gogo Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 You might not have to work on Labor Day weekend, but Labor Secretary Solis will be "on the job." As a special weekend guest DJ on SIRIUS XM's The Spectrum, SIRIUS channel 18, XM channel 45, she will be spinning songs about work and workers in observance of this uniquely American holiday. On her playlist: Bruce Springsteen's "Working on the Highway," The Clash's "Career Opportunities," Bob Marley's "Work," and Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm." Listen for more starting at 3pm EDT on Friday, September 4th. http://www.sirius.com/thespectrum Any other song suggestions for Labor Day? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigshoulders Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 the perennial favorite by Johnny Paycheck: "Take this Job and Shove It" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Down Under - Men at Work Mr. President, Have Pity on the Working Man - Randy Newman Casey Jones - Grateful Dead (Off the album Workingman's Dead) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Pumpin' 4 The Man - WeenIt's a nine mile walk from the office to the pumpsSometimes you think you're gonna dropIn the end you're filthy dirty, horny, and pissed offAnd before you can leave you gotta sweep the fuckin' shop It's a real real bitch to be workin' for the manBut shit, I do it well, so what the fuckI could probably wash dishes at some other fuckin' dumpBut it's all the same to me, bustin' ass to make a buck So read 'em up and stick 'emPump that fucker goodSome woman down on Main Street needs a jumpGet your fingers outta your assAnd pump some faggot's gasAnd think about how bad New Hope sucks And it's a piss poor life when the ladies fire you upAnd then you check their oil and know you're fucked'Cause no one wants a loser who works for 5 an hourSmells like gas, looks like shit, works in the rain and rude as hell Now I can fix a tire like Hurricane MelindaI know that I'm the best for what it's worthSo if I choose to help you don't look like you expect it'Cause it's a gift that God gave me at birth So read 'em up and stick 'emPump that fucker goodSome woman down on Main Street needs a jumpGet your fingers outta your assAnd pump some faggot's gasAnd think about how bad New Hope sucks, woohoo! Slack Motherfucker - SuperchunkYou haven't moved from that spot all night since you asked for a lightyou little smoke stackYou've wasted my timeI'd like to see you try and give it back I'm workingBut I'm not working for you!Slack Motherfucker! Relax, sit downI'll kick that stool right out from under youWell, then, I see you sitting outsideWell, I can do the same thing too I'm workingBut I'm not working for you!No!Slack Motherfucker! I'm workingBut I'm not working for you!Slack MotherfuckerYou Motherfucker!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Thre are too many labor songs to mention really. Back in the day labor songs were quite the cottage industry, but for some of the best more contemporary (although from a singer already dead) check out Utah Phillips work. Sy Kahn is good too and still alive. The Almanac Singers, etc. Lots of great stuff out there, but mostly from another era. (Plenty Tough by the Waco Brothers of course.) LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Anything by Woody Guthrie. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 OK, LouieB and KoPT, could you two be any more vague? I think many of us are aware that people like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips wrote great labor songs. Maybe the question should have read "what are some of your favorite work/worker songs?" Just name one or two, maybe...? Or like some of the other responses here, I like hearing about those kinds of songs by people who aren't necessarily known for that genre. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 OK, LouieB and KoPT, could you two be any more vague? I think many of us are aware that people like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips wrote great labor songs. Maybe the question should have read "what are some of your favorite work/worker songs?" Just name one or two, maybe...? Or like some of the other responses here, I like hearing about those kinds of songs by people who aren't necessarily known for that genre. Okay. Don't be quite so vague in your request then, eh? How about:"Working in a Coalmine" - DEVO"A New England" - Kirsty MacColl (or Billy Bragg's original)"Time Tough" - Toots & The Maytalls"Mining for Gold" - Cowboy Junkies Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gogo Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 "A New England" - Kirsty MacColl (or Billy Bragg's original)Ooh, I love that one! Well, the Billy Bragg version anyway, I didn't even know that Kirsty MacColl had done it. Kirsty's dad Ewan wrote lots of good working songs, too: I may be a wage slave on Monday... And Christy Moore's got some good ones, Ordinary Man is a classic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 "Chain Gang" - Sam Cooke?"Work Hard, Play Hard" - Palace Music Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Rush - Working ManCCR - Working ManMerle Haggard - Working Man Blues Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Yo La Tengo - "Bartleby, Hardly Working"The Dukes of Stratosphear (XTC) - "The Mole From the Ministry"XTC - "Earn Enough For Us"XTC - "Love on a Farmboy's Wages" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winston Legthigh Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 The Dukes of Stratosphear (XTC) - "The Mole From the Ministry"That's a song about work/working??? AC/DC - Aint no Fun (waiting round to be a millionaire)Beastie Boys - Funky BossThe Pogues - NavigatorLoverboy - Working for the weekend Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 That's a song about work/working??? Loverboy - Working for the weekend Oh. Guess not. But this one is:"Here Comes the Weekend" - Nick Lowe or Dave Edmunds, whichever version you like better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
