Answer: This week, two of the songs we listened to in class were Johnny Cash’s “Sixteen Tons” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Ghost of Tom Joad.” These two songs relate heavily to the themes of poverty, inequality, and, to some degree, the resource equation. The lyrics in Johnny Cash’s song discuss how those in poverty, despite working hard, sometimes engaging in back breaking work, get caught in a cycle in which they can’t get out of debt. “You load sixteen tons, what do you get, Another day older and deeper in debt, Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the company store.” These lyrics from Cash illustrate how despite working hard, individuals keep slipping deeper into debt. This is in part due to an inequality in wages compared to the cost of living which is why Cash sings, “I owe my soul to the company store.” There appears little one can do to end the cycle because they need to continue to work in order to, essentially, stay alive; however, the wages are insufficient for them to repay …show more content…
In Bruce Springsteen’s song, he describes scenes reflecting extreme poverty; “Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge, Shelter line stretching 'round the corner, Welcome to the new world order, Families sleeping in the cars in the southwest, No home, no job, no peace, no rest.” A few lines later, Springsteen sings some of his most poignant lyrics, “Waiting for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last, In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass.” These lyrics illustrate the inequality that exists between the rich and