CareerBuilder Job Seeker Community

News and trends

Poor until payday? Songs about being broke

Do you get the pre-payday blues?

No matter how well you’re being paid, or how much you like your job, there’s usually a few days before payday where the pre-payday blues hit.

That means you’re stretching your last bit of cash…or searching for quarters in your couch, wishing you HAD cash to stretch!

Recently, the Los Angeles Times posted a list of “being broke” songs, where artists sing about THEIR payday blues.

Among the songs:

  • Blind Alfred Reed, “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?”
  • Geto Boys, “Ain’t With Being Broke”
  • The Clash, “Career Opportunities”
  • Crystal Waters, “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)”
  • The Beatles, “Can’t Buy Me Love”
  • Bruce Springsteen, “Atlantic City”
  • Dolly Parton, “Coat of Many Colors”
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Fortunate Son”
  • Loretta Lynn, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
  • Sham 69, “Hey Little Rich Boy”
  • Bob Marley “Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)”
  • Pulp, “Common People”
  • Erik B. and Rakim, “Paid In Full”
  • Desmond Dekker, “The Israelites”
  • Ruben Blades, “Adan Garcia”
  • “Annie” soundtrack, “It’s A Hard Knock Life”
  • Roger Miller, “King of the Road”
  • Townes Van Zandt, “Marie”
  • Stevie Wonder, “I Wish”
  • Ray Charles, “I’m Busted”
  • Randy Newman, “Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
  • Merle Haggard, “Workingman Blues”
  • Phil Collins, “Another Day In Paradise”
  • The Temptations, “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”
  • Gwen Guthrie, “Ain’t Nothing Going On But The Rent”
  • Run DMC, “Hard Times”
  • Clarence Carter, “Patches”
  • Kanye West, “Spaceship”
  • Jerry Reed, “She Got the Goldmine, I Got the Shaft.”

Are any of these on your playlist? Let us know if one of these songs is your pre-payday blues theme song, or if there’s a song that’s missing from the list!

Post comment as
twitter logo facebook logo
Sort: Newest | Oldest
Tony

I'd add:
"Dollars & Cents" - Radiohead
"Get Real Paid" - Beck
and, not that I condone violence, M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes." It does have that cash register ca-ching, after all.

share
  • spam
  • offensive
  • disagree
  • off topic
 Like

Stay Connected





Subscribe

QR Code Business Card