"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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

) 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 blue collar workers. The instrumentation features various forms of percussion from Sam Bacco, including crotales, wobble board, spoons and a broom. Richard Bennett and Wendell Cox play guitar solos before the third verse, and

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were solo ...

T. Graham Brown Anthony Graham Brown (born October 30, 1954), known professionally as T. Graham Brown, is an American country music singer. Active since 1973, Brown has recorded a total of thirteen studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ...

, George Jones, Little Texas, Dana McVicker, Tanya Tucker and Porter Wagoner all sing background vocals on the final chorus.

Personnel

* Sam Bacco –

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

, spoons, wobble board, broom * Richard Bennett – acoustic guitar, slide guitar * Mike Brignardello – bass guitar *

– additional backing vocals on final chorus *

– additional backing vocals on final chorus * Larry Byrom – acoustic guitar * Wendell Cox – electric guitar * Terry Crisp – pedal steel guitar, resonator guitar *

Stuart Duncan Stuart Duncan (born April 14, 1964) is an American bluegrass musician who plays the fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and banjo. Life Duncan was born in Quantico, Virginia, and raised in Santa Paula, California, where he played in the school band. He ...

– 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." Dave Larsen of the ''Dayton Daily News'' cited it as one of the stronger tracks on the album, saying that the album "works best when Tritt sticks with the populist approach." Alanna Nash of '' Entertainment Weekly'' said of the song, "Tritt finds a solid image for his laborer's lament ��ut the melody is so slight that he resorts to an acoustic arrangement that evokes Jimmie Rodgers and the young

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

." Deborah Evans Price, of ''

'' magazine gave the song a mixed review, saying that while the final chorus of song features famous country artists, it was too bad that the entire song isn't as strong as the last verse.

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.

Chart performance

"Lord Have Mercy on the Working Man" spent 20 weeks on the ''

'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now

) charts in 1992, peaking at number 5 for the chart dated November 7. The song also reached number 10 on the Canadian '' RPM'' Country Tracks charts.

References

{{authority control 1992 singles Travis Tritt songs Songs written by Kostas (songwriter) Warner Records singles 1992 songs