Chris Janson’s ‘Put Me Back to Work’ Is a Proud Working Class Response to Pandemic [Watch]
Chris Janson has written a perfect working man's response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and resulting quarantine. Janson captures a slice of real-life working-class angst in his new song, "Put Me Back to Work."
Janson posted the new song to social media on Thursday (April 16), writing with it, "Woke up with this on my heart & wrote this song. Thanks for listening."
The "Good Vibes" singer performs "Put Me Back to Work" in a stripped-down arrangement from home in the video, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and wearing a camo ball cap and black shirt. The lyrics ruminate on the state of the U.S. economy during this period of social distancing and the impact it is having on everyday Americans who are simply trying to get by.
"Trucks still gotta drive / People still gotta thrive / Open up the doors and fill the seats / 'Cause people still gotta eat," Janson sings, setting up a chorus that working people all across the country and the world can probably relate to right now.
"Put me back to work / It's been too damn long, enough / Six pounds down from lack of food / Why don't ya try walking in those shoes / Put my boots back in the dirt / Put my hands back on the wheel / Take away the hurt / Put me back to work," Janson sings.
Hear the impassioned song below:
According to the Wall Street Journal, unemployment claims have spiked dramatically since the coronavirus outbreak began in earnest in America in March, going from full employment numbers to 22 million new filings in the last several weeks as public health officials urge Americans to stay home and practice strict social distancing.
President Donald Trump is expected to issue new guidelines to state governors on Thursday (April 16) on how to re-open parts of the economy, the Washington Post reports. That news comes as the number of cases in the U.S. is still on the rise, with the World Health Organization reporting 667,572 total confirmed cases in the U.S. as of April 15, resulting in 33,903 deaths.
Trump has indicated his preference for trying to re-open portions of the economy as soon as May 1, while public health experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases under the Trump administration, have cautioned that relaxing social distancing precautions before implementing more widespread testing and tracing for the virus could spark another outbreak and more long-term economic damage.
"We're not there yet," Fauci told the Associated Press on Tuesday (April 14), adding that May 1 is "a bit overly optimistic" as a goal.
The pandemic has hit country music hard. Nineties star Joe Diffie died on March 29 at the age of 61 after battling the coronavirus, and John Prine died on April 7 at 73 after more than a week in the hospital. Tours and festivals have been postponed or canceled outright due to the outbreak.
11 Country Artists Who Tested Positive for Coronavirus: