Song of the month (IX)

I have been too absent from here for the past month, I know. No, I haven’t gone on holiday or haven’t been on a life-changing trip (I wish!). The reason is quite dull instead – I have simply been working too much.

If you guys have read the information about me that I included on my profile, then you'll already know that I currently work as a freelance translator. I won’t go into detail, but I’ll just say that the long working hours can end up taking over your life and, as a result, you may be at a risk of forgetting what real life is about.

I thought that John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero” would be a good choice this time, as it may reflect what the last month has been like to me. Not that I feel like a hero, although I must admit that on some occasions I need to use my superpowers to work 24/7. Obviously, Lennon’s lyrics go beyond the song title and there is a deeper and broader meaning to them which deals with society, but isn’t society itself and the current economic pressure that are making some of us go that extra mile in our jobs so that we can enjoy some of the essential things of life?

 

WORKING CLASS HERO

(written by John Lennon)

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty-odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function, you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and tv
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top, they're telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be

A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero, well just follow me

If you want to be a hero, well just follow me