Songs about Occupations

March 6, 2008 9:02 PM

What are some songs where the narrator's occupation is the focus of the song? For instance, "Customer" by Raheem DeVaughn, where the lovin' comes with fries, or "Garbage Man" by Ike Turner (thanks Miss Lynnster), where the lovin' is expressed through gifts of garbage.

Looking for songs where the occupation is central to the message of the song. Songs like "Auctioneer (Another Engine)" by REM would not be what I'm looking for, because it merely mentions an occupation. If the lovin' in that song was awarded to the highest bidder, on the other hand, it would qualify. Mr. Postman would be OK, because the postman is the medium of the lovin'.

I guess I'm looking for songs about lovin' and workin'.

posted by stupidsexyFlanders to media & arts (52 comments total)

Billy Joel's "Piano Man"?
posted by kitkatcathy at 9:09 PM on March 6

There is always The Truck Driving Song.

I'm drivin' a truck
Drivin' a big ol' truck
Pedal to the metal, hope I don't run out of luck
Rollin' down the highway until the break of dawn
Drivin' a truck with my high heels on

and The Lumberjack Song.

He's a lumberjack and he's okay,
He sleeps all night and he works all day.

I cut down trees, I skip and jump,
I like to press wild flowers.
I put on women's clothing,
And hang around in bars.

If those songs aren't about lovin and workin, I don't know what is.
posted by slavlin at 9:11 PM on March 6

Tom Waits's Ice Cream Man.
posted by amarynth at 9:11 PM on March 6

Witchita Lineman.
posted by ottereroticist at 9:14 PM on March 6

In When I Fall, by Barenaked Ladies, the narrator is a window cleaner on high-rise office buildings. It's the example I always think of when I think of songs about professions that define the way I think of those professions.
It also mentions a "you" who is presumably the window cleaner's lover, but it's pretty introspective, and so more about the job and less about the lovin'. Great song.
posted by roombythelake at 9:15 PM on March 6

Waitress Songs:

Joni Mitchell, Bar and Grill;
The Roches, Mr. Sellack.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 9:17 PM on March 6

Ice Cream Man - Van Halen
Just A Gigolo - David Lee Roth
I Am A Scientist - Guided By Voices
Champion Dung Spreader - Adge Cutler and the Wurzels
Highwayman - The Highwaymen (Cash, Nelson, Kristofferson, Jennings)
posted by kookoobirdz at 9:21 PM on March 6

Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator
Quadrant Six - Body Mechanic

does Sympathy For The Devil count?
posted by p3t3 at 9:21 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Does Dr. Feelgood count? I'm not sure he was actually licensed.
posted by kookoobirdz at 9:22 PM on March 6

The Weakerthans have a few songs where the singer takes on the role of a certain occupation. In "Civil Twilight," he's a public bus driver; in "Relative Surplus Value," it's a failed Wall Street jockey; I know there's at least one more, but it's escaping me at the moment.
posted by spiderskull at 9:22 PM on March 6

Pamphleteer?
posted by wemayfreeze at 9:23 PM on March 6

Sex Farm by Spinal Tap merges work and love--but maybe a bit too explicitly.
posted by roombythelake at 9:24 PM on March 6

Moody Blues: "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)". Which is also all meta and stuff.
posted by fractalid at 9:27 PM on March 6

Jim Croche - Workin' at the Car Wash Blues
posted by General Malaise at 9:31 PM on March 6

Opera Singer,
Commisioning a Symphony in C,
Guitar Man,
...and more, by Cake.
posted by Ms. Saint at 9:34 PM on March 6

Workin' for the Man, Roy Orbison (he gets the boss's daughter)
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:38 PM on March 6

The Harlem Hamfats recorded a risqué song called "Garbage Man (The Call of the Freaks)" in the 30s, with a "stick out your can, here comes the garbage man" chorus. Haven't heard it in a while, but I'm pretty sure this is it.

For no-lovin'-involved occupation songs, there's The Kinks' "Mr. Reporter" (rare demo here) and "Session Man," both on the most recent CD reissue of Face To Face (one of the best records of the 60s, I can't help saying, sorry).
posted by mediareport at 9:38 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

The Police: "Don't Stand So Close to Me"--central character is a teacher obsessed with a student.

