Times are tough, and many people out there are struggling to find work. If you’ve just gotten the pink slip and want to be in your feelings before hitting LinkedIn, these four country songs will make you feel seen and heard. Let’s take a look at a few classic country songs about being out of work or just plain sick of the job market in general!
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“Forty Hour Week (For A Livin’)” by Alabama
This song by Alabama is a great mid-1980s country tune penned by Dave Loggins, Lisa Silver, and Don Schlitz. This successful little tune is an ode to America’s blue-collar workers. It even has a few notes from “America the Beautiful” punctuating the song’s ending. It’s a song that is both patriotic as well as a song that voiced concern for the working class, particularly those who work in industrial labor.
“Take This Job And Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck
If you’ve ever been fired or laid off, you’ve probably thought of the title to this Johnny Paycheck classic. This song was originally written by David Allan Coe. However, “Take This Job And Shove It” was popularized by country crooner Johnny Paycheck in 1977. This song bemoans the life of the working man, who often gives years of his life to a company for very little in return. I have to admit, this one feels like a bona fide diss track.
“The foreman, he’s a regular dog / The line boss, he’s a fool / He got a brand new flat top haircut / Lord, he thinks he’s cool.”
“Workin’ Man Blues” by Merle Haggard
“Workin’ Man Blues” is one of Merle Haggard’s most well-known songs with The Strangers. Released in 1969, the song has become something of an anthem for blue-collar working Americans. The song bemoans and celebrates the life of laborers all at once. It also discusses the fatigue accompanying being a working man in terms of raising a family and having to sacrifice quite a bit. It’s a celebration of work. Yet, it’s also an honest tale about how hard it can be in the workforce.
“Cost Of Livin’” by Ronnie Dunn
A newer entry on our list of country songs about work, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks & Dunn released this track in 2011. According to Dunn, he wrote the song during the 2008 economic recession. He didn’t release the track at the time, hoping that the economic situation in the United States would improve. “Cost Of Livin’” is about a man with quite the hefty resume, full of skills and experience in the military, pleading his case in a job interview. The ending of the song is intentionally vague.
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