Songs About Work

We love songs about work. After all, who hasn't wanted to sing, "Take this job and shove it!" right along with Johnny Paycheck? Well, the aptly named Paycheck classic is here, along with nine others.

1. Bob Dylan- "Maggie's Farm". This great Bob Dylan may talk about work, but it is actually a way for the singer/songwriter to speak of the way the South acted back during the Civil Rights movement. It's more about not putting up with racism.
2. The Clash- "Career Opportunities". "Career opportunities/The ones that never knock," was how The Clash's Joe Strummer described the youth job climate of England back in the late '70s. Obviously, opportunities weren't coming knocking very often. The song would fit just as well in today's post-recession America.
3. Dire Straits- "Money For Nothing". This song looks at MTV videos from a blue collar working class perspective. To guys moving heavy appliances, it sure seems as though rockers get money for nothing, and chicks for free.
4. Elvis Costello- "Welcome To My Working Week". This is Elvis Costello's sarcastic look at working life. It's not exactly a welcoming thing, when it's the same hard life day after day.
5. Huey Lewis & The News- "Workin' For A Livin'". This is an upbeat sounding song. However, taking what the boss man is giving, as the song says, isn't exactly the good life. It'd be better to lay on the beach, instead.
6. John Lennon- "Working Class Hero". John Lennon sarcastically sang, "A working class hero is something to be," when he knew full well that the rewards were few. The working class gets little respect, even though it makes the world go around.
7. The Members- "Working Girl". This is a half-fun song about an out of work guy that falls in love with a girl that works and also pays his bills. Relationships like those are temporary. But they're fun (for the guys, at least) while they last.
8. The Smiths- "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now". "I was working for a job and then I found a job/But heaven knows I'm miserable now," Morrissey sings. Yes, it's good to find a job. But finding work does not always equal happiness.
9. Tennessee Ernie Ford- "Sixteen Tons". What does work get you? According to this lyric, another day older and deeper in debt. That's not something to look forward to at all.
10. Johnny Paycheck "Take This Job And Shove It". When the boss is giving you a hard time, it's so tempting to tell him or her where he can put his job. But because you need your job and the money it pays, you hold your tongue.