10 songs about money: Money lessons from song lyrics
When you’re looking for personal finance advice, you probably check out books and websites like GRS, but what about turning on the radio, YouTube, or Spotify?
Recently, I wrote about the cost of love and mentioned several songs with lyrics about love and money. This got me thinking about how many songs have lyrics about money in general and what lessons we can learn from them.
Yeah, I know, I know. It’s a lightweight topic. So sue me. Not every post can be about funding your Roth IRA or finding a high-yield savings account!
Without further ado (and in no particular order), here are ten song lyrics about money that espouse sound financial advice:
“Free Money” by Patti Smith
Every night before I go to sleep
Find a ticket, win a lottery,
Scoop the pearls up from the sea
Cash them in and buy you all the things you need.
Winning the lottery is a bad financial plan — you can expect an 80% loss on your “investment.” Put it in a savings or retirement account that you can use later to “buy all the things you need.”
“The Pretender” by Jackson Browne
I’m going to be a happy idiot
And struggle for the legal tender
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim
To the heart and the soul of the spender
This might not be the songwriter’s intent, but to me, these lyrics are about goals. If you never establish life goals, you’re likely to fall into line with what the people around you are doing — even if they are working 80 hours a week at jobs they hate just to buy fancy cars and big houses they can’t afford. As J.D. says, the road to wealth is paved with goals.
“Money, Money, Money” by ABBA
I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay
Ain’t it sad?
And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me
That’s too bad
In all but the most dire cases, it is possible to break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, and it’s critical that you do. Even if you aren’t accumulating debt, one emergency can put you deep in the red.
“If I Had a Million Dollars” by The Barenaked Ladies
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn’t have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
We’d take a limousine cause it costs more
The Barenaked Ladies know a thing or two about lifestyle inflation. If you start to make more money, it’s common to start looking for ways to upgrade your life — bigger house, new TV, taking a limousine to the corner store. Avoid lifestyle inflation by asking yourself if a purchase is a need or something you’ll really value, or something you want only because “it costs more.”
“Life’s Been Good” by Joe Walsh
I have a mansion, forget the price
Ain’t never been there, they tell me it’s nice
There’s a big cost in owning Stuff you don’t use. Especially if it’s a mansion.
“Money Becomes King” by Tom Petty
…everything got bigger
And the rules began to bend
And the TV taught the people
How to get their hair to shine
And how sweet life can be
If you keep a tight behind
And they raised the cost of living
And how could we have known
They’d double the price of tickets
To go see Johnny’s show?
Advertising raises what we consider to be our personal cost of living, making it hard to distinguish needs from wants, but knowing some of the tricks of the marketing trade can help us make more informed decisions, at least some of the time.
“Mo Money, Mo Problems” by Notorious B.I.G.
I don’t know what they want from me
It’s like the more money we come across
The more problems we see
Big Papa knew that sometimes being rich isn’t all it’s cracked up to be — especially when friends and relatives hit you up for a loan.
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CySmd8M8oIM
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need
Most of us have a lot of wants. For example, I want a sailboat, a Le Creuset Dutch oven, a farmhouse in Italy, and baby grand piano. That’s okay so long as I don’t try to satisfy all of those wants on my current income! But if I work hard and save money, I could afford any one of those things, if they were my primary goal. It’s possible to afford almost anything you want, but not everything.
“Low Budget” by The Kinks
Circumstance has forced my hand
To be a cut price person in a low budget land
Times are hard but we’ll all survive
I just got to learn to economize
Cutting expenses isn’t fun, but it’s necessary when your income drops or you want to save more. Start with cutting big expenses for big wins, then move to smaller ones.
“Satisfied Mind” by Jeff Buckley
Money can’t buy back all your youth when you’re old
A friend when you’re lonely, or peace for your soul
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind
We trade life energy to make money, and that’s okay because most people want to live a comfortable life and afford to do fun things. But find a balance. Don’t wait for a tragedy to remind you of what’s most important in life.
What are your favorite songs about money?
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There are 57 comments to "10 songs about money: Money lessons from song lyrics".
No Pink Floyd? Geez……
Ha ha ha– awesome post. We get a lot of messages (both conscious and subconscious) from pop culture, so I think looking at them is great.
While I don’t listen to a lot of the stuff you posted here, I am a huge fan of the amazing Patti Smith.
So while this is really off-topic, I wanted to give a little perspective on “Free Money”. She wrote it for her mother. They grew up poor in rural New Jersey, and her mother used to say “one day when I win the lottery”, etc. etc. Of course the mom didn’t win the lottery but she was supportive in many other ways. So this was a kind of a love letter to her mom and a way to pay homage to her chldhood. This is discussed in some interview she did with NPR. I’ll try to find the link.
EDIT: I think its this one: http://www.prx.org/pieces/8174-patti-smith-horses-30th-anniversary
registration or something else required for the full program.
And the thing is, if I recall well, Patti Smith ended up giving money to her parents.
There is a wonderful documentary about her. trailer is here:
http://www.dreamoflifethemovie.com/trailer
I absolutely adore her.
no KEI$A…i mean, she already has a dollar sign in her name! doesn’t that count for anything?
I might start signing my name with a dollar sign come to think of it.
I like many of April’s posts, but this one just seems like filler. Using song lyrics as a wrapper to recycle previous posts.
Billionaire – Travie McCoy
@Cely:
This site (and all personal finance sites) recycles the same basic content in different forms over and over again. You’re right, this is like that, but I thought it was a fun way to do it.
How about these golden oldies:
O’Jays – For The Love Of Money
Pink Floyd — Money
Little Richard – Money Honey
Funny enough, I notice most songs give really bad financial advice but a song with a cynical look would be Good Charlottes Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous whose chorus goes: Lifestlyes of the rich and the famous
theyre always complainin
always complainin
if money is such a problem
well they got mansions
think we should rob them
I have to admit, I totally agree 😉 Fun topic!
Who pays for your rock and roll lifestyle?
Is it you or our parents in that income tax bracket?
Cake 🙂
That’s an easy one…
“Ka-ching” by Shania Twain.
The song I thought of was Billionare. While it does talk about buying things that you didn’t have before (lifestyle inflation) it also includes many good elements like giving, helping out others, and even helping with the recession. The important thing to walk away with is to help other people in need even if you are not “rich”. There will always be people more unfortunate than us, and we can help in ways other than just giving money.
@KM–I know, I know! I couldn’t find a way to relate it to a money lesson, so I had to cut it. Maybe you can think of one?
Just want to sound a note of appreciation for the Biggie lyrics. Rap is now pop music, so if there had been no rap lyrics, I would have wondered if anyone else under 30 read this blog!
@Tyler, I’ve been a reader here for three years now, so I’m willing to put up with a certain amount of recycled content, but this just rubbed me the wrong way.
I’ve noticed quality drops when J.D. is away, some of that (perhaps) can’t be helped but I think it’s good for him to realize that readers do notice.
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?
She works hard for the money
So hard for it honey
She works hard for the money
So you better treat her right
Fun article and I appreciate Patti and the Stones very much!
A personal favorite of mine is “Money” by Embrace, which was one of Ian MacKaye’s bands between Minor Threat and Fugazi. A song about our unhealthy obsession with money and our consumer-centric lifestyle. For those that seek it out, beware of some cussing.
Perhaps a little Jimmy Buffet – Making Money for Music (Lesson: Work to live, don’t live to work)
or some Dire Straits – Money for Nothing (Lesson: There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch)
Hmmm. I think the “it’s a rich man’s world” line in the ABBA song is pretty accurate 😉
I thought this post was fun too.
Where’s the Cee Lo love? – Clean version, anyway.
“I’m sorry I can’t afford a Ferrari, but that don’t mean I can’t get you there.”
Don’t forget the classic Beatles song Can’t Buy Me Love
“Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can’t buy
I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love”
It’s always helpful to have a reminder that once you’ve satisfied your needs and goals, more money won’t necessarily make you happier
And don’t forget the current hit by Cee Lo Green, “Forget you” (in the clean version), which is all about his girlfriend who left him for another guy because he couldn’t buy a ferrari and etc. Great song, actually!
Not sure if many of you are familiar w/ Erase Errata, but “Tax Dollar” is a great little song + video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUQaJqek02c
If I had more money, honey, would you love me, love me, love me? If I wasn’t just somebody like me?
Madonna:
“You know that we are living in a material world
and I am a material girl.”
