10 – ‘Money, Money, Money’ – (ABBA / 1976)
‘I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay
Ain’t it sad
And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me
That’s too bad
In my dreams I have a plan
If I got me a wealthy man
I wouldn’t have to work at all, I’d fool around and have a ball…
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man’s world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man’s world’
(…)
‘Money, Money, Money’ is a song recorded by ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (the usual suspects!). It was released as a single on 1 November 1976, as the follow-up to ‘Dancing Queen’ (both from the album ‘Arrival’)
The song became a number-one chart hit in Australia, Belgium, France, West Germany, The Netherlands, Mexico and New Zealand.
9 – ‘Take the Money and Run’ – (Steve Miller Band / 1976)
‘This here’s a story about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue
Two young lovers with nothin’ better to do
Than sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube
And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose
They headed down to, ooh, old El Paso
That’s where they ran into a great big hassle
Billy Joe shot a man while robbing his castle
Bobbie Sue took the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run’
(…)
Recorded in 1976 by the Steve Miller Band, ‘Take the Money and Run’ peaked at #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
8 – ‘The Big Money’ – (Rush / 1985)
‘Big money goes around the world
Big money underground
Big money got a mighty voice
Big money make no sound
Big money pull a million strings
Big money hold the prize
Big money weave a mighty web
Big money draw the flies’
(…)
‘The Big Money’ was recorded in 1985 by the progressive rock group Rush and charted at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics, written by drummer Neil Peart, reflect on the power of “big money” and the sheer magnitude of trade in the modern global economy, particularly during the 1980s.
7 – ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ – (Alice Cooper / 1973)
(…)
‘Billion dollar baby
Reckless like a gambler, million dollar maybe
Foaming like a dog that’s been infected by the rabies
We go dancing nighty in the attic
While the moon is rising the sky
If I’m too rough, tell me
I’m so scared your little head will come off in my hands
Million dollar baby
Billion dollar bay
Trillion dollar baby
Zillion dollar baby’
‘Billion Dollar Babies’ released in 1973, was a popular single by Alice Cooper taken from the album with the same name. ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ also became the name of a band which descended from the Alice Cooper band that recorded the song: Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Neal Smith, along with additions Bob Dolin and Mike Marconi.
6 – ‘Rich’ – (Yeah Yeah Yeahs / 2003)
‘I’m rich
Like a hot noise
Rich, rich, rich
I’ll take you out boy
So stuck up
Wish you’d stick in to me
Flesh ripped off
RAAAAAWR’
(…)
‘Rich’ was taken from Yeah Yeah Yeahs debut album ‘Fever to Tell’, which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album and was certified Gold in the UK. In 2009, the album was named by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork Media, and NME as one of the best albums of the decade!
5 – ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ – (The Beatles / 1969)
‘You never give me your money
You only give me your funny paper
And in the middle of negotiations
You break down
I never give you my number
I only give you my situation
And in the middle of investigation
I break down
Out of college, money spent
See no future, pay no rent
All the money’s gone, nowhere to go
Any jobber got the sack
Monday morning, turning back
Yellow lorry slow, nowhere to go
But oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go
Oh, that magic feeling, nowhere to go
Nowhere to go’
(…)
Written by Paul McCartney, ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’ is the opening track on side two of the album ‘Abbey Road’. The track documents the financial and personal difficulties the band was facing at the time.
4 – ‘Money for Nothing’ – (Dire Straits / 1985)
‘Now look at them yo-yo’s that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s’
(…)
In 1985, Dire Straits released their 5th studio album, ‘Brother in Arms’. ‘Money for Nothing’ was the second single taken from that album, becoming one of Dire Straits’ most successful songs, peaking at number one for three weeks in the United States, and it also reached number one for three weeks on the US Top Rock Tracks chart. In the UK, the song peaked at number four. ‘Money for Nothing’ also won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1986 at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards.
3 – ‘Free Money’ – (Patti Smith / 1975)
‘Every night before I go to sleep
Find a ticket, win a lottery,
Scoop the pearls up from the sea
Cash them in and buy you all the things you need.
Every night before I rest my head
See those dollar bills go swirling ’round my bed.
I know they’re stolen, but I don’t feel bad.
I take that money, buy you things you never had.
Oh, baby, it would mean so much to me,
Oh, baby, to buy you all the things you need for free.
I’ll buy you a jet plane, baby,
Get you on a higher plane to a jet stream
And take you through the stratosphere
And check out the planets there and then take you down
Deep where it’s hot, hot in Arabia, babia, then cool, cold fields of snow
And we’ll roll, dream, roll, dream, roll, roll, dream, dream.
When we dream it, when we dream it, when we dream it,
We’ll dream it, dream it for free, free money,
Free money, free money, free money, free money, free money, free money.’
(…)
‘Free Money’ was written by Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye, Patti Smith Group guitarist. The song was first released in 1975 from the mythic album ‘Horses’. In 1977, Sammy Hagar released a cover of ‘Free Money’ on his self-titled second album.
2 – ‘What Do You Do For Money Honey?’ – (AC-DC / 1980)
‘You workin’ in bars ridin’ in cars
Never gonna give it for free
Your apartment with a view on the finest avenue
Lookin’ at your beat on the street
You’re always pushin’, shovin’, satisfied with nothing
You bitch you must be gettin’ old
So stop your life on the road
All your diggin’ for gold
You make me wonder
Yes I wonder
I wonder
Honey, what do you do for money
Honey, what do you do for money
Where do you get your kicks’
(…)
‘Back in Black’ is one of the best efforts in the history of rock, period!
In 1980, this album break many records, and today RIAA certified it 22x multi-platinum, recognizing sales of 22 million…in the US (!) Certainly they have won a lot of money with this album, but at the time when they were recording one of their best songs – ‘What Do You Do For Money Honey?’- only in their best dreams they would picture that.
1 – ‘Money‘ – ( Pink Floyd / 1973)
‘Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and your O.K.
Money it’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I’ll buy me a football team
Money get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off my stack.
Money it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it’s no surprise that they’re
giving none away’
(…)
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe this epic song. ‘Money’ was written by Roger Waters and released as a single, it became Pink Floyd first chart hit in the US, reaching #10 in Cash Box magazine and #13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
If you want to see all the lyrics visit azlyrics.
