Music that inspires you to do less with your life

May 20, 2007 10:17 PM

Over the weekend, I heard the song "To the Beggin' I Will Go" by Old Blind Dogs, and it made me really, really want to quit my job. Any suggestions for other songs with the same effect?
posted by bokane to media & arts (24 comments total)

Awesome topic!

The Clash said it best, in "Clampdown":

"The judge said five to ten but I say double that again
I'm not working for the clampdown
No man born with a living soul
Can be working for the clampdown
Kick over the wall 'cause government's to fall
How can you refuse it?
Let fury have the hour, anger can be power
D'you know that you can use it?"

Also "9 to 5," "Take this Job and Shove It," just about any Pete Seeger union song, including this one:

"There once was a Union Maid!
She never was afraid!
Of the goons and the ginks and the company finks
And the deputy sheriffs who made the raids,
She went to the union hall,
When a meeting it was called,
And when the company boys came around,
She always stood her ground."
posted by GaelFC at 10:32 PM on May 20, 2007

Artist: The Waterboys Lyrics
Song: Fisherman's Blues Lyrics

I wish I was a fisherman
tumblin' on the seas
far away from dry land
and it's bitter memories
castin' out my sweet line
with abandonment and love
no ceiling bearin' down on me
save the starry sky above
with light in my head
with you in my arms...
i wish i was the brakeman
on a hurtlin fevered train
crashin head long into the heartland
like a cannon in the rain
with the feelin of the sleepers
and the burnin of the coal
countin the towns flashin by
and a night that's full of soul
with light in my head
with you in my arms...

And I know I will be loosened
from the bonds that hold me fast
and the chains all around me
will fall away at last
and on that grand and fateful day
I will take thee in my hand
I will ride on a train
I will be the fisherman
With light in my head
You in my arms...

Light in my head
You in my arms...

Light in my head
You...

With light in my head
You in my arms...
posted by dnthomps at 10:33 PM on May 20, 2007

Jim Croce, Working at the Car Wash Blues

"..Well, I should be sittin in an air conditioned office in a swivel chair
Talkin some trash to the secretaries
Sayin, here, now mama, come on over here.
Instead, Im stuck here rubbin these fenders with a rag
And walkin home in soggy old shoes
With them steadily depressin, low down mind messin
Workin at the car wash blues

You know a man of my ability
He should be smokin on a big cigar
But till I get myself straight I guess Ill just have to wait
In my rubber suit a-rubbin these cars
..."

Sixteen Tons

"You haul Sixteen Tons, whadaya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store"
posted by frobozz at 10:37 PM on May 20, 2007

Hallelujah! I'm a Bum.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 10:41 PM on May 20, 2007

This song, 16 shades of gray, does the exact opposite for me. What a sad song.

Listen here.


i've got 16 months till my contract runs out
i've got 3 opinions and there's no more doubt
i turned 28 and you know i'd be lying,
if I said I was through and I don't mind dying

i've got 16 months till I walk away
i wear 16 shades of dead man's gray
i would try some color on anyway
i wear 16 shades of gray

well there's crime to spare down in new orleans
got my money picked by some black french harlot
made me steal a car just to prove my anger made me so far gone, so far jaded

i've got 16 months till I walk away
i wear 16 shades of dead man's gray
i would try some color on anyway
i wear 16 shades of gray

well there's time's a plenty in old chicago
but this weather killed me so i moved to austin
someone put some pain upon my back
i got caught trying to steal a few years back

well you get used to the needles and the pain
i've got more holes than the church has saints
i've got thin blood like cheap red paint
i've got more love than ten man's hate
posted by dnthomps at 10:50 PM on May 20, 2007

"Dead on Time" by Queen. The frantic pacing of the song adds to that rushed, claustrophobic, 9-to-5 heaviness around the heart.


Fool always jumping never happy where you land
Fool got no business take your living where you can
Hurry down the highway
Hurry down the road
Hurry passing people staring
Hurry hurry hurry hurry

Leave on time, leave on time
Never got your ticket but you leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
Gonna get your ticket but you leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
Put it in your pocket but you never can tell

Leave on time, leave on time
Shake that rattle gotta leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
Fight your battle but you leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
You never got a minute
No you never got a minute
No you never know
Oh no matter

Fool got no business hanging round and tellin' lies
Fool you got no reason but you got no compromise
Stamping on the ceiling
Hammering on the walls
Gotta get out gotta get out gotta get
Oh you know I'm going crazy

Leave on time, leave on time
Gotta get ahead but you leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
Gotta head on ahead gotta leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
You're running in the red but you never can tell

Leave on time, leave on time
Gotta get rich gotta leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
But you can't take it with you
When you leave on time
Leave on time, leave on time
Gotta KEEP YOURSELF ALIVE but you leave on time
But you leave on time leave on time
Dead on time

