Hard Workin' Man
Written by Nate Williams
Like a lot of America, I was mortified when stories started coming out about what was happening to our immigrant neighbors in the last year. While there’s a lot in the world to be upset about, there are some things that really resonate with us at a deeper level. Whether it’s because they affect us personally or hit particularly close to home, those stories can burn a hole in our soul. One way I’ve found to help express how these things make me feel is through writing music as a member of sparrow, and that’s how Hard Workin’ Man came about.
Our local newspaper ran the story last fall of a local man, a pastor who happens to be an immigrant, getting picked up and basically disappeared off the street when he went to check in for his regular appointment with DHS. He had a pending asylum claim and was checking in like he was supposed to. He had no criminal record. He was doing everything he was supposed to do, and yet our government detained him and sent him off to a camp in Texas.
I was incensed. I was sad. I had friends that knew the man, who by all accounts was a great neighbor and member of the community. Here was this hard working man, just snatched up off the street and basically put in a prison. That inspired me to write a poem, with much of the details of the story being a mishmash of other stories that were coming out from our immigrant community about recent detentions.
We had just started playing together as a band and I really wanted to put the poem to music. I started thinking about chord progressions that reflected sadness but would allow for a melody that could tell a story. I played around with a few before one just “sounded right” and then the melody came as I played the four chords over and over. Looking back at the tune now, it’s almost reminiscent of an eastern European dirge, likely influenced by some of my early classical training in cello, but the tune hung with me and I couldn’t stop humming it for weeks.
I got together with our harpist Evah to help me synthesize the lyrics and the tune into a form that made sense without sacrificing the message. I wanted the song to not just tell a story, but to get the listener thinking about what we’re doing as a society and to be a reminder that we’ve been here before. The reference to brown shirts (German SA) and red hats (MAGA movement) is to draw parallels in societies that reject those on the margins. It’s really all the same, isn’t it?
Lyrics:
Mom and Dad were working hard
just trying to get by
Following the rules, the best they could
“J’essaierai” they’d reply
To raise kids right in the eyes of God
Even when it was tough
They knew that they were different; that’s okay
Do things “right”, that’s enough
DHS said to check in
Every month or two, he’d go
Once he showed up to meet the man
He was cuffed and put in tow
They love their country, but they aren’t loved back
They really don’t know why
They followed the rules - did what they could
Now they’re told that they did not comply
Off to camp never saw a judge
He’s told they don’t belong
Don’t they know that he’s a preaching man
Leads his flock in song
He’s put with other folks swept up in raids
Many hungry and sick
Not white or rich or privileged enough
Surely this must be a trick
Brown shirts or Red hats
It’s actually the same
Getting rid of the least of us
is really the name of the game