Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man
| "Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Warner Bros. Nashville | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Kostas | |||
| Producer(s) | Gregg Brown | |||
| Travis Tritt singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" is a song written by Kostas and recorded by American country music singer Travis Tritt. It was released in August 1992 as the first of five singles from his third studio album, T-R-O-U-B-L-E. The song became Tritt's tenth entry on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts, where it peaked at number 5.
Content
"Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" is a moderate up-tempo whose lyrics centralize on a theme of economic injustice towards
The instrumentation features various forms of percussion from Sam Bacco, including
Personnel
- Sam Bacco – spoons, wobble board, broom
- Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar, slide guitar
- Mike Brignardello– bass guitar
- Brooks & Dunn – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- T. Graham Brown – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- Larry Byrom – acoustic guitar
- Wendell Cox – electric guitar
- Terry Crisp – pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar
- Stuart Duncan – fiddle
- George Jones – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- Little Texas – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- Dana McVicker – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- Matt Rollings – piano
- Jimmy Joe Ruggiere – harmonica
- Steve Turner – drums
- Billy Joe Walker Jr. – acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Travis Tritt – vocals
- Tanya Tucker – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- Porter Wagoner – additional backing vocals on final chorus
- Dennis Wilson – backing vocals
- Curtis Young – backing vocals
Critical reception
Teresa M. Walker, in her review for the Gainesville Sun, said that with the assistance from superstars on the final chorus, the song "should shoot up the charts."
Music video
Jack Cole directed the song's music video. In the book Country Music Culture: From Hard Times to Heaven, Curtis W. Ellison wrote that the song's music video "confronted a litany of personal oppressions attributed to government policy" that coincided with Bill Clinton's presidential campaign.[8]
Chart performance
"Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts in 1992, peaking at number 5 for the chart dated November 7.[3] The song also reached number 10 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks charts.
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[9] | 10 |
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] | 5 |
References
- ^ a b c T-R-O-U-B-L-E (cassette insert). Travis Tritt. Warner Bros. Records. 1992. 45048.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Hurst, Jack (13 August 1992). "Satellite show Travis Tritt to launch new album from Park West". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-8230-8291-1.
- ^ Walker, Teresa M. (4 September 1992). "Travis Tritt's rockin' country". Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ Larsen, Dave (18 September 1992). "Recordings on review". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- ^ Nash, Alanna (4 September 1992). "T-R-O-U-B-L-E in mind". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
- Billboard, August 15, 1992
- ISBN 0-87805-722-6. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
lord have mercy on the working man.
- ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 1864." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. November 28, 1992. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
- ^ "Travis Tritt Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.