Songs for the recession

hatful

Very upbeat indeed but...
What songs would you pick for a recession soundtrack?

My pick...

'Rich Folks Hoax' - Rodriguez

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVpyAZiArHU

The moon is hanging in the purple sky
The baby's sleeping while its mother sighs
Talking 'bout the rich folks
Rich folks have the same jokes
And they park in basic places.The priest is preaching from a shallow grave
He counts his money, then he paints you saved
Talking to the young folks
Young folks share the same jokes
But they meet in older places.

So don't tell me about your success
Nor your recipes for my happiness
Smoke in bed
I never could digest
Those illusions you claim to have going.
The sun is shining, as it's always done
Coffin dust is the fate of everyone
Talking 'bout the rich folks
The poor create the rich hoax
And only late breast-fed fools believe it.
So don't tell me about your success
Nor your recipes for my happiness
Smoke in bed
I never could digest
Those illusions you claim to have going

funktastic

'Career Opportunities' The Clash

Strummer/Jones)

The offered me the office, offered me the
shop
They said I'd better take anything they'd got
Do you wanna make tea at the BBC?
Do you wanna be, do you really wanna be a cop?

Career opportunities are the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunity, the ones that never knock

I hate the army an' I hate the R.A.F.
I don't wanna go fighting in the tropical heat
I hate the civil service rules
And I won't open letter bombs for you

Bus driver....ambulance man....ticket inspector

They're gonna have to introduce conscription
They're gonna have to take away my prescription
If they wanna get me making toys
If they wanna get me, well, I got no choice

'The Payback' James Brown

'Money for Nothing' Dire Straits

'Ghost Town' The Specials

'Doledrum' The La's

jmc

A new and obvious one
Wiley - Cash In My Pocket
cool video
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=s6bNKS8QAjM

hatful

Recession blues - B.B King

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=rE6R9u1jt4w (Cover version)

ince this recession I'm losing my baby,
because the times are getting so hard
Yes, since this recession I'm losing my baby,
because the times are getting so hard
Yes, I have to stop running around,
man, you know it's breaking my heart

Yes, I can't afford no liquor,
all I can buy is beer and wine
Yes, I can't afford no liquor people,
all I can buy is beer and wine
Well I can get my baby what she wants,
and she stays cross al the time, yes help me

Yes, please somebody,
please go out to Washington for me
Yes, please, please somebody,
please go out to Washington for me
Yes, think about us out here
help me get out of this misery

PrivateEye

The Radiators-Television Screen

Devaluation on the network news,
Rock n' Roll heroes with the rich mans blues
It don't really matter if the future looks bleak
Cause I never see more thana tenner a week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP1DXxxIBrM

Modern version sadly, different lyrics.

ANarcho-Munk

'Ping Pong' - Stereolab

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w09h0unzZJE

it's alright 'cause the historical pattern has shown
how the economical cycle tends to revolve
in a round of decades three stages stand out in a loop
a slump and war then peel back to square one and back for more

bigger slump and bigger wars and a smaller recovery
huger slump and greater wars and a shallower recovery

you see the recovery always comes 'round again
there's nothing to worry for things will look after themselves
it's alright recovery always comes 'round again
there's nothing to worry if things can only get better

there's only millions that lose their jobs and homes and sometimes accents
there's only millions that die in their bloody wars, it's alright

it's only their lives and the lives of their next of kin that they are losing
it's only their lives and the lives of their next of kin that they are losing

it's alright 'cause the historical pattern has shown
how the economical cycle tends to revolve
in a round of decades three stages stand out in a loop
a slump and war then peel back to square one and back for more

bigger slump and bigger wars and a smaller recovery
huger slump and greater wars and a shallower recovery

don't worry be happy things will get better naturally
don't worry shut up sit down go with it and be happy

dum, dum, dum, de dum dum, de duh de duh de dum dum dum... ah ah
dum, dum, dum, de dum dum, de duh de duh de dum dum dum... ah ah

jossnjuice

christy moore- ordinary man

I'm an ordinary man, nothin' special nothin' grand,
I've had to work for everything I own,
Well I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I got,
Enough to keep my family and my home,
Now they say that times are hard & they've handed me my cards,
They say there's not the work to go around,
When the whistle blows the gates will finally close,
Tonight they're going to shut this factory down,
Then they'll tear it down.

