Negative Songs About Work/Getting Shafted By The Man

[Blagsta]

Gang of Four - Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry

Wasn't that Heaven 17?

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Yes, it was, thinking about it. I remember the Eighties in the way most hippies remember the Sixties.

Albeit with rather less affection.

 

[cuban pete]

Bobby Conn Your never gonna get a head (givein' head to the man).

Cant find the lyrics but this is well worth a watch

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rm9dzLxLvxc

 

[clandestino]

The Redskins - Keep On Keepin' On
Dead Kennedys - Take This Job And Shove It (don't know if this is the same song as in the OP)
Merle Travis - Sixteen Tons

 

[damnhippie]

sixteen tons. oh wait someone already said that. erm, the Johnny Cash version, how about that?

that old R&B song 'I'm working again'.

 

[g force]

The Rakes "22 Grand Job"..amusing vid too

 

[rekil]

Superchunk - Slack Motherfucker.
The Leaving Trains - Payday.
Half Man Half Biscuit - ITMA.
They Might Be Giants - Minimum Wage.
Advance Patrol - Jag Vill Ha 6. (in forrin one)

 

[Idaho]

A couple of classics. Yakety-yak by The Coasters:

(Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller)

Take out the papers and the trash
Or you don't get no spendin' cash
If you don't scrub that kitchen floor
You ain't gonna rock and roll no more
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Just finish cleanin' up your room
Let's see that dust fly with that broom
Get all that garbage out of sight
Or you don't go out Friday night
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

You just put on your coat and hat
And walk yourself to the laundromat
And when you finish doin' that
Bring in the dog and put out the cat
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Don't you give me no dirty looks
Your father's hip; he knows what cooks
Just tell your hoodlum friend outside
You ain't got time to take a ride
Yakety yak (don't talk back)

Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak
Yakety yak, yakety yak

[Fade]
Yakety yak, yakety yak

Lee Dorsey - Working in a Coalmine:

Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Five o'clock in the mornin'
I'm all ready up and gone
Lord I am so tired
How long can this go on?

I'm workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Cos I'm on call in the mornin'
Oh I go by the coal
But when Saturday goes around
I'm too tired for havin' fun (Too tired for having fun)

I been workin'in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Lord I am so tired
How long can this go on?

I'm workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Five o'clock in the mornin'
I'm all ready up and gone
Lord I am so tired
How long can this go on?

I'm workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Cos I'm on call in the mornin'
Oh I go by the coal
But when Saturday goes around
I'm too tired for havin' fun (Too tired for having fun)

I been workin'in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down
Workin' in a coal mine
Goin' down down down
Workin' in a coal mine
Whop! about to slip down

Cat Stevens - Matthew and Sons:

; Up at eight, you cant be late

For matthew & son, he wont wait.

Watch them run down to platform one
And the eight-thirty train to matthew & son.

Matthew & son, the works never done, theres always something new.
The files in your head, you take them to bed, youre never ever through.
And theyve been working all day, all day, all day!

Theres a five minute break and thats all you take,
For a cup of cold coffee and a piece of cake.

Matthew & son, the works never done, theres always something new.
The files in your head, you take them to bed, youre never ever through.
And theyve been working all day, all day, all day!

Hes got people whove been working for fifty years
No one asks for more money cuz nobody cares
Even though theyre pretty low and their rents in arrears

Matthew & son, matthew & son, matthew & son, matthew & son,
And theyve been working all day, all day, all day!

 

[Orang Utan]

A couple of classics. Yakety-yak by The Coasters:

That doesn't seem to be about work

 

[Louloubelle]

Spaceship - Kanye West
http://www.lyrics007.com/Kanye West Lyrics/Spaceship Lyrics.html

Chain Gang - Sam Cooke
http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/sam_cooke/chain_gang.html

Sixteen Tons - Merle Travis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixteen_Tons

Frankly Mister Shankly - The Smiths
http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=35103

If I Had - Eminem
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/ifihad.html

Never Too Much - Luther Vandross -
just for the lyrics

Woke up today, looked at your picture just to get me started
I called you up, but you weren't there and I was broken hearted
Hung up the phone, can't be too late, the boss is so demandin'
Opened the door up and to my surprise there you were standin'

Well, who needs to go to work to hustle for another dollar
I'd rather be with you 'cause you make my heart scream and holler
Love is a gamble and I'm so glad that I'm winnin'
We've come a long way and yet this is only the beginnin'

http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=118324

 

[Magic Sam]

Big Boss Man- Jimmy Reed (and Elvis)

