This song was influenced by Springsteen's working-class father, Doug. Bruce did not get along with his dad growing up, but came to appreciate the work he did to raise his family. Bruce never had a job besides making and playing music.
Springsteen earned a reputation for relating to the common man, and this song is a great example why. Explaining how he came to write songs dealing with his father, like this one and "Adam Raised A Cain," Springsteen told Rolling Stone: "When I went to work, I really went to work in my dad's clothes, and it became a way, I suppose, that I honored him and my parents' lives, and a part of my own young life. And then it just became who I was."
Lucinda Williams covered this for her 2016 Ghosts of Highway 20 album. The country rocker's version is dedicated to her father-in-law, who worked in a factory for more than 30 years. Williams' husband and manager, Tom Overby, produced Highway 20 and is a huge fan of Springsteen's song.
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