“Only boys who save their pennies
make my rainy day.”
nice post, but “Satisfied Mind” is not originally by Jeff Buckley, he’s just one of many artists who have covered it, so he doesn’t get credit for the lyrics!
a favorite on the wrong way to manage finances as a couple, from The Band:
I took up all of my winnings
And I gave my little Bessie half
And she tore it up and threw it in my face
Just for a laugh
Springsteen!
Meeting Across The River:
Badlands:
The Promise:
The River:
Johnny 99:
Ain’t Got You:
57 Channels:
Some of these aren’t lessons I’d want to emulate, mind …
Jenk!
God bless you for including the Boss. I have no idea why this broad left out Bruce Springsteen. He’s only been the most persistent voice of the middle-class since the 1970s…
I would have included Atlantic City for good measure.
“Well, I got a job and tried to put my money away
But I got debts that no honest man can pay
So I drew what I had from the central trust
And I bought us two tickets on that coast city bus.”
Thank you so much for including the seventh track from Born to Run. My dad is markedly better having read your comment.
I’m glad to know someone else on this forum has musical taste.
Interesting use of the word “broad” there, Tim.
Richard Cory by Simon and Garfunkel is a good one. It’s about a rich guy who seems to live the charmed life, and the factory worker who works for him and hates his own life. At the end, Richard Cory commits suicide.
Three days of snow out in Birmingham
Thought you would wonder where I am!
Called up your number all night long
no consolation on the telephone…
Went out and caught a midnight flight
Thought a little lovin would make everything alright,
Landlord said you’d moved away (!)
And left me all your bills to pay…
but too bad honey, you might have made your move too soon!
You left me with a Keno card
Life in Vegas really ain’t that hard!
Ran it up to about 50 grand
Cashed it in, and held it in my hand.
That kind of money gets the word around
Makes a lost love, come up found
I hear you knocking, honey, on my door
You ain’t livin here no more!
I tried to tell you before..you might have made your move….too soon.
“never make your move too soon” classic blues, check out the recent duet of this between BB King & Roger Daltry
I’m surprised that nobody came up with “Money For Nothing” by Dire Straits :]
There’s a song based on the poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson? Interesting. I think the lessons in this poem are among the same ones presented in so many other ways on GRS – money isn’t happiness and appearances can be deceiving.
Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean-favoured and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good Morning!” and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich, yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine — we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked and waited for the light,
And went without the meat and cursed the bread,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet in his head.
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Gimme Honda, Gimme Sony
So cheap and real phony
From The Clash – Magnificent Seven. The whole song really, but here’s another good nugget:
Working for a rise, better my station
Take my baby to sophistication
She’s seen the ads, she thinks it’s nice
Better work hard – I seen the price
Never mind that it’s time for the bus
We got to work – an’ you’re one of us
Clocks go slow in a place of work
Minutes drag and the hours jerk
ditto with elliot (#5). billionaire by travie mccoy ft bruno mars. 🙂
I’m surprised Don Henley hasn’t come up. “Gimme what you got” from his “End of Innocence” album turns a harsh light on the american way of consumerism. It doesn’t talk about dollars and cents specifically, but Henley definitely has a disparaging view on the national obsession with acquiring more and more.
Foghat = If Money Talks, It Sure Ain’t Talking To Me.
Money Talks – JJ Cale
Thoroughly enjoyable post! I’m in the Cee Lo Green camp – don’t go into debt trying to impress a potential girlfriend/boyfriend who doesn’t love you for you.
Interesting exercise, and completely appropriate – every post cannot be about the sheer tedium of compounding interest, the nuances of Roth IRAs, and the efficacy of the TMND formula. Art often imitates life and is an inherent and integral part of socialization, so many people act out scripted behavior patterns with money, things they learn from their family, friends, or society in general. This did not necessarily have to be a “light-weight” topic.
The post states that “here are ten songs that espouse sound financial advice”. The very first song mentioned lyrics discusses the lottery. That’s hardly proverbial personal finance wisdom. With “The Pretender” -my perception was completely different. That verse, in my estimation, has nothing to do with goals but mindless consumerism and how the barrage of advertising the average American encounters daily contributes to that.
