedious work that really requires audially stimulating accompaniment for the retention of one's sanity. So, after a few days, after I'd finished all the podcasts I'd had enough forethought to upload, I ended up listening through my entire collection of early blues, probably around twenty hours worth of music. After about 15 hours I thought to myself, "Look at me, I'm working like a dog, doing menial labor for long hours and little pay. I could write my own God-damned blues."

So I did. This is what came out:

Workin' Woman Blues

I rise, oh when the sun comes up I rise, (x2)

I work all dog-gone day and I don't get home til late at night.

All day, all day I work my fingers to the bone, (x2)

I should make me plenty money, but I just can't seem to make it on my own.

I tell the boss man, "I got talent like you never know," (x2)

Still you keep me all day cleanin' and them wages, man, they keepin' me poor.

Hey man, I got a life and I wanna live it now, (x2)

But them bills is like a prison, I just got to make it out some how.

Every night I gots to peel my feet out from my shoes, (x2)

And I sleep like a rock, 'cause I got them hard workin' woman blues.

And thanks to the fine nightlife offerings of North Adams, Mass, I performed it the following two nights at a couple of local open mic's. Many thanks to the great people at Key West for recording my set.

Workin' Woman Blues

You can find my full set from that evening on my music page.

Cheers!

Melody