Songs about money — from making a living to struggling to make ends meet — have been around since the beginning of country music. While the sounds of country have evolved over the past years, songwriter's themes have, more or less, stayed the same. The working man (or woman) is the subject of many country songs — going out on the town after a long week at work, enjoying a beer, hanging with friends and spending your last dime on a good time.
For the love of money, here are the 10 best songs about cash to add to your workin' playlist:
10. 'Cost of Livin', Ronnie Dunn
This song about an unemployed father looking for work to feed his family resonated with many Americans at its release. Phillip Coleman shopped the song around Nashville until the tune landed in Dunn's hands, and he asked to take a stab at the song. Dunn coined the heart-wrenching hook "cost of living's high and going up."
9. 'Livin' On Love,' Alan Jackson
Livin' on love, buyin' on time, without somebody nothing ain't worth a dime.
"Livin' On Love" is Alan Jackson's hit love song about money meaning nothing when you're with the one you love the most. This song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1994.
8. 'Sixteen Tons,' Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford's song, "Sixteen Tons," is about a man who works hard his entire life in the coal mines and never reaps the benefits of his labor. This tune became Ford's signature song and the biggest hit of his career.
7. 'The Gambler,' Kenny Rogers
Though the song is about poker and money, it really isn't about either of those things at all. This is a song about life and taking it as it comes. In other words, playing the cards you're dealt. Kenny Rogers made the song a No. 1 hit on the country chart, and it even found a place on the Billboard Hot 100, which was rare in 1978 when the song was released.
6. 'Take The Money and Run,' Steve Miller Band
Now, I'm no historian, but this song reminds me a lot of Bonnie and Clyde. The couple in the song murder a man, take the money, and (you guessed it) RUN!
5. 'If I Could Make A Livin',' Clay Walker
The old saying, "it doesn't feel like work if you're doing what you love," was in the minds of Alan Jackson, Keith Stegall, and Roger Murrah when they wrote some of the best country lyrics of all time.
If I could make a livin' out of lovin' you
I'd be a millionaire in a week or two
I'd be doin' what I love and lovin' what I do
If I could make a livin' out of lovin' you
4. 'Beaches of Biloxi,' Mike and the Moonpies
Songs about money aren't always in the band's favor; Mike and the Moonpies lost all of their money on the beaches of Biloxi. (Not to mention, they have the best music video of late.)
The beaches of Biloxi got the best of me again
On that damn riverboat, the dealers always win
And I'm gonna lose her to the tables and the gin
The beaches of Biloxi got the best of me again
3. 'Fancy,' Reba McEntire
A young lady finding her way out of poverty and into the riches of life is exactly what Fancy did in this amazing story song written by Bobbie Gentry and made into a top 10 country hit by Reba McEntire.
2. 'If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time,' Lefty Frizzell
Lefty Frizzell wrote and released the classic country hit 'If You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time' in 1950. The song turned out to be the song that made Frizzell so famous. Willie Nelson released the song in 1976 and took it to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart. If you've heard the song, you know the story.
If you've got the money, I've got the time
We'll go honky tonkin' and we'll have a time
We'll make all the nightspots, dance, drink beer and wine
If you've got the money, honey, I've got the time
1. '9 to 5,' Dolly Parton
Arguably one of the most iconic songs of all time, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" is all about the woes of the workplace, from being overlooked to being underpaid. The song was written for the '80s movie of the same name. It granted Parton an Academy Award nomination and four Grammy nominations, winning Best Country Song and Best Country Vocal Performance Female.
Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living
Barely getting by, it's all taking and no giving
They just use your mind, and they never give you credit
It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it
Though we love country music and it is the air we breathe, we can't forget other catchy money songs just because they are from a different genre!
Top 10 Honorable mentions:
'Rich Girl,' Hall & Oates
'Material Girl,' Madonna
'Gold Digger,' Kanye West (ft. Jamie Foxx)
'Money, Money, Money,' ABBA
'Mo Money Mo Problems,' The Notorious B.I.G
'She Works Hard For The Money,' Donna Summer
'You Never Give Me Your Money,' The Beatles
'Money Talks,' AC/DC
'Money Changes Everything,' Cyndi Lauper
'Billionaire,' Travie McCoy (ft. Bruno Mars)