You're dead
posted by Oriole Adams at 10:54 PM on May 20, 2007

"Frankly, Mr. Shankly" - The Smiths
posted by SisterHavana at 10:56 PM on May 20, 2007

Dick Gaughan doing Ewan MacColl's Freeborn Man of the Travelling People:


I'm a freeborn man of the travelling people
Got no fixed abode, with nomads I am numbered
Country lanes and byways were always my ways
I never fancied being lumbered

O we knew the woods and the resting places
And the small birds sang when winter days were over
Then we'd pack our load and be on the road
They were good old times for the rover

There was open ground where a man could linger
Stay a week or two for time was not your master
Then away you'd jog with your horse and dog
Nice and easy, no need to go faster

Now and then we'd meet up with other travellers
Hear the news or else swap family information
At the country fairs, we'd be meeting there
All the people of the travelling nation

I've known life hard and I've known it easy
And I've cursed the times when winter days were dawning
But I've danced and sang through the whole night long
Seen the summer sun rise in the morning

All you freeborn men of the travelling people
Every tinker, rolling stone and Gypsy rover
Winds of change are blowing, old ways are going
Your travelling days will soon be over
posted by Abiezer at 11:31 PM on May 20, 2007

In Tall Buildings
By John Hartford

Someday, baby, when I am a man,
and other's have taught me
the best that they can
they'll sell me a suit
and cut off my hair
and send me to work in tall buildings

and it's goodbye to the sunshine
goodbye to the dew
goodbye to the flowers
and goodbye to you
I'm off to the subway
I must not be late
going to work in tall buildings

now when I retire
and my life is my own
I made all the payments
it's time to go home
and wonder what happened
betwixt and between
when I went to work in tall buildings

and it's goodbye to the sunshine
goodbye to the dew
goodbye to the flowers
and goodbye to you
I'm off to the subway
I mustn't be late
going to work in tall buildings
posted by jeri at 12:45 AM on May 21, 2007

Artist: Canibus Lyrics
Song: Shove This Jay-Oh-Bee Lyrics

Yo 6 o'clock every morning you waking up yawning
To the sound of your alarm clock alarm
About an hour from now
You should be at the place of employment
Which is annoying cause it's so boring
Your co-workers are talking too loud for you to ignore them
It affects your occupational performance
You wonder why your work load is so enormous
Because your boss just laid off three quarters of the whole office
People get depressed, they get ulcers
From the stress that the corporate environment causes
Regardless of how you ultimately wanna solve this
Seems to me like you've got one of four choices:
You could take a new job offer for more chips
Stick it out a little longer or forfeit
But my advice to anybody that wants to quit
It'll feel much better if you say it like this:

Take this job and shove it
I ain't workin here no more
Take this job and shove it
I ain't workin here no more
Take this job and shove it
I ain't workin here no more
Take this job, take this job, take this job and shove it

Yo, if your boss is a S-O-B
Tell him to S-H-O-V-E the J-O-B
Put your middle finger up slowly
Put it close enough to his face so he can examine it closely
Say I ain't workin here no more
Who do you think you are?
Rip your apron off, throw it on the floor
Run to the door, to the payphone
Make a toll-free call
Tell your spouse what happened and where you are
So they can come and get you in the car later on
And help you search for a new 9 to 5 job
If the unemployment line ain't that long
You can take your time printin out W-9 forms
Eventually, you'll get on if you try hard enough
And you'll get money if you keep punchin your time card enough
Maybe you hate it, maybe you love it
But if you hate it all you gotta do is get mad and tell the boss to

Take this job and shove it
I ain't workin here no more
Take this job and shove it
I ain't workin here no more
Take this job and shove it
I ain't workin here no more
Take this job, take this job, take this job and shove it

Yo, some occupations are like slave gigs
The boss is favored and get placed in something spacious
While the most hated get placed in some small cubicle spaces
Or get thrown down in the basement, get your stapler confiscated
You constantly waitin for a paycheck
Twelve months passed by and you still ain't get paid yet
Here's a optimistic motto
If you ever late for today you could say you early for tomorrow
Most 9 to 5
posted by lemonfridge at 3:04 AM on May 21, 2007

"Brown shoes don't make it" by Frank Zappa is pretty inspirational:

Brown shoes don't make it
Brown shoes don't make it
Quit school, why fake it
Brown shoes don't make it
TV dinner by the pool
Watch your brother grow a beard
Got another year of school
You're okay, he's too weird
Be a plumber
He's a bummer
He's a bummer every summer
Be a loyal plastic robot
For a world that doesn't care
That's right
Smile at every ugly
Shine on your shoes and cut your hair

