Songs about corporate greed

Subject: Songs about corporate greed
From: Tunesmith
Date: 18 Nov 11 - 03:12 AM

I'm sure this subject must have been aired before but I couldn't find any previous threads.
Anyway, how many songwriters have tackled the subject of corporate greed ( Bankers and Big Business).
Show of Hands in the UK got a bit of air play with their song "Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed" ( see link below).
This this seems like a subject made for the pen of Phil Ochs. Did he ever write something along those lines?

Show of Hands link

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Acorn4
Date: 18 Nov 11 - 03:18 AM

Steve Tilston:Pretty Penny

This one has the benefit of being written with foresight rather than hindsight.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 02:27 AM

The Banks are Made of Marble - Les Rice

I saw the weary farmer plowing sod and loam
l heard the auction hammer just a-knocking down his home

But the banks are made of marble with a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver that the farmer sweated for

Arrogance Ignorance and Greed - AIG - Steve Knightly, Show of Hands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3zhrWdUA_s

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 02:51 AM

The Farmer is the Man

The Jolly Banker - Woody Guthrie

Trouble in the Fields - Nanci Griffith and Rick West

No Banker Left Behind - Ry Cooder

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,Allan Conn
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 03:56 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ukPCmRpzpg

Keiran Halpin's "Bankers"

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,Azoic
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 03:58 AM

"Pharaoh" by Richard Thompson.Also sung by June Tabor.Also "A Place Called England".

Subject: ADD: Ye Greedy Bastards All (Dave Taylor)
From: Acorn4
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 05:12 AM

Ye Greedy Bastards All!
(Dave Taylor)

1.Oh come ye greedy bastards all, oh let your tale be told,
Of how ye came into the land, in far off days of old,
To build your castles strong, and hide behind their walls,
To take the best, and fill the chests of greedy bastards all.

2. We worked upon your stubborn soil, to plough and sow and reap,
The forests and the fields held by the baron and the sheep,
Like cattle we were bought and sold, while you grew fat and tall,
Our purpose but to fill the gut of greedy bastards all.

Ye greedy bastards all, ye greedy bastards all,
Time to sing of Captain Swing, King Arthur and Jack Straw,
And when will everyman be invited to the ball,
And cease his toil to share the spoils with greedy bastards all.

3. You took us from the land, and put us on your mighty wheels,
Eternity upon the treadmill of your wretched mills,
With political economy to sanctify the poor,
Who pay the dues and turn the screws for greedy bastards all.

4. Revolutions and went, and hopes are all but passed,
Yet still the hydra grows its head behind its walls of glass,
High up on your balcony, your pride will stand no fall,
Still pissing on the peasants, ye greedy bastards all!

Ye greedy bastards all, ye greedy bastards all,
Time to sing of Captain Swing, King Arthur and Jack Straw,
And when will everyman be invited to the ball,
And cease his toil to share the spoils with greedy bastards all.

5. Now dressed up in your finest suits, you stand in serried ranks,
Your judges call for prison walls for the man who robs the bank,
But the banks that rob the man are protected by your laws,
All hail the global mafia of greedy bastards all!

6. We all vote for that rainbow's end, with its pot of gold,
Yet still the markets call the tune, as dreams are bought and sold,
Those starlings in the garden fly away before the fall,
And Robin Hood drowns in the flood of greedy bastards all.

Ye greedy bastards all, ye greedy bastards all,
Time to sing of Captain Swing, King Arthur and John Ball,
And when will everyman be invited to the ball,
And cease his toil to share the spoils with greedy bastards all.

(Haven't got round to recording it yet)

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: peregrina
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 05:33 AM

Ed Pickford's 'Privatize the Profits, Nationalize the Losses'

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Splott Man
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 06:05 AM

Try the new Ry Cooder album. It's full of them.

Subject: ADD: All Over Again (Philip Hartley)
From: maggi
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 08:43 AM

All Over Again
(Phillip Hartley)

We are the wage slaves, the fodder of industry,
Oiling the gears with our sweat and our tears,
We travel each day to the office and factory,
Making and moving the things that you need,
Earn barely enough pay to keep home and family,
Free time is special because it's so rare,
We live for the weekend. But Monday soon comes and
We'll do it all over again
And again and again and again and a again
And we'll do it all over again.

