The first verse is as follows:
And the sign says "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I put my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine outstanding young man, I think you'll do
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that, huh, me working for you"
My arugment is that the meaning behind the first verse of lyrics has to deal social stereotypes. American society has set a sort of standard or norm for americans to look or act. People who break off from that norm are looked as different or wierd. America being the country of freedom and self expression shouldn't be based on standard or norm. In the first line, "and the sign says "Long-haired freaky people need not apply," its tells that long-haired males are considered as "freaky people" or not normal in society. The rest of the line, "need not apply," referes to applying for a job. Basicly saying that people considered freaky or not normal in society are not capable of being an employee of a company.
In the second and third lines, "So I put my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why" and "He said you look like a fine outstanding young man, I think you'll do," the narrator shows how the character conforms to society to get a reaction from the employer. Just as he assumes, because he conforms to the norm and receives the job.
Finally in the last line, "So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that, huh, me working for you," the character shows to the employer stereotypes can't be a valid reason for hiring a person or excepting a person as a good employee. The employer was fine with the character until he showed his long hair, viewed as freaky or weird. This just proves that people shouldn't have stereotypes, how someone looks on the outside doesn't determine what they are like on the inside.
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5 comments:
Do you think the narrator keeps the job? Would his "deception" have angered the employer causing him to fire the narrator? Or do you think the narrator did it as a lark and didn't want the job, and did it just to annoy the guy and/or shake up the guy's opinions of people?
How do you think a working relationship between the two of them would play out if both of them did what they said and stuck with the employer/employee relationship? Would that ever happen? Would it be a more effective conduit for social change on the narrator's part? [these are obviously hypothetical because the lyrics don't answer any of these questions, but I'd love to see you explore them over the weekend]
nice
sneaky little guy. what was his purpose in the song for dressing up to societies standards? is he trying to prove a point?
Do u think this song is saying there is something wrong with stereotyping in society? Is this song all about stereotyping? Do u think this is an experience of the writer of the song and hes trying to send the message that you can't always judge people by their appearance?
Do you believe there is truth in what he says? Do you think this happens with males who have long hair, or is this more of an isolated event?
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