Be a jerk - go to work
Be a jerk - go to work
Be a jerk - go to work
Be a jerk - go to work
Do your job, and do it right
Life's a ball
TV tonight
Do you love it
Do you hate it
There it is
The way you made it

A world of secret hungers
Perverting the men who make your laws
Every desire is hidden away
In a drawer in a desk by a Naugahyde chair
On a rug where they walk and drool
Past the girls in the office
posted by Giant luck at 5:33 AM on May 21, 2007

Can't Be Counted On/the Meat Puppets


Give me lots of money
A house upon a hill
Send me pretty women
Or threaten me and still
I'll come up to your house
And attempt to fix your sink
Do a mediocre job
As I'm leaving you will think
If you're needing something
You know that I'll be gone
I will not answer when you call
If you're waiting for me
Then you'll be waiting long
I can't be counted on at all
My eye is on the pork
The pork is in the pan
If something needs a'doing
Well you know I'm not your man
If you're counting on me
You know I'll let you down
You can't be counting on me
Cause you know I'm just a clown
posted by AJaffe at 6:51 AM on May 21, 2007

First off, kudos to two of my favorite bands mentioned in this thread- Old Blind Dogs and The Waterboys. Really, check them out. And in the same vein, here's a song from The House Band:

Working for the Pharaoh

Pharaoh he sits in his tower of steel
The dogs of money all at his heel
Magicians cry "Oh truth! Oh real!"
We're all working for the Pharaoh

A thousand eyes, a thousand ears
He feeds us all, he feeds our fears
Don't stir in your sleep tonight, my dears
We're all working for the Pharaoh

It's Egypt land, Egypt land
We're all living in Egypt land
Tell me, brother, don't you understand
We're all working for the Pharaoh

Hidden from the eye of chance
The men of shadow dance a dance
We're all struck into a trance
We're all working for the Pharaoh

The idols rise into the sky
Pyramids soar, Sphinxes lie
Head of dog, Osiris eye
We're all working for the Pharaoh

And it's Egypt land, Egypt land
We're all living in Egypt land
Tell me, brother, don't you understand
We're all working for the Pharaoh

I dig a ditch, I shape a stone
Another battlement for his throne
Another day on earth is flown
We're all working for the Pharaoh

Call it England, you call it Spain
Egypt rules with a whip and chain
Moses free my people again
We're all working for the Pharaoh
posted by kimdog at 7:07 AM on May 21, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've always loved Merle Haggard singing this stanza of Big City:

"Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free."

The way he sings the phrase "so-called social security" is priceless.
posted by footnote at 8:35 AM on May 21, 2007

duh! Todd Rundgren: "I don't want to work, I just want to bang on my drum all day..."
posted by nicwolff at 8:44 AM on May 21, 2007

David Bromberg, "I Like to Sleep Late in the Morning."
posted by bricoleur at 9:44 AM on May 21, 2007

OK, not a song, but this is one of my favorite quotes and it seems so apt here:

"The necessities of life are food, shelter, warmth and clothing. When we have obtained these, it is claimed, there is an alternative to struggling for the luxuries. That's to adventure on life itself, our vacation from humbler toil having commenced.

"With such philosophy not everyone will agree, although I was fortunate enough to find no reason for disputing it when I went to the wilderness to live, and it may at least answer the questions of a few to note that we have never regretted the decision not to waste what are called the best years of life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable freedom during the least valuable part."

-Bradford Angier
How to Stay Alive in the Woods
posted by bricoleur at 9:49 AM on May 21, 2007

I'm partial to This Too Shall Pass, by Matthew Ebel. You can hear the whole song on the podsafe music network. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click the play button next to the song.
posted by JDHarper at 10:58 AM on May 21, 2007

"Slack Motherfucker," Superchunk.
posted by furiousthought at 12:15 PM on May 21, 2007

Jack Johnson: Gone

Well look at all those fancy clothes
But these could keep us warm
Just like those.
And what about your soul
Is it cold
Is it straight from the mold
And ready to be sold.

And cars and phones and diamond rings
Bling, bling
Those are only removable things
And what about your mind
Does it shine or
Are there things that concern you more
Than your time

Gone going
Gone everything
Gone give a damn
Gone be the birds when they don’t want to sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone

Look at you out to make a deal
You try to be appealing but you lose your appeal
And what about those shoes you’re in today
They’ll do no good
On the bridges you burnt along the way

You willing to sell anything
Gone with your herd
Leave your footprints
we’ll shame them with our words

Gone people
All careless and consumed
Gone
Gone going
Gone everything
Gone give a damn
Gone be the birds if they don’t want to sing
Gone people
All awkward with their things
Gone

Pink Martini: Sympathique

Ma chambre a la forme d'une cage,
le soleil passe son bras par la fenêtre.
Les chasseurs à ma porte
comme les petits soldats
qui veulent me prendre.

