Entrepreneurship
Songs about money
The money song list
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Tens of thousands of songs are released every year about teen lust, teen love, occasionally about grown-up love and desire as well. Billions of people listen to their radio or their Youtube channels or their Spotify lists about the powerful desire for sex and companionship. Among this tsunami of steroid-stimulated song-smithing, this torrent of testosterone-triggered tunelessness, are a few songs about the other great passion in some people's lives - money. I have made a small collection of songs on money and (rather tenuously in some cases) other business-related topics. Here it is. If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. And if a lot of these seem to be from the 1980s - well, I guess people just cared about money more then. Now everyone must be too rich to care about the cash. The songs are roughly grouped according to the syllabus of the T3/T4 module of the MBE programme as of 2016/7. MBE graduates, now you know why I played what I played before each lecture. |
| Song. | Comment | Youtube link (if I can find one) |
Introduction - it's all about money |
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| Money (Pink Floyd) | One of the two classics on everyone's money playlist |  |
| Fame or money (Status Quo) | Much under-rated classic rock | |
| Money (Michael Jackson) | Relatively little known, which is odd considering how rich he was | |
Money! (Monty Python) |
Just the song, not the whole 'Money program' sketch | |
Money, money, money (Abba) |
The other classic that everyone thinks of | |
Money (Thats what I want) (Flying Lizards) |
Much better than the Barrett Strong original in my view - soulessly intense! | |
Material Girl (Madonna) |
We have to have Madonna in a list of pop, don't we? | |
Money (David Guetta). |
Get rich, or die trying | |
Fidelity Fiduciary Bank ( from Mary Poppins) |
Really? Yes, this is all about how money is more important than feeding the birds. | |
The Wall Street Shuffle (10CC) |
Bet you'd sell your mother / You can buy another. | |
If I were rich ... (being poor is bad) |
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If I Were A Rich Man (Fiddler on the Roof) |
From 'Fiddler on the Roof' - no longer politically correct, but good music anyway | |
Beautiful, Dirty, Rich (Lady Gaga) |
Not actually about money, although it sounds like it is which is good enough | |
| Billionnaire (Travie McCoy, with Bruno Mars) | Make sure the swear-box is handy for donations if you sing along to this | |
| God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday) | ... "that's got his own" | |
| Cash In My Pocket (Wiley, featuring Mark Ronson) | |
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| Money's Too Tight To Mention (Simply Red) | Another ironic song about being really poor from a really rich singer. | |
| Are you making any money (Herman Hupfeld) | Little known, depression era song from the composer of "As time goes by" | |
Finding and evaluating a good business opportunity |
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It ain't what you do its the way that you do it (Bananarama and the Fun Boy 3) |
The first 1980s girl band in the list. OMG, the hair! | |
Money For Nothing (Dire Straights) |
One of the first records to have a dedicated video made (as opposed to just filming the band) | |
| All idea di quel metallo (Rossini, from Barber of Seville) | The only classical piece in the set. Thanks to the late, great Mike Scott Rohan for suggesting this. More suggestions please. | |
| Opportunities (Pet Shop Boys) | A hymn to 1980s get-rich opportunism. Should be the VC theme tune. | |
| Price Tag (Jesse J with B.O.B.) | Really about how the price is less important than the value, but ... OK, it's catchy | |
Moneytalk (AC/DC) |
A typically nuanced performance ... | |
The business plan |
Right said Fred aka Cup of Tea (Bernard Cribbins) |
Children's entertainer Cribbins on a classic from 1962. Admire the low cost animation. | |
Making Plans For Nigel (XTC) |
Lots of references to life in late 1970s Britain. | |
| I've got a plan (My friend the chocolate cake) | Sort of about planning, so it goes here. Thanks to Stella for this one | |
Running the business |
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| Taking Care of Business (Bachman Turner Overdrive) | Look, being self-employed is not working at nothing all day. Just for the record. | |
| Nine to five (Dolly Parton) | |
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Manic Monday (Bangles) |
The second 1980s girl band. Ah, those were the days. | |
Money changes you | ||
| Big Money (Rush) | |
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| Money Changes Everything (Cyndi Lauper) | |
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Money Talks (Kinks) |
Poor recording - know of better? | |
Money talks (J J Cale) |
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The fallout, and after |
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| Cats in the Cradle (Harry Chapin) | Regret for what pursuing a career does to what is lasting and important | |
Pick yourself up (Ella Fitzgerald) |
And how to get over it | |
And lastly, because the course I taught at Cambridge used to end at Christmas, ... |
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Father Christmas (The Kinks) |
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Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt) |
I think this (original) is much better than Madona's or Kylie Minoogue's cover. Brilliantly classy and seductive. | |