Oh man, if you’re going to go to the Conchords, how could you overlook (You Don’t Have To Be) A Prostitute. “Do you have any other skills… Like TYPING?”
And, are you saying they’re not rappers? That hurts their feelings!
I suggested another one, “The Entertainer”… And now I’d say also his song The Downeaster Alexa about a Long Island Fisherman. And if being a conscripted soldier counts, he also has Goodnight Saigon.
Dang, I missed your links when I made my reply mentioning these songs… But I did give a few others!
Kevin Johnson’s “Grab the Money and Run” is about three highway workers (leading hand, payroll clerk, and security guard) who run off with the payroll.
I was just going to say, that makes the fourth time 16 Tons was mentioned.
How about David Bowie’s Space Oddity (note: I linked to an earlier 1969 version of the song, with video by Bowie… check it out), and Peter Schilling’s later referential song Major Tom (Coming Home), whose protagonist is an astronaut (named Major Tom, duh).
“On Being Frank” by Ben Fold’s Five is about Frank Sinatra’s tour manager.
Or You’re So Beautiful: “You could be a part time model; but you’d probably have to keep your other job, too.”
And supplying Tech Support with all the buggy code to support…Code Monkey
Put together “Oh! You, Babe Ruth”, “Centerfield”, “Shoeless Joe Jackson”, “Slide, Kelly, Slide”, “Cal Ripken Jr. Never Missed a Game!”, “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?”, “I Can’t Get to First Base with You”, “Jody, Jody Davis”, and “Catfish” and you get a starting baseball team.
Don Henely’s “Dirty Laundry” - tabloid news reporters.
Another one by Weird Al, It’s All About the Pentiums, is obviously about some sort of computer programmer.
Junior Brown’s “Highway Patrol” should be self-explanatory.
“Black Diamond Bay” by Bob Dylan has a soldier, a desk clerk,
and a card dealer, with an implied Soviet ambassador and TV newsman (old Cronkite).
And “Boxing” is Muhammad Ali talking with Howard Cosell.
Have we had a Barber yet? Or a factotum?
Largo al Factotum — Il Barbiere di Siviglia — The Barber of Seville (Italian with some English subtitles) moonlights as the city factotum — messenger / courier / all-purpose handyman.
I see Tennessee Ernie Ford has already loaded 64 tons so far in this thread. Here’s another miner:
The Canny Miner Lad by Ian Campbell Folk Group
Whether you’re hewing or filling the tub,
Or putting the trams back along to the road,
It’s a hellish hard way to work for your grub.
He’s a fine lad, a canny lad, the miner.
We’ve seen a few train driver songs already. Ian Campbell also sings of the fireman:
A loco fireman is me grade,
Boiling water is me trade.
The driver thinks he runs the show,
But if I’m not there, the train won’t go.
A few trucker songs have been mentioned. Trucker songs were all in vogue on the Country Western circuit in the 1970’s. I used to listen to them on my hour-long drive to work and home each day. Red Sovine had a couple.
Trigger warning! Tear-jerker alert!
A hitchhiker, stranded in the rain, gets a lift from a trucker with . . . a history.
Well, I went inside and ordered me a cup
Told the waiter Big Joe was settin’ me up
Aw!, you coulda heard a pin drop, it got deathly quiet
And the waiter’s face turned kinda white.
Well, did I say something wrong? I said with a halfway grin
He said: "Naw, this happens every now and then
Ever’ driver in here knows Big Joe
But son, let me tell you what happened about ten years ago.
Truckers give deceased trucker’s little crippled kid a big surprise:
Well I came back and I said “Before you go 10-10
What’s your home 20 little CB friend?”
He gave me his address and I didn’t once hesitate
Cause this hot load of freight would just have to wait.
I turned that truck around on a dime
And headed straight for Jackson Street two twenty-nine.
And as I rounded the corner oh I got one the heck of a shock!
18-wheelers were lined up for three city blocks
A Gypsy fortune teller gives Gordon Lightfoot a reading that he finds . . . disturbing.
The Gypsy by Gordon Lightfoot.
Then when I came home that night
To lie awake in bed
I thought of that old Gypsy
And the words that she had said.
And now I see, with due respect,
The more we learn, the worse we get,
So if you feel you’ve no regrets,
Go have your fortune read.
Do you dare to hear YOUR fortune? Do YOU have any regrets? Are you sure?