Wash the dishes, play with the kids, move a couple of hay bales with the John Deere—sounds like a pretty typical day for many women, right? Okay, maybe the last task isn’t quite as universal, but in her new video for “Working Woman,” off of the recently released Joy Comes Back (Blue Corn), Ruthie Foster tackles all of that and throws a “9 to 5”-themed anthem on top of it. All in a day’s work.
Filmed equally between a kitchen, farm, and stage, the frequent cuts between disparate scenes show the Austin songstress toiling away in each. And even if your career doesn’t happen to the involve working the land or playing guitar, it’s easy for all working women to relate to that rapid-fire pace. Maybe it’s the carpool lane instead of a hay baler, or doing desk work—though that’s probably not as visually appealing as feeding horses—but the constant ball-juggling of womanhood is something that stretches across careers.
Since her debut album in 1997, Foster’s voice has been her calling card. Her full-throated alto lends itself just as easily to country as it does to the jazz and rock, and she weaves between all three on Joy Comes Back. For “Working Woman,” though, Foster turns her pipes to the blues-rock fusion in which she sounds most comfortable, paying homage to the women that run the world. Like Dolly Parton and Beyoncé, Foster calls on us to celebrate them. Ruthie, you should raise a glass too.
