Bread and Raises: Songs for Working Women, 1981
by Bobbie McGee is a politically and socially conscious folk album dedicated to the experiences of working women in the United States. The songs address issues such as unequal pay, invisible labor, workplace discrimination, and the struggle for union rights.
The album includes tracks like “Fifty‑Nine Cents”, which highlights the gender pay gap, “I’m Gonna Be an Engineer”, a feminist anthem challenging traditional gender roles in technical professions, and “Bread and Roses”, emphasizing the need for both fair wages and dignity in work.
The album was performed in folk venues, at union rallies, feminist gatherings, and educational settings, serving both as music and a tool for activism, empowering women to assert their rights and challenge societal expectations.
It remains an important historical example of feminist folk music as a form of political expression.
by Bobbie McGee is a politically and socially conscious folk album dedicated to the experiences of working women in the United States. The songs address issues such as unequal pay, invisible labor, workplace discrimination, and the struggle for union rights.
The album includes tracks like “Fifty‑Nine Cents”, which highlights the gender pay gap, “I’m Gonna Be an Engineer”, a feminist anthem challenging traditional gender roles in technical professions, and “Bread and Roses”, emphasizing the need for both fair wages and dignity in work.
The album was performed in folk venues, at union rallies, feminist gatherings, and educational settings, serving both as music and a tool for activism, empowering women to assert their rights and challenge societal expectations.
It remains an important historical example of feminist folk music as a form of political expression.
Fifty‐Nine Cents
High school daydreams come easy and free
But you′re a workin' woman, what you gonna be?
A senator, a surgeon, aim for the heights
But the guidance office says lower your sights to
Fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
They give you a diploma but they treat you the same
So it's off to college to sharpen your mind
To polish your manners, come out refined
Honors in English, but your boss′s gripe
"Shakespeare is nice, but I wish you could type"
Fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
They give you a degree but they treat you the same
Junior executive on her way up
Special assistant to the man at the top
She′s one in a million, but all she's found
Was her own secretary now to order around
Fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
They give you a title but they treat you the same
But the word is being processed in the typing pool
A working woman ain′t nobody's fool
She's telling the boss on Secretary′s Day
"You can keep your flowers, honey, give me a raise"
More than fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
"You can keep your flowers, honey, give me a raise"
High school daydreams come easy and free
But you′re a workin' woman, what you gonna be?
A senator, a surgeon, aim for the heights
But the guidance office says lower your sights to
Fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
They give you a diploma but they treat you the same
So it's off to college to sharpen your mind
To polish your manners, come out refined
Honors in English, but your boss′s gripe
"Shakespeare is nice, but I wish you could type"
Fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
They give you a degree but they treat you the same
Junior executive on her way up
Special assistant to the man at the top
She′s one in a million, but all she's found
Was her own secretary now to order around
Fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
They give you a title but they treat you the same
But the word is being processed in the typing pool
A working woman ain′t nobody's fool
She's telling the boss on Secretary′s Day
"You can keep your flowers, honey, give me a raise"
More than fifty-nine cents for every man′s dollar
Fifty-nine cents, that's the name of the game
Fifty-nine cents makes a grown woman holler
"You can keep your flowers, honey, give me a raise"
