Analysis Of The Song "The Farmer Is The Man" By Pete Seeger

The song “The Farmer is the Man” criticizes the economic system of merchants and bankers. These high-end people are driving farmers into endless debt. However, at the same time the song is an anthem for farmers. It is repeatedly stating how the farmer is the one who feeds everybody.

In the song, the farmer, in a sense, has the most authority or power. The farmer works hard all spring and summer to produce crops and livestock, all while not getting paid. At the end of it all, the merchant gets all the money for the crops and livestock the farmer comes up with. Although the merchant and the banker get just about all of the profit that the farmer makes, the farmer is still the “man.” People would be lost without farmers because farmers are the ones who “feed us all” The whole song goes on to talk about and describe how everyone, including the preacher, is getting paid for just “hanging around” and “taking strolls” while the farmer who is actively working is the one who ends up broke. Everyone else but the farmer seems to have an easy life when really the farmer deserves it the most.

The song really sets up the farmer’s character and makes it almost impossible not to feel bad for them. Throughout the whole song not once does it say anything good that happens for the farmer. It is all negative stuff while everyone else is getting a good life. Also, when reading or singing the song, it does not say anything about the farmer complaining. Instead, it makes the farmer out to be almost angelic, where he freely does all this work even though he is not getting much of a reward. The farmer is sort of a self-made man who does not take any credit for his accomplishments. If anything, he is losing more than he is gaining. This makes the reader feel even more sympathetic and liking to the farmer because he is continuing to work hard anyway. This situation can be related to many farms nowadays. Low profits are slowly forcing small to medium size farms out of the farming business. There are a lot of farmers that work their life away just to end up bankrupt because the stores that are selling their products are the ones getting all of the money. Everybody seems to overlook the farmers and they do not really pay attention to the fact the farmers are the one who put food on the table.

The song also says something about if there was no food one day then maybe they would realize that the farmer is actually the one who feeds them. This is kind of interesting because if everyone else keeps getting paid but the farmers, eventually there will be no farmers. Then what? How are people going to get their food? It would kind of be interesting to see how everybody would react if the situation were to come to that. Throughout the poem the author used the repetition of the phrases “the farmer is the man” and “the farmer is the man who feeds them all” to really argue that farmers are important people and that they play a very crucial role in society. Without farmers there would be no food on the table. In addition to that, in the very ending of the song, it says, “With interest rates so high, it’s a wonder he don’t die”. This makes the reader feel even more sympathetic towards the farmer. Not only does he work his life away and not get much reward for it but some even think that death might actually be a better situation to be in. What is the point of living if you are going to struggle the whole time and not get anything in return?

Also at the end of the song, it says that the mortgage man gets it all. So really, the farmer worked his life away to supply food for everyone and in return, he loses everything. Kind of cruel, to say the least.