From 1 November 2021
Men at Work
The term ‘Men at work’ is meant in a non-gender specific way, so please feel free to select any song that relates to any person at work, or work that any person does, from any era or genre.
The ‘men at work’ part of your song must appear in the lyrics or the title, but not in the name of the band.
Thanks for the theme Arno!
Deborah
Moonshine Bandits – Take This Job (feat. David Allan Coe)
“Take This Job and Shove It” was written by David Allan Coe and released in 1978, about the bitterness of a man who has worked long and hard with no apparent reward.
Coe had a difficult childhood and spent time in reform schools, and as a young man he began a series of prison terms in the Ohio State Penitentiary. His early crimes included possession of burglary tools and car theft. He learned to play the guitar during his stints in jail.
While he was in prison he killed a fellow inmate for making homosexual advances towards him and Coe was sentenced to death. When Ohio repealed the death penalty, Coe’s term was commuted to life. Thus reprieved, he began to take an even greater interest in his music and was allowed to perform for his fellow inmates.
This constructive activity made the parole board look favourably upon Coe, and they freed him in 1967.
This version of the song was recorded by the Moonshine Bandits in 2017, the song and video feature David Allan Coe himself, and was filmed in the prison where he spent time. How’s that!
Wilfred
Ugly Kid Joe – Cats In The Cradle
I love this song, but as most music, the words are far darker than we care to think as we tap away and sing the chorus.
Here is a story about a man that is always too busy working to spend time with his son. In the end, the son had grown up to be just like him. Now, the son has no time to spend with the dad.
Work is like that, ask me, not only do I have beer experience, but also the story told in the song hits close to home.
Karen
Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Sting & Phil Collins – Money for Nothing Live
Geraldine
Tina Turner – Proud Mary (Live)
In the beginning, “Proud Mary” had nothing to do with a riverboat. Instead, John Fogerty envisioned it as the story of a woman who works as a maid for rich people. … Thus, “Proud Mary” went from being a cleanup lady to a boat.
The song was recorded by Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Elvis, Tina and Ike Turner.
John Fogerty admitted that Tina then took it to the next level in her live performances. Her own versions are normally longer than the original 5 minutes song.
Liezel
The Eagles Dirty Laundry
The Eagles – dirty laundry
The lyrics make fun of news anchors who are more concerned with their looks than accurately reporting the news. Many local news stations have at least one “bubble headed bleach blond.” The folks who work behind the scenes in local news are usually well aware of the superficial and vapid product they create, and many stations have used this song on their TV station blooper reels.
This song is about unscrupulous newspeople doing anything for a story. Henley had to deal with increased press attention when his girlfriend, Maren Jensen, came down with Epstein-Barr Syndrome. She recovered, but they broke up soon after.