Je ne veux pas travailler,
je ne veux pas déjeuner,
je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume.

Déjà j'ai connu le parfum de l'amour,
un million de roses n'embaumerait pas autant.
Maintenant une seule fleur
dans mes entourages
me rend malade.

Je ne veux pas travailler,
je ne veux pas déjeuner,
je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume.

Je ne suis pas fière de ça,
cette vie qui veut me tuer.
C'est magnifique, être sympathique,
mais je ne le connais jamais.

Je ne veux pas travailler,
je ne veux pas déjeuner,
je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume.
posted by Manjusri at 1:51 PM on May 21, 2007

I Don't Mind - Peter Bingen /Tobasco Donkeys
Lyrics here.
posted by Seamus at 1:59 PM on May 21, 2007

"Takin' Care of Business" by BTO
posted by bryon at 5:55 PM on May 21, 2007

Um ,live from the plantation by Mr. Lif.

{*alarm ringing*}
"Oh my fucking god man, ahhh. fucking serious"
Jesus Christ, man. already?
Man, time flies like a motherfucker."
Rise and shine!
Yet another day to toss away
What does my clock display?
It says eight
Shit, I'm late for work again, so then
I dip with my pad and my pen
Step into the work place with my work face
Wince at my time card cuz I'm scarred
Mad cuz I sacrifice my day and gets me
A trifling hourly wage of six fifty, nifty
Now I'm off to slave quarters
With a whole bunch of other people's sons and daughters
Working so they can be mothers and fathers
Laboring real hard, hoping the boss offers
More petty cash to his bums and paupers
Kissing his ass cuz they hoping they prosper
Here's the math:
You work a thirty a day, away
The government takes a thirty a check, correct
You go home and drink cuz you don't get
An ounce of respect, and your spirit is wrecked
Life is a gift to be enjoyed, every second every minute
It's temporary, not infinite
Yet I find myself looking at the clock
hoping for the day to fly by, so I ask myself "Why?"
I'm doing this remedial work for second graders
I'm an educator with mega-flavor, so
Maybe I should just jump up and get ill
Maybe I should let these people know they're being killed
Maybe I should try my very best to chill, and get paid
Cuz I gotta pay bills, raa!

"Excuse me brother, can you please stop making that noise
so I can talk? Thank you. Now the boss says he wants you to come up
with more copies of these checks, and the last thing he wants is you to
move the desk to the basement, and can I have this stapler?"
("Hey there champ, big boss man says you been late
3 days in a row, better sharpen up")

Aw, this fucking place sucks - same shit everyday
Like to wring the boss' neck though, if only dreams could come true

Dead boss, somebody call Red Cross
I guess he got caught up in my mental holocaust
How much did it cost?
Just a little piece of my mind for peace of mind
"But he's bleeding!"
Oh no, leave him. He'll be fine
He'll heal on his own
if you just give him some time
Considering the fact that his face is misaligned
His legs are over there lying right next to his spine
"Lunchtime!" Huh? Oh, Jesus, must have been daydreaming
My boss walks by, he's looking just like an asshole
Smiling because he jerks niggas for minimum cash flow
He's cool to my face but I swear I heard him laugh though
Tickled by the fact that I'm the modern day Sambo
And just when I think that I'm about to go Rambo
I call up my man and he says he understands, yo
We all are being murdered by a similar process
Whether you work at the candy store
Or slave at the office
The purpose of our life is just to serve the economy
They misinform our minds to paint a picture of harmony
But if you listen then you know that shits out of tune
Cuz the function of our life is just to work and consume
Fuck reaching out to help the next, there ain't any room
Just close your eyes and block your ears and march to your doom
But since I really ain't getting paid for my time
I pulled out my pen and started writing a rhyme
Can't you see that I'm busy, jerk?
Don't you dare approach me with busy work
Take another step and get hurt
By the man that embodies mad years of anger
A cool bro, soon to be the Boston Strangler
Everything inside of me is about to erupt
Cuz a righteous individual just likes to corrupt
I knew he'd lock me up if I started a brawl
So I deaden, and I punch the clock the fuck off the wall

"Yea that's right motherfucker
you can't keep underpaying people and mistreating them all the time
That's gonna resort to crime.
As a matter of fact, you know what?
Faks, yo cut this motherfucker, man."

9-1-1
posted by history is a weapon at 6:50 PM on May 21, 2007

Second: Take This JOB and Shove It, Takin' Care of Business
Dire Straits -- Money for Nothing
Simon & Garfunkel -- The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
posted by anaelith at 7:58 PM on May 21, 2007