Music describes things about life in ways that can touch our souls. It reaches a part of our brains that differ from the rest of our thinking brains. And yet, the right lyrics can also provide us with information and inspiration about the biggest things we deal with in our lives. Money, of course, is one of the things that all of us constantly deal with in life, in a variety of different ways. And sometimes a song’s lyrics just capture exactly what we are feeling. Here are some of may favorite songs about money.
1. Bought and Sold by Dar Williams
There are a lot of great anti-consumerism songs out there in the folk and indie music genres, which are genres that I love. This Dar Williams song sums up a lot of what those songs are about. It’s been called an Anti-Walmart song, as it touches on the ways that small mom and pop shops faded away in the face of big box stores. It’s also a political song, with references to war including Vietnam.
Money Lyrics to Remember:
“We can spend our sand dollars
And sand nickels and sand dimes
We can even say prosperity is all our own
It’s bought and sold, it’s bought and sold
We can even say our loneliness is all our own
It’s bought and sold, it’s bought and sold”
Fun Fact: Dar Williams’ song “Holly Tree” is said to be about how the witch trials targeted women who had money or owned property.
2. Who Will Save Your Soul by Jewel
This song came out around the same time as the first song on our list. It has a similar vibe to it in a lot of ways. In this first song of hers, which Jewel wrote at age 16, the singer calls upon us to save ourselves, rather than turning to others for help. In essence, it’s a statement about celebrity culture. This, in turn, is about consumerism in the sense that the answers are inside of you, not something that you can buy outside of yourself.
Money Lyrics to Remember:
“Another day, another dollar
Another war, another tower
Went up where the homeless had their homes
So we pray to as many different gods
As there are flowers”
3. Cheap Thrills by Kina Grannis
I adore Kina Grannis for both her original work and her unique covers of other popular songs. In “Cheap Thrills,” she reminds us that we don’t need money to have fun. It’s all about the simply joys in life. This could be one of those anthems for people who enjoy frugal living.
Money Lyrics to Remember:
“Baby, I don’t need dollar bills to have fun tonight
I don’t need no money as long as I can feel the beat
I don’t need no money as long as I keep dancing”
4. Garden of Simple by Ani DiFranco
Here’s another great song for people who love simple living. She paints a picture of how people and their relationships can get so weighed down by external factors like money that they stop seeing the beauty in the world and in each other. She envisions a “garden of simple.”
Money Lyrics to Remember:
“we were standing in a garden
and i had a machine that made silence
it just sucked up the whole opinionated din
and there were no people on the payroll
and there were no monkeys on our backs
and i said, show me what you look like
without skin”
5. Money Made You Mean by Indigo Girls
This is another song that’s about how money can make relationships go wrong. As the saying goes, the love of money is the root of all evil. That really underlines what this song is all about.
Money Lyrics to Remember:
“You could keep it all or give it away
But where did it come from in the first place?
Robbing Peter to pay me, and I’ll just be
Giving it back to Peter to feel free.”
Another song that talks about how sometimes money changes people: Madonna’s “Love Spent”
6. I’ve Sacrificed More Than You’ll Ever Lose by Reba McEntire
Many of Reba’s songs are about love and heartbreak, including this one. It’s also about how when a couple has different financial priorities for their family, they sometimes can’t overcome those hurdles. This is summed up by two short lines:
“I bought the bacon
While you bought the booze”
and
“Needing new clothes with the money you spent
On barbills and motels and women you met”
Perhaps Reba’s most famous song about money is “Fancy,” a song about a woman whose mother sends her out as a child prostitute to make money for the family. Ani DiFranco also has a song about sex work called “Letter to a John” that discusses how childhood abuse led to this way of earning money.
7. Iron Bull by Heather Maloney
This song repeats the sentiment “wake me up when” to describe things that the singer wishes were better in the world. It mentions an important money topic: gender wage inequity.
Money Lyrics to Remember:
“Wake me up when Jack and Jill
make the same amount of money luggin’ water up the hill
I don’t wanna, don’t wanna be sleeping for that.”
8. Material Girl by Madonna
I was born in 1980 so this song was played on repeat throughout my early formative years. I’m not a “material girl” at all myself. I definitely don’t think that, “the boy with the cold hard cash / Is always Mister Right.” But it so perfectly captures the essence of materialism and consumerism that was perfect for that era and remains relevant today.
What are your favorite songs about money? Let’s get a playlist together! Share your answers in the comments!
Read More:
- 50 Best Money Podcasts You Must Tune Into
- Finance Movies: The Best Films About Money
- Songs About Money and Savings
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Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.
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