Just Doin’ Ma Job

“Just Doin’ Ma Job” is a story about people who hide behind the words “I’m just doing my job.”

It looks at a world of rules, procedures and official decisions, where people can sometimes become numbers on a form rather than real people with real lives.

And then there’s the little cross.

Someone wears a cross around their neck — nothing more than a personal symbol of faith — and suddenly there’s a complaint. It has to be questioned, explained or perhaps even removed.

To the person at the centre of the story, it feels strange. Other religions have their symbols, clothing and expressions of faith, yet the Christian cross seems to be the one that attracts criticism.

“Why is my cross the problem?”

That question sits underneath the song.

It isn’t about attacking another religion or saying that anyone else’s faith should be treated differently. It’s about the feeling that Christianity is sometimes expected to keep its symbols out of sight while other expressions of faith are accepted as part of personal identity.

The recurring phrase “Just Doin’ Ma Job” becomes almost an excuse — a way of passing responsibility from one person to another.

The song is deliberately conversational and story-driven, with space around the vocal and echo hanging on the words. It isn’t a dramatic protest song. It’s someone telling you what happened and leaving you to decide what you think.

Because sometimes the biggest questions come from the smallest things:

A decision about a child.
A signature on a form.
A rule nobody questions.
And a little cross around someone’s neck.

Just doing their job.

Or perhaps they should have asked a few more questions.