We're the employers, the captains of industry,
Hiring and firing with a wave of the hand,
We live off your talent, we use up your energy,
All we desire is the work of your hands,
After your hard work has given us what we need,
After you've given us all that you can,
When we've worn you out then we'll just get another and
Do it all over again
And again and again and again and again
We'll do it all over again.

We're politicians, we cherish democracy,
At least 'til the day the election is won,
We'll line our own pockets and live in hypocrisy
Never accept any wrong we have done
We'll lie to your face when presenting our policies
Never explain how the government's run
Except when it's time to convince you to vote and we'll
Fool you all over again
And again and again and again and again
And we'll fool you all over again.

We are the bankers, the masters of all of you,
We hold the world in the palms of our hands
We'll gamble your livelihoods, wreck the economy
Still keep our mansions, our pensions, our perks
And when we have lost all the cash that that you've given
After we've paid out our bonus again
We'll turn on you wage slaves, employers, MPs
And we'll screw you all over again
And again and again and again and again
And we'll screw you all over again

To hear it, press the Play button at http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_3461359

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Elmore
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 09:22 AM

Palaces of Gold by Leon Rosselson

Subject: Lyr Add: PARADISE (John Prine)
From: artbrooks
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 09:38 AM

"Paradise", aka Peabody Coal Train

When I was a child, my family would travel
Down to western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backwoods old town that's often remembered
So many times that my memories are worn

CHORUS: And daddy, won't you take be back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking
Mr. Peabody's coal train has hauled it away.

Well sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrien Hill.
Where the air smelled like snakes, and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill. CHORUS

Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man. CHORUS

When I die, let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester Dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am. CHORUS
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Words and music by John Prine, copyright 1971 Walden Music, Inc.
and Sour Grapes Music, all rights reserved.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: bobad
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 09:47 AM

Related thread HERE including original contributions from Mudcat members.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,julia L
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 10:07 AM

My very favorite on the subject of coroprate exploitation is Stocks by Jud Caswell- absolutely brilliant!
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/1396836

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: breezy
Date: 19 Nov 11 - 12:23 PM

24- 7- 3,6,5    by Coope Boyes and Simpson, i.e. Lester S,

mind you I'm going back 10 or more years.

had prophetic foretellings of the way things were heading with impending economic situation as it is it was very real in some ways

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,Gerry227
Date: 20 Nov 11 - 06:10 AM

More recently from Coope Boyes and Simpson, what about "We got fooled again"?

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,Shiznitz
Date: 20 Nov 11 - 01:12 PM

Whole World Over, and Yo Ho Ho by Shiznitz tackle this subject, cheers!

http://soundcloud.com/shiznitz/whole-world-over-rejiggered

http://soundcloud.com/shiznitz/yo-ho-ho

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Stringsinger
Date: 20 Nov 11 - 01:18 PM

One of the greatest indictments of corporatocracy and the heinous practices of the mining corporations are Jean Ritchie's two songs,

"The L and N Don't Stop Here Any More" and
"Blackwaters"

Don't forget "Which Side are you On?" Florence Reese based on the hymn, "Lay the Lilly, O"..

Woody's "Ludlow Massacre" and the "1913 Massacre" also.

Jim Garland's "I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister".

We have rewritten verses for "Which Side", "I Don't Want Your Millions" and "Banks of Marble" for Occupy Atlanta.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 20 Nov 11 - 02:52 PM

Here are three songs written by Andy Irvine - there are more!

The Spirit of Mother Jones; Mother Jones was at the Ludlow miners strike of 1913/14
Victory at Lawrence; the Lawrence Woollen Mills strike of 1912
Both from his latest CD Abocurragh
The Monument (Lest We Forget); also about the Ludlow strike and massacre
From his CD Rain on the Roof

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 21 Nov 11 - 07:15 PM

Just to keep this thread going, I suggest;

The Banks of the Hanky Panky.

I'm sure there are more!

