"Small Time Laboring Man" (sometimes called "Small Town Laboring Man") is a song by

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

. It was composed by Jones and Earl "Peanut" Montgomery and released as a single on the Musicor label in 1968.

Background

Although Jones had scored several Top 10 hits in 1967 and 1968 (including the #1 hit " Walk Through This World with Me"), "Small Time Laboring Man" charted at number 35. The maudlin ballad, which tells the story of a man who "toils and sweats" for "a dollar an hour, eight hours a day," contained gospel elements tinged with patriotism ("I'd fight for my country with my callous hands") and Jones typically committed, heartfelt vocal, but the single may have been too dour for even the conservative country audience, with

Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, ''Hellfire (Nick Tosches book), Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

commenting in his article "The Devil in George Jones" in 1994, "The late sixties...were a strange time for Jones. America was adrift in a fluorescent cloud of patchouli-scented ahimsa, and Jones, in his crew cut and his

Nudie Cohn Nuta Kotlyarenko (; December 15, 1902 – May 9, 1984), known professionally as Nudie Cohn, was a Ukrainian-American tailor who designed decorative rhinestone-covered suits, known popularly as "Nudie Suits", and other elaborate outfits for some ...

suits, seemed hopelessly out of sync." In an attempt to align himself with the times, Jones would make a rare digression from straight country and record the Montgomery protest song "Unwanted Babies," a folk song that George detested and released under the pseudonym Glen Patterson. "Small Time Laboring Man" did not go completely unnoticed, however; in a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' interview in 1969,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

was asked what he thought was the best song released in the previous year and he replied, "George Jones had one called 'Small Town Laboring Man'."

Discography

References

{{George Jones singles George Jones songs 1968 songs Songs written by Earl Montgomery Songs written by George Jones Song recordings produced by Pappy Daily Musicor Records singles