# Songs by rich singers that imply that they're poor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711 "2009-01-17T05:07:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/1 "2009-01-17T05:07:25Z")
“Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel is a perfect example. “Rich Girl” by Gwen Stefani is another. Can you think of any other examples? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/2 "2009-01-17T05:09:59Z")
At least half the output of John Denver. “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” to name just one. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/3 "2009-01-17T05:26:06Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > At least half the output of John Denver. > “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” to name just one. I figured there’d be a lot of country songs, and probably a lot of rap songs as well. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/4 "2009-01-17T05:26:52Z")
> [@](#): > > “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel is a perfect example. I’d say “Allentown” is an even better example. And pretty much everything Bruce Springsteen’s written. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/5 "2009-01-17T05:47:18Z")
“Trailers for sale or rent” forget singer Lots by Jimmy Buffet At least 50% of all country songs. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/6 "2009-01-17T05:51:24Z")
> [@astro](#): > > “Trailers for sale or rent” \*\*forget singer \*\* > > Lots by Jimmy Buffet > > At least 50% of all country songs. Roger Miller. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/7 "2009-01-17T05:56:00Z")
The singer of the song is not necessarily the narrator of the song, otherwise you’d have to believe that “The City of New Orleans” implied that Arlo Guthrie was a train. ---
**Author:** ![Bacon\_Salt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@Bacon\_Salt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bacon_Salt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/8 "2009-01-17T06:01:04Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > probably a lot of rap songs as well. IME, rap does exactly the reverse. > [@jayjay](#): > > The singer of the song is not necessarily the narrator of the song Oh sure, bring logic into the discussion, why doncha?😛 Beatles- Mother Nature’s Son Flight of the Conchords- Inner City Pressure (They’re reasonably well off, anyway) ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/9 "2009-01-17T06:26:19Z")
It’s hard out here for a pimp… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/10 "2009-01-17T06:31:12Z")
> [@](#): > > “Trailers for sale or rent” forget singer > > Lots by Jimmy Buffet > > At least 50% of all country songs. > [@](#): > > Roger Miller. You’re exaggerating. I’d estimate that less than 40% of country songs are Roger Miller. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/11 "2009-01-17T06:40:15Z")
Sheryl Crow’s _Soak up the sun_ talks about how she (admittedly, the narrator as opposed to Ms. Crow herself) can’t afford gas or digital and how she has a crummy job that doesn’t pay well. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/12 "2009-01-17T07:05:13Z")
The first song that popped into my head was Poison’s “Nothin’ But A Good Time.” ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/13 "2009-01-17T07:12:53Z")
All of Johnny Cash’s later works. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/14 "2009-01-17T09:45:16Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > “Uptown Girl” by Billy Joel is a perfect example. I dunno - “Uptown Girl” is more about social class than it is about money. Joel may have been rich, but he was still a Jewish kid from Levittown, Long Island; Brinkley, OTOH, was an old-money WASP princess. ---
**Author:** ![jessesheeran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@jessesheeran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessesheeran)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/15 "2009-01-17T09:59:56Z")
Some singers are always rich man, even before they get paid. and sometimes the best ones never get PAAAID!!! ---
**Author:** ![jessesheeran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@jessesheeran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessesheeran)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/16 "2009-01-17T10:04:41Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I dunno - “Uptown Girl” is more about social class than it is about money. Joel may have been rich, but he was still a Jewish kid from Levittown, Long Island; Brinkley, OTOH, was an old-money WASP princess. well there is hackensack. don’t you think he tried to appeal to the working class? q does not have an a because sucessful poeple (singer, lawyers, doormen, etc) are ALREADY on the path. AND GET READY TO DAMN THE MAN HIP-HOP STYLE! GET READY! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/17 "2009-01-17T10:10:51Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > and probably a lot of rap songs as well. Rap is the poetry of the ghetto. Most rappers _did_ start out poor, then became filthy rich. At which point sometimes they rap about how filthy rich they are, and sometimes they rap about how ghetto they once were, but it’s not always clear they are talking about the past and it seems like they are acting as if they are still “ghetto”. On the other hand, there are a lot of wannabe rappers who _don’t_ have money but rap as if they did, which never ceases to amuse me. ---
**Author:** ![jessesheeran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@jessesheeran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessesheeran)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/18 "2009-01-17T10:15:42Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The singer of the song is not necessarily the narrator of the song, otherwise you’d have to believe that “The City of New Orleans” implied that Arlo Guthrie was a train. only post that made sense going up from the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/19 "2009-01-17T10:16:22Z")
Michael Jackson’s _They Don’t Care About Us_ – sorry, Michael, when you sing ‘us’, that doesn’t really mean ‘poor black ghetto kids’. ---
**Author:** ![jessesheeran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@jessesheeran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jessesheeran)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711/20 "2009-01-17T10:21:32Z")
if any blues player, black musicians that created american if any blues player I would just repeat the above lines like 99 or 100 times, and call it techno which leads to an idea all I can think of is Kurt Cobain definitely did what thread suggests. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-by-rich-singers-that-imply-that-theyre-poor/481711.md?page=2)