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,Fred McCormick
Date: 16 Apr 15 - 02:10 PM

Ok., I've got to admit. I too have rewritten the Banks of Marble, as below Please feel free to sing it to every greedy corporate you run over, sorry, across.

The Banks of Marble

I have roamed this country over
Been shaken to the core.
Been struck with fear and anger
At sights my two eyes saw.

I have seen our welfare system
Being crushed in Tory jaws.
For the devil takes the hindmost
When you're old and sick and poor.

Ch: And the banks are made of marble.
With a guard at every door.
And they're stuffed with gold and silver
That those old folks sweated for.

I have seen those politicians
With hearts as hard as clay.
And I've watched those public workers
See their pensions stripped away.

I have seen those greedy bankers
Grabbing bonuses galore.
While they bring the whole world crashing
Down on the dealing floor.

Ch last line. The bankers never sweated for.

I have seen those third world workers
Make cheap goods for first world stores.
And I've seen those third world workers
Being turned back from our shore.

Ch: Last line. That the third world sweated for.

I've seen gluttony and profit
Undermine our children's schools.
For the kids just lost their birthright
Under competition's rules.

Ch. Last line. That our kids will suffer for.

I have seen our great health service
Being sold for private greed.
Drained of its very lifeblood
In the name of public need.

Ch last line. Neglected patients suffer for.

I have spoken to my comrades
Fighting back throughout this Land
And I've said let's get together
And together make a stand.

CH: We'll tear down those banks of marble,
Till they're rubble on the floor.
And we'll use that gold and silver
To make rich lives for the poor.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Apr 15 - 02:29 PM

The steve tilston song about bankers on the ziggurat album

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 16 Apr 15 - 02:41 PM

They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing in line
Just waiting for bread?

Brother Can You Spare A Dime?

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 16 Apr 15 - 08:55 PM

No Country's Law, written and recorded by Eileen McGann, also recorded by Roy Bailey. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DSkO866luA

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 16 Apr 15 - 09:00 PM

There is a list of songs people have tagged 'economy'. Most are about corporate greed.

.last.fm/tag/economy/tracks
If you click through to the track a lot will have a Spotify or YouTube link.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,#
Date: 16 Apr 15 - 09:42 PM

Slightly off topic but not much.

There are some good CEOs out there. Here's one of them.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Sir Roger de Beverley
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 04:37 AM

Brass Band Music - Leon Rosselson

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 07:01 AM

From Woody Guthrie's Pretty Boy Floyd:

Well, as through the world I've rambled, I've seen lots of funny
men
Some rob you with a sixgun, some with a fountain pen

As through this world you ramble, as through this world you roam
You'll never see an outlaw drive a family from its home.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,mike m
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 12:17 PM

what about Austin lounge lizards

to big to fail
brill video but cant do the blue clicky

cheers
mike

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,#
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 12:30 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnE5zvosplc

Mike, here ya go.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 03:56 PM

I want a war, just the kind of war thet made my Daddy rich
It was a war, just the kind of war for Daddy, that son of a
         Wall Street banker
A good old-Fashioned war, Red White and Blue
Just the kind of war for me and you
Oh, I want a war, just like the war that made my Daddy rich.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Joe_F
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 05:23 PM

I Am Changing My Name to Chrysler

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Apr 15 - 07:29 PM

Detail.CFM?messages__Message_ID=3594587

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Bert
Date: 18 Apr 15 - 04:03 PM

The man who waters the workers beer

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Acorn4
Date: 19 Apr 15 - 07:44 AM

Tried to give this one a bit of a historical twist:-

Ye Greedy Bastards All

Subject: Lyr Add: THE TENANT FARMER (Ewan MacColl)
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 19 Apr 15 - 08:20 AM

A rather personal take on the subject - one of MacColl's best IMO
Jim Carroll

E7 THE TENANT FARMER
(1977)

