by Gary U.S. Bonds
It's the week of September 11, 1982, and after peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in August, 'Out of Work', the single from Gary 'U.S.' Bonds, is at number 61 and on its way down the charts.
The song, which was a track on Bonds's 1982 album On the Line, was written by Bruce Springsteen.
For me, living in upstate New York at that time and in my final year of college, the song had a real resonance (the Comments at the YouTube page for 'Out of Work' are illuminating).
The great Recession of 1981 - 1982 was going on, and the national unemployment rate stood at nearly 11 %. While some areas of the country were prospering from 'Reaganomics', upstate New York and the wider Rust Belt were in pretty bad shape. Factories were closing and the blue collar jobs, that had allowed anyone with a high school diploma and a decent work ethic to earn a good living, fast were evaporating.
It was plain that finding a good job in my hometown was increasingly difficult. Many of the people in my age cohort were leaving New York state for the Sun Belt and better prospects. And indeed, I was to do just that in 1984.............and I haven't lived north of the Mason Dixon line since..........
