Working On it

Working On It

Working on it

Somebody above is in a desperate state
Some kind of urgency, the kind that won't wait
I say tomorrow, he say today
And the man in my head well he tell me no way, Keep working

I got eight little fingers and only two thumbs
Will you leave me in peace while I get the work done
Can't you see I'm working
Oh, oh I'm working on it, Oh, oh I'm working on it

This feels like a classic 'working-man-blues' song and it sneaked on to the New Light Through Old Windows record, essentially a compilation of Rea's songs from the 80s

For me this demarkated his career. From here on in, he really seemed determined to be true to his blues influences. The slide guitar gets used a lot more, and so the lyrics seem very poignant. Like Let's Dance the riff cuts through, but this time like an axe. It's tough, gritty, determined.

After a bit of experimentation, you'll see from the transcription there's a quick bend on the A note (6th string) up to the B on the 5th string. This will take a little time to get but it's worth it for that country blues effect.

You can also play the A chord rather than just the open A (bass) note for a rounder effect, although if you set up you distortion pedal, with a noise gate it is enough to just play the power chord notes and avoid muddy-ing the sound. It should be crisp!

Getting inside the tune

Link to Higher Resolution Youtube video