For awhile we had a cottage near Lockerbie in the southern uplands of Scotland. The whole area was a frost pocket and it got more rain than the Lake District. Winter came a month sooner than at Boreland, 4 miles west, and summer departed a month earlier. The Richardsons lived a mile up the road into the pine forest at the foot of the reservoir. The father of the family was a man of very few words, but every one of them well thought out. Even a Hogmanay dram didn't loosen his tongue ... at least not at first. The third Hogmanay broke the pattern. We had been singing bothy songs when he began to talk about his days as a farm servant. Sheep, pigs and cattlebeasts, he had driven them all along the drovers' roads that crossed Jock's Shoulder to Ettrick, that connected Boreland to Moffat. Now he was renting the farm at the end of the Sandyford Road and the market economy was beginning to strangle him. I wrote ÒThe Tenant Farmer' and sang it to him at the next Hogmanay. When he was leaving he shook my hand in both of his and said, ÔAy, that's how it is.' -EM

words and music: Ewan MacColl
© 1977 Ewan MacColl, Ltd.
disc 25

My faither rented a piece o' land, it was on the Carrick border;
And he spent damn near a' his fifty years tryin' to get the land in order.
Snaw and hail and winter gale, he couldna get nae rest,
He was just anither strugglin' tenant fairmer.

That wee bit fairm was ill tae wark, it was coarse red clay and boulder;
But at blink o' day he'd be up the brae wi' the north wind at his shoulder.
Plowin', sowin', reapin', hoein', wrastlin' wi' the clay,
He was just anither daft-like tenant fairmer.

The land was choked wi' whin and dock and the broom it took some shiftin';
So he tore and chaved and he howked and slaved at the pu'in and the liftin'.
Wark and sweat and rent and debt and wife and bairns to feed,
He was aye a weary, worried tenant fairmer.

Through the clay that had wheeled in the coulter's trace the young green corn cam' peepin';
And the barley thrived and the corn grew high and we a' helped wi' the reapin';
August through and neeps tae pu', there's aye a job tae dae
When you're a single-handed tenant fairmer.

But for a' the years o' his toil and sweat and the never-ending battle,
He couldnae pay the bank ae day so they selt off a' his cattle.
He damned the clay and cursed the day that ever he worked the land,
The day that he became a tenant fairmer.

Well, what wi' the cost o' the feedin' stuff and the landlord's rent increases,
They turned us oot and they held a roup o' a' our bits and pieces.
Your fairm's owre sma', nae use at a', and the owner needs the land,
Times are changed, we dinnae need a tenant fairmer.

Noo, he's workin' on an assembly line, it's a queer-like situation,
For he works like hell makin' things that sell for cash tae feed the nation.
It helps to buy the corn and rye and the kind o' crops he raised,
When he was working as a tenant fairmer.


a'                ...        all                        dinna                ...        don't
ae                ...        one                        howked                ...        dug
aye                ...        always                        neeps                ...        turnips
bairns                ...        children                owre sma'        ...        too small
brae                ...        small hill                pu'in'                ...        pulling
chaved                ...        separated the chaff        roup                ...        auction
coulter                ...        plough-blade                whin                 ...        gorse

The Tenant Farmer

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,john from Kemsing
Date: 18 May 15 - 06:12 AM

A view from the other side of the fence.
https://soundcloud.com/johnhhils/envy-view-from-the-other-side

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,John from Kemsing
Date: 18 May 15 - 11:18 AM

Shoul be:- https://soundcloud.com/johnhhills/envy-view-from-the-other-side

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Bat Goddess
Date: 18 May 15 - 10:16 PM

I sing "The Man Who Waters the Workers' Beer" and "Put It On the Ground".

Linn

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: BobL
Date: 19 May 15 - 02:54 AM

No actual traditional songs then - unless you count the handful by known authors which arguably can be said to have entered the tradition.

Does this tell us something?

