# Dues songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2007, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266 "2007-12-26T05:50:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/21 "2007-12-26T17:17:59Z")
Formerly excellent British band _The Streets_ wrote almost the whole of their entire, execrable third album moaning about how tough it is to be famous. The most insulting song of the lot is “When you wasn’t famous”, where he whines about the fact that, even though it’s easy for him to pick up _ordinary_ chicks now he’s a celebrity, it’s so hard to go home with _celebrity_ chicks that he feels like he’s a normal person again. Wanker. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/22 "2007-12-26T17:48:26Z")
[QUOTE=Bayard] My bold. I always heard it as “is that a woman or a man / you always seem outnumbered”. Either way, it’s not great poetry, but I don’t mind the whining. [/QUOTE] 😃 Yes, that is why I was terribly amused. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/23 "2007-12-26T18:01:17Z")
**We’re the Replacements** , by They Might Be Giants ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/24 "2007-12-26T18:03:31Z")
“Beth” by KISS turned the shitty dues song into an equally shitty love song… ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/25 "2007-12-26T19:44:41Z")
[QUOTE=thetruewheel] I was always a little put off by Jackson Browne’s “The Load-Out,” which begins: \*Now the seats Are all empty And the roadies take the stage Packin’ up and tearin’ down They’re the first to come And the last to leave Workin’ for that minimum wage…\* If he’s so touched by their plight, why doesn’t he give them a raise? [/QUOTE] He’s so out of touch with reality that he doesn’t know that IATSE members make damn good money. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/26 "2007-12-26T20:06:57Z")
Motorhead’s _(We Are) The Roadcrew_ seems like it fits in here too. Especially since Lemmy had been a roadie for other acts (Jimi Hendrix being one such act) previous to being in Motorhead. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/27 "2007-12-26T20:42:03Z")
My favorite is Live’s _Selling the Drama_. The lyrics and music together make it seem like the band is on some kind of great ethereal spiritual quest. I also enjoy The Peppers’ _Can’t Stop_ because the first and foremost point they make about being rock stars is that they fucking love what they do. And, like _Live_, they indicate that it has to do with a kind of benevolent compulsion more than anything else. And Rush’s _Limelight_ isn’t too bad either. I love the painfully honest line, _I can’t pretend a stranger is a long-awaited friend._ Agreed that Toby Keith’s _How Do You Like Me Now_ is a POS. Singing about being a famous musician is pretty difficult to pull off without sounding like a total twat. But enough people have pulled it off that I generally have no mercy towards those who fail. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/28 "2007-12-26T21:14:38Z")
Piano Man, by Billy Joel ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/29 "2007-12-26T21:17:23Z")
Local H’s _All The Kids Are Right_ is a self-mocking song about putting on a show on a terribly off-night: > [@](#): > > You heard that we were great > But now you think we’re lame > Since you saw the show last night > You hoped that we would rock – > Knock it up a notch > Rockin’ was nowhere in sight > > And its never good when it goes bad: > No one likes to feel like they’ve been had > And it may be ok > But you won’t wear our t-shirts now anymore ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/30 "2007-12-26T21:25:47Z")
[QUOTE=Dung Beetle] Piano Man, by Billy Joel [/QUOTE] Likewise (fittingly) for _The Entertainer_ > [@](#): > > I am the entertainer, > I come to do my show. > You’ve heard my latest record, > It’s been on the radio. > Ah, it took me years to write it, > They were the best years of my life. > It was a beautiful song. > But it ran too long. > If you’re gonna have a hit, > You gotta make it fit– > So they cut it down to 3:05 ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/31 "2007-12-26T22:01:48Z")
Creedence Clearwater Revival again with “Travelin’ Band” “Listen to the radio, talk about the light show, Someone got excited had to call the state militia” Also Skynard’s - “Working for MCA” ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/32 "2007-12-26T22:12:42Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] I always think Turn The Page is whiny. Waaaa waaaa, I’m a rock star. [/QUOTE] My take is that he was writing about life _before_ he became a star, when he was pretty much a working slob, traveling all night from town to town and trying to get a peaceful meal at a local diner. When the rednecks start ribbing him about his hair, I can almost hear him sigh, “Oh, man, here we go again.” Not whiny at all, just tired of it. Funny how you can get such different perspectives from the same song. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/33 "2007-12-26T22:29:26Z")
Chicago had “Critic’s Choice” and “Wishing You Were Here.” Google the lyrics to “Critic’s Choice” and imagine them being sung to a critic. They’re absolutely pathetic. Pearl Jam’s “Corduroy” was pretty much a song about being a rock star. Ben Folds’ “[One Down](http://www.thesuburbs.org.uk/lyrics/One_Down)” is about having to fulfill a contractual obligation to write 4.6 songs. ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/34 "2007-12-26T22:50:51Z")
I hate to admit to knowing and liking this song, but does Britney Spears’ “Lucky” count? Especially in light of her actions over the past few years? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/35 "2007-12-26T23:09:42Z")
_Once Bitten, Twice Shy_ is another song about rock and rollers’ lives (forget about subsequent pretenders, here’s Ian Hunter belting out the opening lyrics): _Well the times gettin’ hard for you little girl I’m a hummin’ and a strummin’ all over god’s world You don’t remember when you got your last meal And you forgot just how a woman feels You didn’t know what rock n roll was Until you met a drummer on a Greyhound bus I got there in the nick of time Before he got his hands across your state line_ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/36 "2007-12-26T23:59:08Z")
“What’s Your Name?” - Lynyrd Skynyrd “200 More Miles” - Cowboy Junkies (my favorite of this genre) “[Are Your Sure Hank Done It This Way?](http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/jennings-waylon/are-you-sure-hank-done-it-this-way-13115.html)” - Waylon Jennings And “[Tonight’s the Night](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/tonightsthenight.html)” by Neil Young sorta qualifies (being about the drug death of a roadie). ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/37 "2008-01-10T15:02:39Z")
I heard an old Three Dog Night song last night that reminded me of this thread. It’s a “dues” song from the perspective of the singer’s girlfriend. [Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)](http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/three_dog_night/play_something_sweet_brickyard_blues.html) Well, I tried to run my game She said “Man, that’s the same old thing I’ve heard before” And I’m too tired to go for your show (again and again) And she started to explain She said “Man, I ain’t sayin’ what you’re playin’ just can’t make it But I just can’t take it anymore” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/38 "2008-01-10T15:21:39Z")
Dire Straights–“Walk of Life” and maybe “Money for Nothing” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/39 "2008-01-10T15:41:28Z")
Mamas and Papas–Creeque Alley Don McLean–American Pie ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266/40 "2008-01-10T16:09:37Z")
Bob Seger – Against the Wind Ricky Nelson – Garden Party Joe Walsh – Life’s Been Good to Me Motley Crue – Home Sweet Home Barry Manilow – I write the songs :d&r: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dues-songs/431266.md?page=3)