I never missed a day nor went on strike for better pay,
For 20 years I served them best I could,
With a handshake and a cheque it seems so easy to forget,
Loyalty through the bad times and the good,
The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so bad,
But the Captains of industry won't let him loose,
He still drives a car and smokes a cigar,
And still he takes his family on a cruise,
He'll never lose.

Now it seems to me to be such a cruel irony,
He's richer now ever he was before,
Now my cheque is all spent and I can't afford the rent,
There's one law for the rich, one for the poor,
Every day I've tried to salvage some of my pride,
To find some work so's I might pay my way,
But everywhere I go, the answer is always no,
There's no work for anyone here today,
No work today.

And so condemned I stand, just an ordinary man,
Like thousands beside me in the queue,
I watch my darlin' wife tryin' to make the best of life,
God knows what the kids are goin' to do,
Now that we are faced with this human waste,
A generation cast aside,
For as long as I live, I never will forgive,
You've stripped me of my dignity & pride,
You've stripped me bare.



and dry county by bon jovi

Across the border they turn
Water into wine
Some say it's the devil's blood
They're squeezing from the vine
Some say it's a saviour
In these hard and desperate times
For me it helps me to forget
That we're just born to die

I came here like so many did
To find the better life
To find my piece of easy street
To finally be alive
And I know nothing good comes easy
And all good things take some time
I made my bed I'll lie in it
To die in it's the crime

You can't help but prosper
Where the streets are paved with gold
They say the oil wells ran deeper here
Than anybody's known
I packed up on my wife and kid
And left them back at home

Now there's nothing in this paydirt
The ghosts are all I know
Now the oil's gone
The money's gone
And the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on

Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive

In the blessed name of Jesus
I heard a preacher say
That we are God's children
And He'd be back someday
And I hoped that he knew
Something as he drank his cup of wine
I didn't have too good of a feeling
As I head out to the night

I cursed the sky to open
I begged the clouds for rain
I prayed to God for water
For this burning in my veins
It was like my soul's on fire
And I had to watch the flames
All my dreams went up in ashes
And my future blew away

Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
And the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on

Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive

Men spend their whole lives
Waiting praying for some big reward
But it seems sometimes
The payoff leaves you feeling
Like a dirty whore
If I could choose the way I'll die
Make it by the gun or knife
'Cause the other way there's too much pain
Night after night after night after night

Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hands
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive

The Hustler

Manic Street Preachers- Motorcycle Emptiness

lordgoat

Atlantic City - Bruce

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

Now, baby, evrything dies, honey, thats a fact...

Now our luck may have died and our love may be cold
But with you forever Ill stay
Were goin out where the sands turnin to gold
Put on your stockins baby, `cause the nights getting cold
And maybe evrything dies, baby, thats a fact
But maybe evrything that dies someday comes back

Now, I been lookin for a job, but its hard to find
Down here its just winners and losers and dont
Get caught on the wrong side of that line
Well, Im tired of comin out on the losin end
So, honey, last night I met this guy and Im gonna
Do a little favor for him

Well, I guess everything dies, baby, thats a fact...

banshee_bones

The Times they are a changing- Bob Dylan

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Kold

[ORPHANS]
It's the hard-knock life for us!
It's the hard-knock life for us!

[ANNIE]
'Steada treated,

[ORPHANS]
We get tricked!

[ANNIE]
'Steada kisses,

[ORPHANS]
We get kicked!

[ALL]
It's the hard-knock life!
Got no folks to speak of, so,
It's the hard-knock row we how!

[ANNIE]
Cotton blankets,

[ORPHANS]
'Steada of wool!

[ANNIE]
Empty Bellies

[ORPHANS]
'Steada of full!

[ALL]
It's the hard-knock life!

[ANNIE]
Don't if feel like the wind is always howl'n?

[KATE AND TESSIE]
Don't it seem like there's never any light!

[DUFFY AND JULY]
Once a day, don't you wanna throw the towel in?

[MOLLY AND PEPPER]
It's easier than puttin' up a fight.