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 19 May 15 - 03:32 AM

From CABARET

"Money Makes the World Go Around"

[BOTH]
Money makes the world go around
The world go around
The world go around
Money makes the world go around
It makes the world go 'round.
[SALLY & EMCEE (In canon)
A mark, a yen, a buck, or a pound
A buck or a pound
A buck or a pound
Is all that makes the world go around,
That clinking clanking sound
Can make the world go 'round.
[BOTH]
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money
[EMCEE]
If you happen
To be rich,
[SALLY]
.......Ooooh
[EMCEE]
And you feel like a
Night's enetertainment,
[SALLY]
...Money
[EMCEE]
You can pay for a
Gay escapade.
[SALLY]
Money money
Money money
Money money
Money money
[EMCEE]
If you happen to
To be rich,
[SALLY]
.......Ooooh
[EMCEE]
And alone, and you
Need a companion
[SALLY]
...Money
[EMCEE]
You can ring-ting-
A-ling for the maid.
[EMCEE]
If you happen
To be rich
[SALLY]
.....Ooooh
[EMCEE]
And you find you are
Left by your lover,
[SALLY]
...Money
[EMCEE]
Though you moan
And you groan
Quite a lot,
[SALLY]
Money money
Money money
Money money
Money money
[EMCEE]
You can take it
On the chin,
[SALLY]
.....Ooooh
[EMCEE]
Call a cab,
And begin
[SALLY]
...Money
[EMCEE]
To recover
On your fourteen-
Carat yacht.
[BOTH]
Money makes the world go around,
The world go around,
The world go around,
Money makes the world go around,
Of that we can be sure.
(....) on being poor.
[BOTH]
Money money money-
money money money
Money money money-
money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
[DANCE BREAK]
[EMCEE AND SALLY (In Canon)]
If you haven't any coal in the stove
And you freeze in the winter
And you curse on the wind
At your fate
When you haven't any shoes
On your feet
And your coat's thin as paper
And you look thirty pounds
Underweight.
When you go to get a word of advice
From the fat little pastor
He will tell you to love evermore.
But when hunger comes a rap,
Rat-a-tat, rat-a-tat at the window...
[EMCEE]
At the window...
[SALLY (spoken)]
Who's there?
[EMCEE (spoken)]
Hunger!
[SALLY (Spoken)]
Ooh, hunger!
See how love flies out the door...
For
[BOTH]
Money makes
The world...
[BOTH]
...Go around
[BOTH]
The world...
[BOTH]
...Go around
[BOTH]
The world...
[BOTH]
...Go around
[BOTH]
Money makes the
.... Go around
[BOTH]
...Go around
That clinking
Clanking sound of
Money money money money money money
Money money money money money money
[BOTH]
Get a little,
Money money
Get a little,
Money money
Money money
Money money
Money money
Money money
[EMCEE]
Mark, a yen, a buck
[GIRLS]
Get a little
[EMCEE]
Or a pound
[GIRLS]
Get a little
[EMCEE]
That clinking clanking
[GIRLS]
Get a little
Get a little
[EMCEE]
Clinking sound
[SALLY]
Money money
Money money...
[EMCEE]
Is all that makes
The world go 'round
[SALLY
Money money
Money money
It makes the world go round!


From the www site "MetroLyrics"

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 19 May 15 - 04:04 AM

Lyrics "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank"
From MARY POPPINS"
Written by Sherman Brothers 1964



If you invest your tuppence
Wisely in the bank

Safe and sound

Soon that tuppence

Safely invested in the bank

Will compound

And you'll achieve that sense of conquest

As your affluence expands

In the hands of the directors

Who invest as propriety demands

You'll be part of

Railways through Africa

Dams across the Nile

Fleets of ocean greyhounds

Majestic, self-amortizing canals

Plantations of ripening tea

Tuppence, prudently Fruitfully, frugally invested

In the, to be specific

In the Dawes, Tomes Mousely, Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!


When you deposit tuppence in a bank account
Soon you'll see that it blooms into credit of a generous amount
Semiannually


And you'll achieve that sense of stature

As your influence expands

To the high financial strata

That established credit now commands

You can purchase first and second trust deeds

Think of the foreclosures!

Bonds!

Chattels!

Dividends!

Shares!


Bankruptcies!

Debtor sales!

Opportunities!

All manner of private enterprise!



Bank Officers: Shipyards!

The mercantile!


Collieries!

Tanneries!


Incorporations!

Amalgamations!

Banks!

Mr Dawes Sr.: (dialogue) While stands the banks of England, England stands. When falls the banks of England, England falls

You see, Michael, all for the lack of Tuppence, patiently, cautiously trustingly invested


In the, to be specific,
In the Dawes, Tomes Mousely, Grubbs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank!

