Given the general political tone of this album, I believe this song (one of my favorites from "To All We Stretch An Open Arm") is an appeal to emotionally connect past class and income boundaries.
The landlord has an inherently superior social status to his/her tenants (the landlord can kick out tenants, but not vice versa), but serves as an ideal model for cooperation and understanding because a landlord also is responsible for keeping things working and comfortable for the tenants--a landlord isn't a baron with an inherited fiefdom, but a working person.
The song does have some references to American slavery--"don't put a price on my soul"..."when that steam-boat whistle blows / I'm gonna give you all I've got to give"--but it has a modern voice and feel ("don't dismiss my case," "I'm not about to move to no other place") that let us know the song's subject is more contemporary.
This song is about mutual respect between social barriers, creating lateral negotiative relationships (tit for tat) rather than heirarchal social ones. Especially the last verse emphasizes the narrator's desire for a mutually beneficial arrangement.
So, in summary, it's about breaking down class distinctions (or at least the popular image of class distinctions).
Given the general political tone of this album, I believe this song (one of my favorites from "To All We Stretch An Open Arm") is an appeal to emotionally connect past class and income boundaries.
The landlord has an inherently superior social status to his/her tenants (the landlord can kick out tenants, but not vice versa), but serves as an ideal model for cooperation and understanding because a landlord also is responsible for keeping things working and comfortable for the tenants--a landlord isn't a baron with an inherited fiefdom, but a working person.
The song does have some references to American slavery--"don't put a price on my soul"..."when that steam-boat whistle blows / I'm gonna give you all I've got to give"--but it has a modern voice and feel ("don't dismiss my case," "I'm not about to move to no other place") that let us know the song's subject is more contemporary.
This song is about mutual respect between social barriers, creating lateral negotiative relationships (tit for tat) rather than heirarchal social ones. Especially the last verse emphasizes the narrator's desire for a mutually beneficial arrangement.
So, in summary, it's about breaking down class distinctions (or at least the popular image of class distinctions).