Salt of the earth - Rolling Stones

[punisa]

What's your say? Would you consider this song pro or con working class?
Some say yes, others say no.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ye4RT2TUcE

Lyrics:
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let's drink to the salt of the earth

Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth

And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
In fact, they look so strange

Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leading but get gamblers instead

Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
Empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio

And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and
Black and white
They don't look real to me
Or don't they look so strange

Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth

Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the two thousand million
Let's think of the humble of birth

[Black Sheep]

Dont say prayers and thoughts, spare a helping hand to their salvation.

[Bonobo1917]

I have wondered about the same question for around 20 years, and I still hesitate to sing the song for that reason.. I think the answer is: neither. The song expresses cynicism, combined with pity for working folks, as being dupes of the system, the bosses, the politicians etcetera. Clearly, there is not much hope or faith in the ablitity of workers to change things, or event wanting to change things. Yet, there is also the noticeable contempt for a system which deforms workers so much.