Makes you Think (Hopefully)

There is a song by the Corries called The Bricklayer song. It dates from 1969, when it was written by Pat Cooksey under the title "Sick Note." According to PatCooksey.com, the song was popularized in Europe by various singers under the two titles. However, in America, it was performed under the titles "Dear Boss" and "Why Paddy's not at Work Today." I first came across it in a note some years ago.

As an aside, for the Millenials and Next-geners out there, social media has been around for eons. It was not invented recently, merely digitized. In the "good old days," things of interest were passed from person to person on a media we called "paper." These "papers" were often pinned to a framed piece of cork on a wall, which we called a "bulletin board." Often when we found something of interest on such a board, we would take the paper and put it into a "copier." We would then keep the copy and put the original back up. 

Make no mistake, the content of some of those pages was offensive, insulting, and inappropriate. In that manner, not that different from today's social media. It was read, discussed, copied, and redistributed. Significant time in the workplace was devoted to sharing and talking about such documents, little different from today. But, it was sometimes much harder to trace that material to a source; today postings leave digital "fingerprints," but back then you would have had to find actual fingerprints and found the time to trace them. 

The point with that recognition (or for some a revelation perhaps) is that the world is not necessarily any different in character today. Certainly, information may move more rapidly, and may spread more readily, but that distinction is about speed and convenience. Information has been around for a long time. It has always spread (in the real "old days" it was merely repeated over garden fences and across pub tables in what was called "gossip"). The first time I ran across The Bricklayer Song, it was in lyrics on a bulletin board in an industrial break room. I surmise it was placed there not to make fun of injury, but to remind people of workplace danger. 

Humor is difficult. What one finds humorous, another may find insulting. A word may be uttered appropriately by one person, but its use by another is found offensive. Subjects may be acceptable in one context and taboo in another. Society in the 21st century is seemingly increasingly polarized. Individuals and groups are struck by words and thoughts, sometimes these disappoint and perhaps more often they offend. 

Is it possible to be lighthearted about a subject without offending someone? There is some perception it is not. Several years ago at a football party, a commercial for an insurance company ran. It featured cavemen and their portrayal was not flattering. A fellow guest turned to a group and proclaimed "it's this political correctness, they can only make fun of a group that no longer exists." That comment led to an interesting discussion that centered on why any group is so isolated, attacked, and belittled. Why does humor so often focus on the perceived weakness of some person or group?

But, in a simpler time (or perhaps a time when people were simpler), The Bricklayer Song was contrived (the full lyrics are restated below, courtesy of Metrolyrics). It may be troubling to some, who could perceive it as making light of work injuries. It may be making light of injury, safety, or even intelligence. But it may also merely be making light of human nature. See, whether we want to admit it or not, we all make errors and mistakes. 

We forget things periodically. Sometimes it is something simple like a seatbelt, or a safety line. Other times it may be more involved like a "lock out - tag out" process. We know we are responsible for keeping ourselves safe, but we are imperfect in both thought and action. That is a consequence of our very nature as humans. These thoughts came to me when The Bricklayer Song was reminded to me by a recent email. The sender suggested it would be suitable for a blog, and thus here you are. 

I commend the lyrics to you. I understand that they make light of someone being injured, but encourage instead focus upon them making light of human imperfection. We all face challenges, we contrive solutions, we deal with supervisors, and we make misjudgments and mistakes. Those are often no big deal, we realize we forgot to buckle up when we arrive and reach out of habit to unbuckle. Other times, our mistakes may lead to injury, ours or someone else's. 

Perhaps The Bricklayer's song's value can be seen there, reminding us of our fallibility. Perhaps it can remind us that we are not perfect while it cajoles us into avoiding errors and injury. Read the lyrics, and listen to the band. Accept it as a commentary on, a protest of, work injury. If it offends, you have my apologies. If it reminds you of how simple it is to make mistakes, then you are welcome. The lyrics:

Dear Sir I Write This Note To You To Tell You Of My Plight
For At The Time Of Writing It I'm Not A Pretty Sight
My Body Is All Black And Blue, My Face A Deathly Grey
And I Write This Note To Say Why I Am Not At Work Today

Whilst Working On The 14th Floor Some Bricks I Had To Clear
But Tossing Them From Such A Height Was Not A Good Idea
The Foreman Wasn't Very Pleased He Is An Awkward Sod
And He Said I Had To Cart Them Down The Ladders In Me Hod

Clearing All These Bricks By Hand It Was So Very Slow
So I Hoisted Up A Barrel And Secured A Rope Below
But In Me Haste To Do The Job, I Was Too Blind To See
That A Barrel Full Of Building Bricks Was Heavier Than Me

And So When I Untied The Rope The Barrel Fell Like Lead
And Clinging Tightly To The Rope I Started Up Instead
I Shot Up Like A Rocket, And To My Dismay I Found
That Halfway Up I Met The Bloody Barrel Coming Down

Well The Barrel Broke Me Shoulder As To The Ground It Sped
And When I Reached The Top I Banged The Pulley With Me Head
But I Clung On Tightly None With Shock From This Almighty Blow
While The Barrel Spilled Out Half Its Bricks Some 14 Floors Below

When These Bricks Had Fallen From The Barrel To The Floor
I Then Outweighed The Barrel And So Started Down Once More
But I Clung On Tightly To The Rope My Body Racked With Pain
And Halfway Down I Met The Bloody Barrel Once Again

Now The Force Of This Collision Halfway Down The Office Block
Caused Multiple Abrasions And A Nasty Case Of Shock
But I Clung On Tightly To The Rope As I Fell Towards The Ground
And I Landed On The Broken Bricks The Barrel Had Scattered Round

Now As I Lay There On The Ground I Thought I'd Passed The Worst
But The Barrel Hit The Pulley Wheel And Then The Bottom Burst
A Shower Of Bricks Rained Down On Me I Didn't Have A Hope
As I Lay There Bleeding On The Ground I Let Go The Bloody Rope

The Barrel Now Being Heavier So Started Down Once More
It Landed Right Across Me As I Lay There On The Floor
It Broke Three Ribs And My Left Arm And I Can Only Say
I Hope You'll Understand Why I Am Not At Work Today