September 4, 2017
Written by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson
Produced by Rush
Recorded at Eastern Sound Studios, Toronto, Canada, 1973
Released on the album Rush in March 1974
Rush’s self-produced, independently released debut album did not have much of a chance of breaking through in the United States until a Cleveland DJ discovered the closing track “Working Man” and realized how this theme worked with the blue collar ethic of that city.
Musically, the song employs the simple, hard-rock, Zeppelin-esue approach of the trio’s pre-Neil Peart days, as drummer John Rutsey backed composers Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson for this one and only album. Complete, with a long, heavy blues jam, “Working Man” went on to become a concert staple for the next 40 years and the most indelible track from the debut album.
Listen to “Working Man”:
Song Lyrics
I got no time for livin’, yes, I’m workin’ all the time
It seems to me I could live my life a lot better than I think I am
I guess that’s why they call me, they call me the working man
They call me the working man, I guess that’s what I am
I get home at five o’clock and I take myself out a nice, cold beer
Always seem to be wonderin’ why there’s nothin’ goin’ down here
It seems to me I could live my life a lot better than I think I am
I guess that’s why they call me, they call me the working man
They call me the working man, I guess that’s what I am
Well, they call me the working man, I guess that’s what I am
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