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

A friend is in international banking. His four year old son became terrified when this film scene came on.

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 May 15 - 03:16 AM

I have Trevor Carter's cassettes "The PR Man's Dozen" & "Come to the Edge" the latter contains the song "The PR Man from Hell" which is sung to exquisite effect by Pete Coe. eg "Fat Cats" & "Thankyou Mr Accountant"
Trevor's forte is bang on the theme of this thread.
Trevor Carter Mudcat thread

Subject: RE: Songs about corporate greed
From: GUEST
Date: 20 May 15 - 04:44 AM

The frost was set hard on the field

Subject: ADD: Bring Back the Eight-Hour Day (Charlie King)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 May 15 - 02:37 AM

Charlie King has lots of good songs about corporate greed. Here's "Bring Back the 8-Hour Day" which will be in the upcoming Rise Again Songbook:

Bring Back the 8 Hour Day
(Charlie King)

My job makes me crazy, I'm always behind,
even tho' I am not one to shirk
And some fuzzy folksinger repeats in my mind
that my life should be more than my work
Well I like the work that I do, I don't mind earning my pay
But there's so much to do when the workday is thru:
bring back the 8 hour day

Say you work at a white collar job,
you get paid at a fixed monthly rate
But you come in for meetings a half hour early,
you're working a full hour late
Then you sit for an hour in traffic
with the rest of the overtime drones
There's a latchkey kid you must chase off to bed
'fore you eat a cold supper alone, oh:

CHORUS
Bring back the 8-hour day, when did we give it away?
There's so much to do when the work day is through, bring back the 8-hour day.

When I was a kid, mom stayed home
& we lived on dad's blue-collar pay
Our standard of living was decent & sweet,
just as good as what I've got today
Now my wife has a good-paying job & me, well, I'm doing OK
But we're putting out 99 hrs a wk,
tell me who the hell's getting my pay? hey:

They've got cellular phones for your car,
they've got notebook PC's for your lap
If you crawl off to sleep you stay close to your beeper,
now why do we stand for this crap?
They tell you you gotta to compete
No! we're tired from footing the bill
8 hrs for work, 8 hrs for rest & 8 hrs for what we will

In 1886 in Chicago in Haymarket Square
They gathered from shipyard, from mine & from mill
just to march in the sun & the air
They'd been slaving from dawn until dusk
but not on the 1st of May
'Cos you can't smell the flowers when you're working 12 hrs,
so they struck for an 8-hr day

Hey, bring back that 8-hour day, bring back the 5-day week
When did we give it away? How'd it become an antique?
I like the work that I do, I don't mind earning my pay
But there's so much to do when the work day is thru, bring back the 8-hour day.
© 1994 Pied Asp Music

I worked 30 years of 50 to 60-hour weeks. It was too damn much work and too damn little life, so I retired at the age of 51. Now I'm 66, still working hard but on good things, and life is good.

Subject: ADD: No Banker Left Behind (Ry Cooder)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Jul 15 - 09:58 PM

Ry Cooder's "No Banker Left Behind" is another good one:

NO BANKER LEFT BEHIND
(Ry Cooder)

My telephone rang one evening, my buddy called for me
Said the bankers are all leaving, you better come round & see
It's a startling revelation, they robbed the nation blind
They're all down at the station, no banker left behind!
No banker, No banker, No banker could I find
They were all down at the station, no banker left behind!

Well the bankers called a meetin', to the White House they went one day
They was going to call on the pres-i-dent in a quiet & a sociable way
And the afternoon was sunny & the weather it was fine
They counted all our money & no banker was left behind
No banker, No banker, No banker could I find
They were all down at the White House, no banker was left behind

Well I hear the whistle blowing, it plays a happy tune
The conductor's calling "All aboard!" we'll be leaving soon
With champagne & shrimp cocktails & that's not all you'll find
There's a billion dollar bonus & no banker left behind
No banker, No banker, No banker could I find
When the train pulled out next morning, no banker was left behind (2x)
——w & m: Ry Cooder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHckAFMzaw