Now “Man is born to trouble
Sure as sparks to Heaven fly.”
So said the man sat all alone
In the corner of my eye.
I said, “Why the long face? Why so sad?
Things cannot be that bad!”
He said, “My aching bones tell of trouble on the road
And you can’t make light of this load”
He said, “You can’t make light of this load.”
Now just don’t get me started on work, trust or money,
There are not enough hours in the day.
In a land where nothing works except the answering machines
You have to watch what you say.
All the high hopes of the Thatcher’s breed
Lie crushed beneath some eighties creed.
Well “Moaning Minnies” we may be just don’t let us explode,
You can’t make light of this load.
They say, “You can’t make light of this load.”
Seems that grumbling is a privilege, a pleasure and a pastime
For those approaching ‘middle rage.’
“The burden fits the back” they say, and I know I’ve got mine,
Thank heavens for the minimum wage!
"Things only get better, " they cried,
But over health and work and money they lied.
Well their patron saint is Meldew and complaining is the mode.
You can’t make light of this load.
They say, “You can’t make light of this load.”
“Oh, don’t the days seem lank and long
When all goes right and none goes wrong.”
So avoid the sad old so-and-so with his sorry episode,
Who can’t make light of his load, lads!
Who can’t make light of his load.
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References used in this song:
- Why the long face? (1762)
- A long face, one drawn downward in expression of sadness or solemnity, is from 1786
- https://www.etymonline.com/word/long#etymonline_v_12412
- answering machines (1930s)
- Invented in 1898 but likely reached customers by late 1930s
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answering_machine#History
- Thatcher’s breed (1975) and eighties creed (1980s)
- People who benefited off deregulation, privatisation of key national industries, a ‘flexible’ labour market, marginalising trade unions, and centralising power from local authorities to central government.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatcherism
- Moaning Minnies (1962)
- A high-pitch screeching type of sound a mortar makes when fired since WWI, but used in the context of a complaining person in 1962.
- https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/248700.html
- The burden fits the back (1950)
- Chinese source “上帝使背得起重担。” → “God fits the back for the burden.”
- https://www.youwenw.cn/quote/318041
- Could suggest that the phrase is reasonably universal that any audience would understand its meaning
- English source “The Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it.”
- Thomas S. Monson, religious leader, religious career started in 1950.
- https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/182742-the-lord-shapes-the-back-to-bear-the-burden-placed
- Chinese source “上帝使背得起重担。” → “God fits the back for the burden.”
- minimum wage (1349)
- The first law occurred in 1349, though the meaning in this line seems sarcastic so perhaps this is again a reference to Thatcher (maybe she cut benefits whilst increasing the min wage?)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage#History
- Meldew / “Mildew” (???)
- "A type of fungus that rots structures.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildew
Quick Assessment
The song is a very anti-Thatcher/Conservatives song, but the sentiment of the song could be applied to any authority who exploits labourers (Kings, Slave Owners, etc.). But the language is pretty entrenched in 80isms, so this places the song into the 1980s. However someone from the 1760s would understand 3/7 references.
Modifications
- “Thatchers Breed/Eighties Creed” could be easily switched into “<current tyrant’s> breed/<year> creed”.
- The “answering machines” line in the context of “you gotta watch what you say” could be switched to “spies and the thieves” and still carry the same meaning.
- “Moaning minnies” is a quote directly from Thatcher herself on the miner’s strike, so this could be changed into another line referencing an uncaring tyrant and still work since it does not need to rhyme.
- “burden fits the back” I think actually makes sense by itself, and most audiences would be able to work the meaning of either people creating their own problems, or people being molded by their troubles.
- “why the long face” doesn’t need to rhyme with anything, so this could be changed to “why the sorrow” and still work
Final Verdict
Many of the 80s lines can be changed, making the minimum wage line the main limiting factor. This song could easily be sung in a tavern from the late 1300s onwards
- Why the long face? (1762)