Songs relating to RE

[David1961]

Are there favorite songs you listen to that have a theme related to ER? Recently, I've been listening to John Lennon's Double Fantasy CD, and I can really relate to the song "Watching The Wheels".

"No longer on the Merry-Go-Round. I just had to let it go"

 

[retire@40]

See this thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/er-songs-16163.html

 

[GatorBuzz]

Well, this isn't necessarily RE, but it is somewhat fitting. Song is called "Oney" by Johnny Cash...

"I dedicate this song to the workin' man
For ever' man that puts in a hard
Eight or ten hours a day of work and toil and sweat
Always got somebody lookin' down his neck
Tryin' to get more out of 'im
Than he really ought to have to put in.

After twenty-nine long years of workin'
In this shop with Oney standin' over me ...
Today when that old whistle blows
I'll check in all my gear and I'll retire ...

The superintendent just dropped by and said
They'd planned my little get together ...
Then he said I'd never a made it
If old Oney hadn't held me to the fire.

I've seen him in my dreams at night
And woke up in the mornin' feelin' tired ...
And old Oney don't remember, when I came here
How he tried to get me fired ...
With his folded hands behind him
Every mornin' Oney waited at the gate ...
Where he'd rant and rave like I committed murder
Clockin' in five minutes late.

But today they'll gather 'round me
Like I've seen 'em do when any man retires
Then old Oney's gonna tell me
From now on I'm free to do what I desire ...

He'll present me with that little old gold watch
They give a man at times like this ...
But there's one thing he's not countin' on
Today's the day I give old Oney his.

I've been workin', buildin' muscles
Oney's just been standin' 'round a gettin' soft
And today about four-thirty
I'll make up for every good night's sleep I've lost ...
When I'm gone I'll be remembered
As the workin' man who put his point across
With a right hand full of knuckles
'Cause today I show old Oney who's the boss.

Hmmmm! What time is it? Four thirty!
Hey, Oney!
Oney! Ha ha ha ha!"




Always liked this song, even as a kid when my parents played it, though I couldn't appreciate exactly what it meant. I sure can now.

 

[maddythebeagle]

Take this job and shove it....

 

[Goonie]

A song by Milton Ager (music) and Jack Yellen (lyrics).

"Happy Days Are Here Again"

Happy days are here again,
The skies above are clear again,
So let's sing a song of cheer again,
Happy days are here again.
All together, shout it now!
There's no one who can doubt it now.
So let's tell the world about it now,
Happy days are here again.
Your cares and troubles are gone,
There'll be no more from now on!
(repeat first chorus)

 

[Goonie]

Or how about:

 

[Nords]

What about Guy Lombardo's "It's Later Than You Think"?

During my service-academy & working years I strongly identified with the "Hotel California" line "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave".

Since ER I've been more in tune with Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good To Me So Far"...

 

[W2R]

"Already Gone" by the Eagles:

"I'm already gone, feeling strong, I will sing this vict'ry song, Woo-hoo-hoo!!"

When it comes to RE, I may not be there actually but mentally I'm already gone!

 

[Bigritchie]

Big fan of Jimmy Buffets greatest hits album ode to the laid back lifestyle

 

[Khan]

"We Gotta Get out of This Place"

 

[Payin-the-Toll]

Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer did a disco song that went: "Enough is enough, I just can't take it anymore"----they were singing about their love lives, but I played it almost everyday about 6 months before I retired!

 

[Sundance Kid]

I forget the group that sang it, But, "She got the gold mine, I got the shaft."

 

[Eagle43]

I heard Mr. Lennon sing this. It seems to fit.
Watching The Wheels
People say Im crazy, doing what Im doing.
Well, they give me all kinds of warning to save me from ruin.
When I say that Im okay,
Well, they look at me kind of strange,
Surely youre not happy now,
You no longer play the game.

