The W.P.A. stands for the Works Progress Administration which was part of President Franklin D Roosevelt’s “New Deal”. It employed unskilled men into public works projects helping to construct buildings across the United States whilst simultaneously trying to get people back to work during the Great Depression.

This song is a rather tongue in cheek critical view of the W.P.A. as at the time some viewed it as a way to get welfare without having to put in much work (aka ‘Busy Work’) or look for a more “productive” job. People began to make sarcastic jokes about the WPA’s initials such as “We Putter Along” and “Whistle, Piss, Argue” because supposedly some projects would be deliberately slowed down by the foreman to extend the project.