Still, although an interesting and appropriate topic, I would have liked the post to have more depth
“satisfied mind” – johnny cash version!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNsSIX-G7I4
Ani does this subject pretty well.
“they build buildings to house people
making money
or they build buildings to make money
off of housing people
it’s true
like a lot of things are true”
“science chases money
and money chases its tail
and the best minds of my generation
can’t make bail”
“and big government should not stand between a man and his money
i mean “what’s good for business is good for the country”
our children still take that lie like communion
the same old line
the confederacy used on the union”
Just wanted to point out that it’s B-I-G P-O-P-P-A – he spells it out in the same song you are quoting from 😉
Great Post~ Thanks April
Just proves again that we can save money by listening to the radio. Or at least get another perspective relating to money, work, and consumerism.
Jim Croce,on what’s really of value:
“Once I had myself a million
now I’ve only got a dime.
Difference don’t seem quite as bad today.
With a nickle or a million
I was searching all the time
for something that I never lost nor left behind.”
Or Blood, Sweat and Tears (I don’t think they were the original artist but the earliest one I heard sing “God Bless the Child”) on spending habits,
“When you’ve got money
you’ve got lots of friends
hanging ’round your door.
But when the money’s gone
and all your spending ends
they won’t come ’round any more.”
Did I miss Janis Joplin/ ” lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz, my friends all have Porsches, I must make amends”- etc
Tim, you know I’m a “broad” too, right?
The Atlantic City quote I considered was:
Really, Bruce has so many songs about money it’s hard to pick.
Bruce’s songs weren’t so much about money as they were about class, missed opportunity and hopelessness.
I read all the comments and no one’s mentioned Spinal Tap’s classic “Gimme Some Money”
Don’t get me wrong (Gimme some money, gimme some money)
Try getting me right (Gimme some money, gimme some money)
Your face is OK
But your purse is too tight (Gimme some money, gimme some money)
I’m looking for pound notes, loose change, bad checks, anything
Gimme some money, gimme some money
Doesn’t teach much of a lesson but certainly illustrates the modern feelings of entitlement.
@jenk, my bad! I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions, but unfortunately in my experience far too few women appreciate Mr. Springsteen.
@repenttokyo, that’s true. Usually when I read posts here or elsewhere about money, it’s really just a proxy for the important things that Springsteen addresses in his songs.
The one that immediately came to mind is an old, obscure Martin Mull song. It reminds me of the notion of people buying lottery tickets to ensure their financial futures.
Let me see if I can remember some of the lyrics:
“Just waitin’ for ‘Dialing for Dollars’ to call
“Two hundred dollars, we could use it all
“Got a phone in the bedroom, an extension in the hall
“And sooner or later I know they’re gonna call.
….
“I know you think it’s lazy
“And I know you think it’s crazy
“I know the way you feel about such things
“But I also know we need the dough
“Or it’s back we go to oleo
“So honey don’t be in my way if that thing rings!”
(Note for anyone who isn’t really old: “Dialing for Dollars” used to call people and award money.)
Tori Amos, Hoochie Woman
“You keep your Hoochie…
I’ll keep the house…and the bank accounts
Cause Boy I bring home the bacon”
“You need a loan? that’s not a problem…
you better keep this from your Hoochie Woman”
This is such a great article. Thank you for posting.
Another one on finding balance:
Billy Joel – Moving’ Out:
Sergeant O’Leary is walking the beat / At night he becomes a bartender / He works at Mr. Cacciatore’s down on Sullivan Street / Across from the medical center / And he’s trading in his Chevy for A Cadillac (ack ack ack ack ack) / You oughta know by now / If he can’t drive with a broken back / At least he can polish the fenders / And it seems such a waste of time / If that’s what it’s all about
The first two verses are equally apropos. You can pay Uncle Sam with the overtime; who needs a house out in Hackensack?
There’s nothing wrong with taking on extra work to make ends meet, but just to upgrade a meaningless status symbol? Probably not worth it.
Great post. Now I need to play these songs on the piano. My singing however, would not go over very well. 🙂
I’m a great rapper (just ask my two embarrassed teenagers) but truth be told, I don’t like rap but do enjoy helping clients build and protect their businesses. My suggestion would be to watch motocross or supercross. Balls to the wall- take no prisoners- high risk high reward effort. Now that’s what it’s like for me 🙂