Millworker

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Millworker"
Song by James Taylor
from the album Flag
ReleasedMay 1979
Recorded1979
GenreFolk rock
Length3:52
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)James Taylor
Producer(s)Peter Asher

"Millworker", or "Millwork", is a song written by

Broadway musical Working. Taylor's own recording was released on his 1979 album Flag along with "Brother Trucker", which Taylor also wrote for Working. It has also been covered by other artists, including Bette Midler, Emmylou Harris, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Warnes and Francis Cabrel
.

According to Taylor, he was inspired to write the song quickly one night at his home in

textile mill after he died and left her alone with three children to feed.[1] As relief from her drudgery she daydreams of her father's smile and her grandfather's stories.[1] She recognizes that she is trapped and that her life is wasted because she made some poor choices.[2] As she sings, she is miserable and old before her time, with nothing to look forward to.[4][5] Taylor biographer Mark Robowsky describes the song as "a transfixing self-portrait through the tired eyes of a female laborer chained by life to 'her machine.'"[6]

The title of the song used in Working was "Millwork".

Stephen Schwartz regarded it as his favorite song in the show.[6][7] He also claimed that the song was entirely Taylor's idea and that he did not even think of the subject as a possible song.[7] Author John Bush Jones regards the singer of "Millwork" as being "perhaps more anguished" than any of the other characters in Working.[4] Robin Lamont sang the song on Broadway.[1]

live album Live and his compilation album The Essential James Taylor.[8][9] Taylor performed "Millworker" on Saturday Night Live on May 12, 1979 along with two other songs from Flag, "Up on the Roof" and "Johnnie Comes Back".[1][10]

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide regarded her "heartfelt" version to be the one good thing on the album.[15]
Harris had wanted to include the song on her previous album, Roses in the Snow, but her producer Brian Ahern convinced her that it was too much of a pop song for that bluegrass album.[16] Bruce Springsteen sang the song honoring Taylor on the 2006 album A Musicares Person of the Year Tribute.[17] Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder has covered the song in concert at the Delta Plex in Grand Rapids, MI, on Oct. 03, 2004.[18]

Francis Cabrel covered the song in French as "La fabrique" for his 1984 live album Public.

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780857120069
    .
  2. ^
    Billboard Magazine
    . p. 18. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  3. ISBN 9780393081350
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 9780874519044
    .
  5. ^ a b Holden, S. (June 28, 1979). "Flag". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved 2014-06-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^
    ASIN B01FE6R7J6
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 9780810891920
    .
  8. ^ Ruhlmann, W. "Live". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  9. ^ Collar, M. "The Essential James Taylor". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  10. ^ "Saturday Night Live Michael Palin/James Taylor". IMDb. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  11. ^ a b Viglione, J. "Thighs and Whispers". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  12. ISBN 9780815412328
    .
  13. ^ "Top Album Picks". Billboard. September 8, 1979. p. 60. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  14. ^ a b Mason, S. "Evangeline". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  15. ISBN 9780743201698
    .
  16. Billboard Magazine
    . p. 17. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  17. ^ "A Musicares Person of the Year Tribute". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
  18. ISBN 9781439169377
    .
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