People say Im lazy, dreaming my life away.
Well, they give me all kinds of advice designed to enlighten me.
When I tell them that Im doing fine
Watching shadows on the wall,
Dont you miss the big time, boy,
Youre no longer on the ball.

Im just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll.
No longer riding on the merry go round,
I just had to let it go.

Ah, people asking questions, lost in confusion.
Well, I tell them theres no problem, only solutions.
Well, they shake their heads and look at me
As if I lost my mind.
I tell them theres no hurry,
Im just sitting here doing time.

Im just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round,
I really love to watch them roll.
No longer riding on the merry go round,
I just had to let it go,
I just had to let it go,
I just had to let it go.

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Aside from Jimmy Buffet, I like Bob Dylan's, "Watchin' the River Flow".

 

[Bigritchie]

Jimmy Buffet


Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all

Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam
And in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of them dream, most of them dream

Yes I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothing to plunder
I’m an over forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

I’ve done a bit of smuggling, I’ve run my share of grass
I made enough money to buy Miami, but I pissed it away so fast
Never meant to last, never meant to last

And I have been drunk now for over two weeks
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks
But I got stop wishing, got to go fishing
Down to rock bottom again
Just a few friends, just a few friends

SOLO

I go for younger women, lived with several awhile
Though I ran them away, they’d come back one day
Still could manage to smile
Just takes a while, just takes a while

Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I’ve found
My occupational hazard being my occupation’s just not around
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna head uptown

I feel like I’ve drowned, going to head uptown

 

[Sarah in SC]

Somewhat tellingly, this song was my senior quote in my high school yearbook--I should have known FIRE was in my future if this is how I felt at 17.
Cowboy in the Jungle Jimmy Buffett 1978

There's a cowboy in the jungle And he looks so out of place
With his shrimpskin boots and his cheap cheroots
And his skin as white as paste

Headin' south to paraguay Where the gauchos sing and shout
Now he's stuck in porto bello Since his money all ran out
So he hangs out with the sailors Night and day they're raisin' hell
And his original destination's just another Story that he loves to tell

With no plans for the future He still seems in control
From a bronco ride to a ten foot tide He just had to learn to roll

Roll with the punches Play all of his hunches
Make the best of whatever came his way
What he lacked in ambition He made up with intuition
Plowing straight ahead come what may

Steel band in the distance And their music floats across the bay
While american women in moomoos Talk about all the things they did today
And their husbands quack about fishing As they slug those rum drinks down
Discussing who caught what and who sat on his butt But it's the only show in town.

They're tryin' to drink all the punches They all may lose their lunches
Tryin' to cram lost years into five or six days
Seems that blind ambition erased their intuition Plowin' straight ahead come what may.

I don't want to live on that kind of island No i don't want to swim in a roped off sea
Too much for me, too much for me I've got to be where the wind and the water are free.

Alone on a midnight passage I can count the falling stars
While the southern cross and the satellites They remind me of where we are
Spinning around in circles Living it day to day
And still twenty four hours maybe sixty good years
It's still not that long a stay.

We've gotta roll with the punches Learn to play all of our hunches
Makin' the best of whatever comes your way
Forget that blind ambition And learn to trust your intuition
Plowin' straight ahead come what may
And there's a cowboy in the jungle

Sarah (the italics were my senior quote)

 

[HFWR]

I forget the group that sang it, But, "She got the gold mine, I got the shaft."

Jerry Reed

 

[flipstress]

Are there favorite songs you listen to that have a theme related to ER?

I don't want to work. I just want to bang and get drunk all day, er, I just want to bang on the drum all day.

The Archive of Misheard Lyrics :: Todd Rundgren - Bang the Drum All Day

 

[CuppaJoe]

Please send in money to PBS, they need to buy some new programs! They’ve been repeating shows about oldies but goodies over and over again. My vote for RE relevant is:

"...Deep in December it’s nice to remember the FIRE of September that made us mellow...." (Tom Jones)