50 Best Rock Songs About Jobs
Rock Anthems for the Working Grind
There’s a certain pulse that kicks in once the alarm hits too early and the week starts blurring again. You drag through coffee lines, maybe catch yourself humming something half-ironic that somehow fits. Rock songs have always known this rhythm—the grind, the pressure, the weird pride that sneaks in when you keep showing up. They stretch across decades of factory floors, cubicle boredom, and tour-bus exhaustion. Not every track talks straight about a nine-to-five, but the feeling bleeds through anyway.
Some of these tracks sound like punching the clock with a snarl, others feel like zoning out on the commute, headlights flickering in time with a beat that keeps you moving. It’s messy pride, maybe a little anger, maybe some hope that work can still mean something. Pop, rock, country, and R&B songs have all taken swings at the same feeling, but rock holds that edge where frustration turns into noise and noise turns into something close to freedom. These songs catch that blur between routine and rebellion, where the volume cranks up right when you’re about to quit caring.
The playlist hits that nerve—the sweat, the burnout, the thrill of cashing in your hours and still feeling alive. Some songs might not literally center on jobs, but they land in the same place. Here are the best rock songs for the working grind that get it.
Top 10 Employment and Work-Themed Rock Songs
1. 'Working Man' by Rush
2. 'Takin' Care of Business' by Bachman-Turner Overdrive
3. 'Working for the Weekend' by Loverboy
4. 'Working Class Hero' by John Lennon
5. 'Factory' by Bruce Springsteen
6. 'Workin' for a Livin'' by Huey Lewis & The News
7. 'A Hard Day's Night' by The Beatles
8. 'Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)' by Styx
9. 'Career Opportunities' by The Clash
10. 'Manic Monday' by The Bangles
Best Rock Songs About Daily Grind and Employment #11 to 20
11. 'Allentown' by Billy Joel
12. 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits
13. 'Factory Girl' by The Rolling Stones
14. 'Industrial Disease' by Dire Straits
15. 'Maggie's Farm' by Bob Dylan
16. 'Welcome to the Working Week' by Elvis Costello
17. 'Bang the Drum All Day' by Todd Rundgren
18. 'Working on the Highway' by Bruce Springsteen
19. 'Dead End Job' by The Police
20. 'Feel Like a Number' by Bob Seger
Ultimate Rock Songs About Labor and Work Life #21 to 30
21. 'The Job That Ate My Brain' by Ramones
22. 'Working Man's Blues' by Merle Haggard
23. 'Working Man' by Creedence Clearwater Revival
24. 'Working Man's Ph.D.' by Aaron Tippin
25. 'This F***ing Job' by Drive-By Truckers
26. 'I Want to Break Free' by Queen
27. 'Worker's Song' by Dropkick Murphys
28. 'Last Hour of the Last Day of Work' by Less Than Jake
29. 'Clampdown' by The Clash
30. 'Killing in the Name' by Rage Against the Machine
Essential Rock Songs About Work and Employment Struggles #31 to 40
31. 'Why Don't You Get a Job?' by The Offspring
32. 'Slave to the Grind' by Skid Row
33. 'Taxman' by The Beatles
34. 'Five O'Clock World' by The Vogues
35. 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' by The Smiths
36. 'Dirty Work' by Steely Dan
37. 'Workin' Day and Night' by Michael Jackson
38. 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place' by The Animals
39. 'Just Got Paid' by ZZ Top
40. 'Work Song' by Nina Simone
More Rock Songs Reflecting Work and Job Experiences #41 to 50
41. 'Don't Talk to Me About Work' by Lou Reed
42. 'Work and Play' by The Guess Who
43. 'The Load-Out' by Jackson Browne
44. 'Paperback Writer' by The Beatles
45. 'Working at the Car Wash Blues' by Jim Croce
46. 'Working Girl' by Cher
47. 'She Works Hard for the Money' by Donna Summer
48. 'The Magnificent Seven' by The Clash
49. 'Love on a Farmboy's Wages' by XTC
50. 'Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)' by The Rakes
© 2025 Carson McQueen