uncool2pillow Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 REM - Finest Worksong Quote Link to post Share on other sites
calvino Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Grateful Dead - Easy WindVan Morrison - Cleaning Windows and of course Huey Lewis and the News - Workin' for a livin' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dagwave Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Cumberland BluesBig Boss Manand, ummm....Dayjob.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
howdjadoo Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 No sitting down on your buttThe world don't owe youNo sitting down in a rutI wanna show youDon't waste your energyOn making enemiesJust take a deep breathAnd work your way up Let's work, be prouStand tall, touch the cloudsMan and woman, be freeLet's work, kill poverty La, la, laWork your way up Let's work, be prouStand tall, touch the cloudsMan and woman, be freeLet's work, kill poverty You're sitting down on your buttAnd your get greedyYou start to lose your nutsDon't you look seedyCan generosity bring you humilitySo take a deep breath Ain't gonna sweat for youAin't gonna sigh for youAin't gonna cry for youIf you're lazy Ain't gonna slave for youAin't gonna hurt for youIt just won't work for youIf you're lazy Let's work, be proudStand tall, touch the cloudsLet's work, let's eatLet's live in ecstasyMan and woman, be freeLet's work, kill poverty Let's work, be proudStand tall, touch the cloudsMan and woman, be freeLet's work, let's workGet down in the dirt and let's workGet down in the dirt and let's workGet up, be freeGet down in the dirt, let's workGet down in the dirt, let's workGet down in the dirtTake off your shirtGet down in the dirtLet's work Michael Phillip Jagger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 OK, LouieB and KoPT, could you two be any more vague? I think many of us are aware that people like Woody Guthrie and Utah Phillips wrote great labor songs. Maybe the question should have read "what are some of your favorite work/worker songs?" Just name one or two, maybe...? Or like some of the other responses here, I like hearing about those kinds of songs by people who aren't necessarily known for that genre.That wasn't vague at all. Check out the albums these guys did. Check out some Pete Seeger. Check out the Little Red Songbook, etc. I mentioned the Waco Brothers Plenty Tough and Union Made, one of the few labor songs written in the last 20 years. Utah Phillips sang labor songs of Joe Hill and others. How about Joan Baez's version of Joe Hill on the Woodstock soundtrack. Si Kahn's Aragon Mill, the Almanac Singers, Which Side are you On?, geez look around. Labor songs belong to an earlier generation really, since only about 10% of American workers are members. Many of the songs here are about working, but NOT about labor or labor stuggle itself. Google labor songs I am sure you will find all sorts of stuff. Remember lots of folk singers sang these types of songs in earier years. There are probably still some singers who speciaize in them. I don't know them all. LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Take two..... Here is the fruit of my Googling...http://folkmusic.about.com/od/toptens/tp/BestLaborSongs.htm which is the 10 greatest labor songs. http://www.labor-studies.org/laborsongs.php Long lists of songs on labor.http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/labor.htmlSongs by artists..http://www.emusic.com/album/Various-Artists-Smithsonian-Folkways-Classic-Labor-Songs-from-Smithsonian-Folkways-MP3-Download/10921135.htmlSongs for download from Smithsonian/Folkways. If you want Labor songs they are out there... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The High Heat Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Are we doing Dylan's weekly schtick now? Ok. Roy Orbison's "Working for the Man" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacant Horizon Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Factory-Springsteen Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The High Heat Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 "Allentown" by Billy Joel Does Ryan Adams' "Tina Toledo's Street Walkin' Blues" count? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okp greg Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Dear Employer? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 No sitting down on your buttThe world don't owe youNo sitting down in a rutI wanna show youDon't waste your energyOn making enemiesJust take a deep breathAnd work your way up Let's work, be prouStand tall, touch the cloudsMan and woman, be freeLet's work, kill poverty La, la, laWork your way up Let's work, be prouStand tall, touch the cloudsMan and woman, be freeLet's work, kill poverty You're sitting down on your buttAnd your get greedyYou start to lose your nutsDon't you look seedyCan generosity bring you humilitySo take a deep breath Ain't gonna sweat for youAin't gonna sigh for youAin't gonna cry for youIf you're lazy Ain't gonna slave for youAin't gonna hurt for youIt just won't work for youIf you're lazy Let's work, be proudStand tall, touch the cloudsLet's work, let's eatLet's live in ecstasyMan and woman, be freeLet's work, kill poverty Let's work, be proudStand tall, touch the cloudsMan and woman, be freeLet's work, let's workGet down in the dirt and let's workGet down in the dirt and let's workGet up, be freeGet down in the dirt, let's workGet down in the dirt, let's workGet down in the dirtTake off your shirtGet down in the dirtLet's work Michael Phillip JaggerI remember being really pissed off at Jagger, a zillionaire, telling me, a broke-ass kid, to work. Fuck him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.