Big boss man, can‘t you hear me when I call
Big boss man, can‘t you hear me when I call
Well, you ain‘t so big, you‘re just tall, that‘s all
Got me working, boss man, working 'round the clock
I want me a drink of water, but you won't let Jimmy stop
Big boss man, can't you hear me when I call?
Well, you ain't so big, you just tall, that's all
Well, I‘m gonna get me a bossman, one gonna treat me right
Work hard in the day time, rest easy at night
Big boss man, can‘t you hear me when I call?
Well, you ain‘t so big, you‘re just tall, that‘s all

And just about everything recorded by Woodie Guthrie (well nearly)

 

[Idaho]

That doesn't seem to be about work

It's about teenagers not being able to have fun until their chores are done. Was considered quite contraversial at the time. It's not a 100% fit, but I thought it was in the general spirit of the thread.

 

[Louloubelle]

Ziggy Marley - Hand to Mouth
http://www.actionext.com/names_z/ziggy_marley_lyrics/hand_to_mouth.html

 

[boing!]

monster magnet - powertrip

 

[october_lost]

Redskins - Go Get Organised
Redskins - Hold On
Randy - Working Class Radio
Randy - Keeping Us Out Of The Money
Randy - I Believe In The Company
The Enemy - Away From Here
Leon Rosselson - Money Matters
Dick Gaughan - Workers Song
Dead Prez - Hell Yeah
Boysetsfire - Management V.s Labor
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Hot Rod Hotel
The Clash - Magnificent Seven

 

[ringo]

Rat Race - Specials

 

[christonabike]

The Pogues - Bastard Landlord

Dead Kennedys - Lets Lynch the Landlord

 

[treelover]

Ordinary Man by Christy Moore, sharp, incisive, moving

I'm an ordinary man, nothing special nothing grand
I've had to work for everything I own
I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I'd got
Enough to keep my family and my home
Now they say that times are hard and they've handed me my cards
They say there's not the work to go around
And when the whistle blows, the gates will finally close
Tonight they're going to shut this factory down
Then they'll tear it d-o-w-n

I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay
For twenty years I served the best I could
Now with a handshake and a check it seems so easy to forget
Loyalty through the bad times and through good
The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad
But the captains of industry won't let him lose
He still drives a car and smokes his cigar
And still he takes his family on a cruise, he'll never lose

Well it seems to me such a cruel irony
He's richer now than ever he was before
Now my check is spent and I can't afford the rent
There's one law for the rich, one for the poor
Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride
To find some work so I can pay my way
Oh but everywhere I go, the answer's always no
There's no work for anyone here today, no work today

more

http://celtic-lyrics.com/forum/index.php?autocom=tclc&code=lyrics&id=534

 

[treelover]

The last very sad verse

And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man
Like thousands beside me in the queue
I watch my darling wife trying to make the best of life
And Lord knows what the kids are going to do
Now that we are faced with this human waste
A generation cast aside
And as long as I live, I never will forgive
You've stripped me of my dignity and pride, you've stripped me bare
You've stripped me bare, you've stripped me bare.

 

[treelover]

btw, aren't some of the newer bands writing about shit jobs in call centres now?, etc

 

[_pH_]

Dead Kennedys - Take This Job And Shove It (don't know if this is the same song as in the OP)

It is, but DKs cover is much better.

Buzzbomb From Pasadena (also by DKs) is a good' un too.

'Let go of me motherfucker, I wanna live by my rules'

 

[twistedAM]

It is, but DKs cover is much better.

You're having a laugh. Paycheck's voice is just perfect for that song. Shame he wasn't so good in the movie.

 

[_pH_]

You're having a laugh. Paycheck's voice is just perfect for that song. Shame he wasn't so good in the movie.

Pah!

 

[Superdupastupor]

Superchunk's _ Slack motherfucker.
also excellently covered by fIRHOSE.

 

[Jambooboo]

What's that Happy Mondays song that goes "Now I'm the man who shot the boss, I pinned him down and blew his face off?"

I forget what the rest of the song's about but I reckon shooting the boss's face off is about as anti-work as you can get...

Lazyitis?

 

[twistedAM]

Pah!

and Paycheck was much more of a punk than the DKs

 

[twistedAM]

Superchunk's _ Slack motherfucker.
also excellently covered by fIRHOSE.

Excellent choice; and another disaffected voice from Chapel Hill in the 90s: The Lowest Part is Free - Archers of Loaf

 

[rekil]

Superchunk's _ Slack motherfucker.
also excellently covered by fIRHOSE.

See post 37 ffffs.

 

[Pieface]

There's one about a cash machine by someone new - Bloc Party I think

 

[Idaho]

Hard Fi I believe. Fuck knows how I know that.