Cost of living songs: 12 songs about money, rent and getting by
Twelve songs about money, rent and the cost of living, from The Kinks and Pulp to Sam Fender, Sleaford Mods and Brighton grunge.
Panacea
11/7/20262 min read
Songs about money worries are as old as popular music, but the cost of living crisis has made them feel urgent again. These are 12 songs about rent, wages, debt and getting by, from 1920s blues to 2020s British guitar music.
Classic songs about money and hardship
1. Bessie Smith, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
Written by Jimmy Cox in 1923, this blues standard tells the story of someone who loses everything and finds out who their friends really were.
2. The Kinks, Dead End Street (1966)
Ray Davies looked past the swinging sixties to working-class families stuck in poverty. Still painfully relevant.
3. Nina Simone, Ain't Got No, I Got Life (1968)
A list of everything she doesn't have, money included, that turns into a celebration of what can't be taken away.
4. Dolly Parton, 9 to 5 (1980)
The ultimate song about working hard for not enough.
5. The Specials, Ghost Town (1981)
Recession, unemployment and boarded-up high streets, set to one of the eeriest grooves in British pop.
6. Tracy Chapman, Fast Car (1988)
A story about trying to work your way out of poverty, and how hard the trap is to escape.
British songs about class and the cost of living
7. Pulp, Mile End (1995)
Jarvis Cocker's portrait of a grim London flat, broken sink and all. Every renter will recognise it.
8. Pulp, Common People (1995)
The great British song about class and money, and what it means when you can't simply call your dad to get out.
9. Sleaford Mods, Jobseeker (2013)
A furious, funny account of signing on, from the Nottingham duo who became the sound of austerity Britain.
10. Sam Fender, Seventeen Going Under (2021)
Debt collectors, a mum struggling with money, and growing up skint in North Shields. One of the defining British songs of the decade.
Brighton grunge songs about the cost of living
Panacea's debut album, Remedies for nothing, comes back to money again and again. These two are the most direct.
11. Panacea, Rent day
The monthly dread of rent day, when your wages arrive and disappear on the same afternoon. Read the meaning of Rent day.
12. Panacea, Brightn't
A gentrification protest song about Brighton, where second homes and rising rents push locals out of the city they grew up in. Read the meaning of Brightn't.
Also worth hearing: CV of failures, about applying for job after job, and Prescription pending, about waiting for support that never arrives.
Why the cost of living keeps inspiring songs
Money shapes everything: where you live, what you eat, how much you worry. Songwriters from Bessie Smith to Sam Fender have turned that pressure into music because it's what their listeners live through. In the 2020s, with rents rising faster than wages, a new generation of British bands is doing the same, often with louder guitars.
Frequently asked questions
What are some songs about the cost of living crisis?
Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under, Sleaford Mods' Jobseeker and Panacea's Rent day all deal with money pressures in modern Britain.
What is a good song about not having money?
Nina Simone's Ain't Got No, I Got Life and Pulp's Common People are two of the best.
Are there songs about rent?
Yes. Panacea's Rent day is about the monthly dread of paying rent, and Pulp's Mile End captures life in a run-down rented flat.
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