[ANNIE]
No one's there when your dreams at night get creepy!
No one cares if you grow...of if you shrink!
No one dries when your eyes get wet an' weepy!

[ALL]
From all the cryin' you would think this place's a sink!
Ohhhh!!!!!!!
Empty belly life!
Rotten smelly life!
Full of sorrow life!
No tomorrow life!

[MOLLY]
Santa Claus we never see

[ANNIE]
Santa Claus, what's that?
Who's he?

[ALL]
No one cares for you a smidge
When you're in an orphanage!

[MOLLY]
(Making a whistling sound and imitating Miss. Hannigan)
You'll stay up till this dump shines
like the top of the Chrysler Building.

[ORPHANS]
Yank the whiskers from her chin
Jab her with a safety Pin
Make her drink a mickey finn
I love you, Miss Hannigan

[MOLLY]
(whistle) Get to work!
(whistle) Strip them beds!
(whistle) I said get to work!

[ALL]
It's the hard-knock life for us
It's the hard-knock life for us
No one cares for you a smidge
When your in an orphanage
It's the hard-knock life
It's the hard-knock life
It's the hard-knock life!

stovelid

I Don't Want to Talk About It - Everything but the Girl.

mobby

Yep has to be, D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better

loyatemu

Johnny Cash - "Busted" (or indeed anything by Busted...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDB7tZFN3fQ

Nolanger

See him walk along this lonely street
Trying to find, find a future
New pair of shoes are on my feet
Cause fashion is my only culture
Nothing ever change
People say to me just be yourself
It makes no sense to follow fashion
How could I be anybody else
I don't try I've got no reasons
Nothing ever change
I'm just living in a life without meaning
I walk and walk - do nothing
I'm just living in a life without feeling
I talk and talk - say nothing
I walk along this same lonely street
Still trying to find, find a reason
This man comes and smacks me in the teeth
I don't complain it's not my concious
Nothing ever change
I'm just living in a life without meaning
I walk I walk - do nothing
I'm living in a life without thinking
I talk I talk - say nothing

LCDeelite

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place- The Animals

~ "In this dirty old part of the city
Where the sun refused to shine
People tell me there ain't no use in tryin'.... Watch my daddy in bed a-dyin'
Watched his hair been turnin' grey
He's been workin' and slavin' his life away
Oh yes I know it

(Yeah!) He's been workin' so hard
(Yeah!) I've been workin' too, baby
(Yeah!) Every night and day
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)

We gotta get out of this place
If it's the last thing we ever do
We gotta get out of this place
'cause girl, there's a better life for me and you."


or

It's Over- Roy Orbison

~ "All the rainbows in the sky
Start to weep, then say goodbye
You won't be seeing rainbows any more.."

Fanny Cradock

I did something similar on my blog a while back

http://ear-4-music.com/2008/10/20/a-problem-shared/

drunkmonkey

Inspiral Carpets - This is how it feels

Husband don't know what he's done
Kids don't know what's wrong with mum
She can't say, they can't see, putting it down to another bad day
Daddy don't know what he's done
Kids don't know what's wrong with mum

SO THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE LONELY
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE SMALL
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOUR WORD MEANS NOTHING AT ALL

There's a funeral in the town, some guy from the top estate
Seems they found him under a train, and yet he had it all on aplate

SO THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE LONELY
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE SMALL
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOUR WORD MEANS NOTHING AT ALL

Husband don't know what he's done
Kids don't know what's wrong with mum
She can't say, they can't see, putting it down to another badday

SO THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE LONELY
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS TO BE SMALL
THIS IS HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOUR WORD MEANS NOTHING AT ALL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twDZ1J0CT88

Tabnabs

The ultimate boom to bust song

"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime,"

They used to tell me I was building a dream, and so I followed the mob,
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear, I was always there right on the job.
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?

Once I built a railroad, I made it run, made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad; now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, brick, and rivet, and lime;
Once I built a tower, now it's done. Brother, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?

Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell,
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum,
Half a million boots went slogging through Hell,
And I was the kid with the drum!

Say, don't you remember, they called me Al; it was Al all the time.
Say, don't you remember, I'm your pal? Buddy, can you spare a dime?