Take some of the anxiety out of tax-time by playing some of the best money songs from as far back as the 1940s and up through the 1970s. By far, the money song for every age is "Money,” from Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, easily kept its seat on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts for over 1,500 weeks.
“Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly
But don't take a slice of my pie”
The Beatles' Money Woes
"Can’t Buy Me Love," by The Beatles, topped the 1964 charts for 10 weeks at #1 on US Billboard. Best lyrics from the Beatles’ song “Can’t Buy Me Love:”
“I’ll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give, but what I got I’ll give to you
I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy me love”
The Beatles’ “Taxman,” first released on 1966 album, Recorder, never ranked on the US Billboard, but remains significant as one of the first songs George Harrison wrote. He was upset most of his earnings were being swallowed up by taxes. Inspired by his anger at the government institutions, he wrote “Taxman.” Best lyrics from the Beatles’ song “Taxman:”
“(if you drive a car, car ;) – I’ll tax the street;
(if you try to sit, sit ;) – I’ll tax your seat;
(if you get too cold, cold ;) – I’ll tax the heat;
(if you take a walk, walk ;) – I’ll tax your feet.”
Money, Money, Money!
In 1954, Harry Belafonte recorded and released a single, “I’m Just a Country Boy,” created by the musical pair, Fred Brooks and Marshall Barer, according to Harry Belafonte Discography. It wasn’t until 1966 that the song gained notice as part of Belafonte’s album, In My Quiet Room, with the entire album of songs earning a rank of 87 on the Billboard 200 Chart for 1966. The best lyric of “I’m Just a Country Boy,” hails from the chorus:
“ For.....I'm just a country boy
Money have I none
But I've got silver in the stars
And gold in the morning sun”
Tax time cannot pass by without an Abba sing-a-long of their hit “Money, Money, Money” now part of the popular 2008 movie, “Mama Mia!,” with Meryl Steep and Pierce Brosnan. Abba’s band website states the 1976 song didn’t make the U.S. Billboard top 200, but “Money, Money, Money” held the #1 spot on Germany and Australia’s charts on the 1976-77 Arrival album. The worldwide popularity of the musical stage show, Mama Mia!, brought new popularity to Abba and their songs. Best lyrics from Abba’s song “Money, Money, Money:”
“Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world”
For more nostalgic songs to "cash" in on at tax-time, see: Top Money and Tax Songs from 1980s-2000s
Lynn Pritchett - Lynn lives in Arizona with her husband and is caretaker for a few pets left behind by their two grown daughters.