The Beatles: "Lovely Rita"--she's a meter maid.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:41 PM on March 6

Hairdresser On Fire - Morrissey

The Unknown Stuntman - Glen A Larson
posted by kookoobirdz at 9:42 PM on March 6

Janitor by Toad the Wet Sprocket
posted by Help, I can't stop talking! at 9:45 PM on March 6

Genesis, "Just a Job to Do." The narrator's a hit man.

"Ice Cream Man" - Van Halen John Brim
posted by kirkaracha at 9:46 PM on March 6

"Cleaning Windows": Van Morrison
"Clean Up Woman": Betty Wright
"Handy Man": Del Shannon
"Six Days on the Road": Dave Dudley
"Soldier of Love": Arthur Alexander
"Vacancy": Harry Chapin
"WOLD": Harry Chapin
"Taxi": Harry Chapin
"Moonshiner": Bob Dylan
"DJ": David Bowie
"We Are the Road Crew": Motorhead
"Bright Future in Sales": Fountains of Wayne
"Keep the Customer Satisfied": Paul Simon
"Cowboy Song": Thin Lizzy
posted by viscountslim at 9:52 PM on March 6

Paperback Writer - Beatles
Candy Man - Willy Wonka movie
Chain Gang - Sam Cooke
Dentist! - Little Shop of Horrors
Like a Surgeon - Weird Al Yankovic

Lovely Rita doesn't fit because the narrator doesn't have the occupation.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:52 PM on March 6

Steve Earle's Ellis Unit One is about a death row prison guard. It's not much about love, though.

Also, Jonathan Coulton's Code Monkey .
posted by bibliowench at 10:06 PM on March 6

Fix It Man by Marshall Jefferson.
posted by ofthestrait at 11:16 PM on March 6

Jingle Jangle - Hot Hot Heat

It's hard to describe. The lyrics are fairly cynical, describing a travelling toys salesman hoping to save up enough money to buy his own plot of land eventually, but the melody's really unique.
posted by Phire at 11:17 PM on March 6

Not much about love on this list, except for the Untouchables:

Carolina Tar Heels - Peg and Awl
Carolina Tar Heels - Got the Farm Land Blues
Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman
Prince Buster - Cincinnati Kid (if gambling is a profession)
Bobby Conn - Whores
Half Japanese - My Sordid Past ("I was a male prostitute for the FBI")
The Untouchables - I Spy for the FBI
Palace - I am a Cinematographer (maybe not so message-central)
Palace Brothers - (I was Drunk at the) Pulpit
De La Soul - Bitties In The BK Lounge (well the second half, anyway)
The Zombies - Butcher's Tale
Talking Heads - Artists Only
Bachman Turner Overdrive - Takin' Care of Business (Message: Your job sucks but I'm having a good time as a musician.)
posted by hydrophonic at 11:26 PM on March 6

There must be fifty Springsteen examples, as he's always got that "regular Joe with a story" thing happening. Workin' on the Highway is the first that comes to mind, but there are probably better ones.
posted by rokusan at 11:48 PM on March 6

Space Oddity- David Bowie
Rocket Man- Elton John
Mr. Tambourine Man- Bob Dylan
Casey Jones - Grateful Dead
posted by doctor_negative at 11:54 PM on March 6

Workin' in a Coal Mine- Lee Dorsey/Devo
posted by doctor_negative at 11:59 PM on March 6

Secret Agent Man- P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri/Devo
posted by doctor_negative at 12:03 AM on March 7

The Mayor Of Simpleton - XTC
He's A Whore - Cheap Trick (narrator sings "I'm a whore" half way through song)
I Love a Man in a Uniform - Gang of Four (narrator becomes a soldier)
Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) - The Hollies (narrator's in the FBI)
posted by artdrectr at 12:43 AM on March 7

The Boxer- Simon & Garfunkel
The Great Valerio- Richard Thompson
Money & Have a Cigar- Pink Floyd
We're an American Band- Grand Funk Railroad
Hot Rod Hotel- Billy Bragg & Wilco
posted by doctor_negative at 2:18 AM on March 7

Would Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town by Pearl Jam count?
posted by esilenna at 3:40 AM on March 7

Came in to say "Wichita Lineman", was happy to see that Ottereroticist is still on the LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE.
posted by dirtdirt at 5:22 AM on March 7

The Replacements' "Waitress in the Sky" manages to mention the occupations of both the narrator and the titular woman. (She: A flight attendant; He: A sanitation expert, a maintenance engineer, a garbageman, a janitor...)
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 5:53 AM on March 7

Oh, the credit at the end of that garbage truck video I linked says that song is "The (New) Call of the Freaks" by Luis Russell and his Orchestra, not the Harlem Hamfats. The Hamfats version can be found on this compilation, which includes a tune called "Gas Man Blues" that's also about lovin'.
posted by mediareport at 5:59 AM on March 7

Raunchy Business: Hot Nuts & Lollypops is a great collection of fucking songs from the 1930s, including "Sam the Hot-Dog Man," "The Best Jockey in Town," "Furniture Man Blues," Get 'Em From the Peanut Man" and "Butcher Shop Blues."

Risque Rhythm: Nasty 50s R&B is another great comp, with Roy Brown's "Butcher Pete" and the Five Royales' "Laundromat Blues":

My baby's got the best machine
best washing machine in town
just relax and take it easy
while her machine goes round and round
posted by mediareport at 6:12 AM on March 7

The Kinks, "Father Christmas." The narrator's a department store Santa.
posted by kirkaracha at 6:53 AM on March 7

Rose Royce, "Car Wash."
posted by kirkaracha at 7:02 AM on March 7

Money for nothing- Dire Straits
House of the Rising Sun- The Animals (originally about prostitution)
Wanted Dead or Alive- Bon Jovi

Are you asking for first person only? That would exclude many examples, like Roxane- The Police; Sadie the cleaning lady- John Farnham (with apologies to my fellow Australians!)
posted by Coaticass at 7:06 AM on March 7

Body and Fender Man - Johnny Allen
posted by readery at 7:12 AM on March 7

Scientist by the Dandy Warhols (although not that lyrically...er, specific)
Daysleeper by REM
posted by kittyprecious at 7:40 AM on March 7

I Know What I Like- Genesis. Narrator is a Lawn Mower
The Whistler- Jethro Tull
Radio Head- Talking Heads
Dream Operator- Talking Heads
Don't take me alive- Steeley Dan
posted by Gungho at 8:04 AM on March 7

Of course there's a whole subgenre of country music about, ostensibly for, and supposedly by truck drivers. This is the music that was being parodied with this song.

Red Simpson is the most famous example, and the one who went the furthest with actually trying to make people think that he was a real trucker. Red also divided truckers even further, with some songs specifically about certain types of truckers, like his Christmas song "Truckin' Trees for Christmas." Red also put out an album all about the highway patrol and other law enforcement officers.

Dick Curless is another big example.

Diesel Only Records has sort of been continuing the tradition. In addition to a number of reissues of 60s and 70s trucker country, and several great alt-country releases, they've put out three anthologies of modern day takes on the trucker song.

Yeah, I've sort of been waiting for this question.
posted by roll truck roll at 9:49 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Bellboy, by the Who, from Quadrophenia.
posted by Doctor Suarez at 11:04 AM on March 7

"Salesman" by the Monkees (A Mike Nesmith song)...nice, folksy and boppy.
posted by MeetCleaverTheatre at 11:51 AM on March 7

16 Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford etc
The Pressman, John The Fisherman, Sgt Baker, Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, etc - Primus
Working Man - Rush (though, it never really says what exactly the work is...)
posted by alikins at 12:18 PM on March 7

Highway Patrol - Junior Brown
Cult Of Personality - Living Color (does "dictator" count as an occupation?)
Intruder - Peter Gabriel
posted by alikins at 12:31 PM on March 7

Can't believe no one suggested "On The Road Again" by Willie Nelson!
posted by loiseau at 3:22 PM on March 7

Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Whiskey Rock-a-Rolla" ("I'm a whiskey rock-a-roller")
(Part of an Ask MetaFilter trifecta.)
posted by kirkaracha at 7:31 PM on March 7

Jesus, when I saw this title, I thought it was about the French and the Germans. Or the Serbs and the Albanians. Or, you know, Iraq.
posted by etaoin at 2:52 PM on March 9