The compulsion for richness riddles the world with division and disaster.
As our capitalist society shamefully rewards the psychopathic behaviour of millionaires and world leaders, we find ourselves trapped in a never-ending cycle of stagnancy, gaining a pittance while our bosses get blessed with our rewards.
Our playlist collects the most eye-opening, strangest and honest songs about capitalism, whether you’re playing the rich man’s game to your own end, or wanting to break free from your capitalist chains once and for all.
Songs About Capitalism
1. ABBA – Money, Money, Money
ABBA’s 1976 hit, Money, Money, Money is a hallmark track about capitalism.
Against a dominating atmosphere riddled with a lurking sense of melancholy, motivation and extravagance, ABBA’s first verse strikes at the heart of capitalism and the endless cycle of fruitless monotony it creates;
“I work all night, I work all day to pay the bills I have to pay, ain’t it sad? And still there never seems to be a single penny left for me, that’s too bad.”
Sometimes, there’s only one way up to the top of the chain: by playing the same devious game as the men who cripple the system; “In my dreams, I have a plan, if I got me a wealthy man, I wouldn’t have to work at all, I’d fool around and have a ball.”
Though being over 50 years old, ABBA’s anthem proves to be sadly timeless in its message of male-dominance and materialism, and masterful in its harmonic representation of luxury.
2. Kevin – Me, Myself & I
This folksy song contrasts its capitalist concept with a stripped back sound, evoking an ambience brimming with natural woody acoustics rather than the electrified sense of maximalism detested by its lyrics
Me, Myself & I is centred around “the evils of the American ‘I, me, mine’ cult that glorifies and rewards the darkest impulses of the human soul.”
Its lyrics expose the abhorrently selfish attitudes and backwards logic encouraged by the system, compared to how mankind is supposed to live.
“How can I care what happens to everybody else, in this heartless world, it’s every man for himself … I see the world around me, then I realise, without one another, none of us survives, ‘cause there’s a million other me, myself and I’s.”
3. Five Finger Death Punch – American Capitalist
The title track from Five Finger Death Punch’s 2011 album, American Capitalist is a bone-breaking illustration of the death-hungry nature of American capitalism, dominating all in its path and sparing no mercy for the weak or humane.
Whilst flickering between elements of death and nu metal, FFDP’s murderous lyrics are undertoned by the void-like emotion deep-rooted in the psychopathic approach to business;
“I’m a red-blooded, roughneck son of a bitch, I’m a goddamned American capitalist … You’re a coward with no power, just a stain on the floor … I don’t wanna believe I’m empty, I don’t wanna admit I’m wrong, I don’t wanna regret who I’ve become, where I belong, I’m an American capitalist.”
4. Marina – Purge The Poison
Marina’s intoxicating track, Purge The Poison, carries the illusion of an average pop-rock song before spiralling into a quirky dream-clad anthem for world peace and planetary cleansing.
With wild and mystical wordplay blanketing her masterfully inspired lyrics, Marina captures a stunning retro vibe through the track’s visuals, matched with melodic oddities comparable to the fearless art-pop style of Kate Bush.
This is a track about “purging the poison from our system, its verses highlighting the array of disasters shaking society and the deep need to change our ways;
Nothing’s hidden anymore, capitalism made us poor, God forgive America for every single war … Like an angel gone to hell, cast the moon under our spell, owning female power, taking back what’s ours.”
5. Depeche Mode – Everything Counts
Depeche Mode’s 1983 hit Everything Counts is a synth-clad track about greed running rampant and tainting the work lives of many. They uniquely detail being tied down into a system you can see straight through;
“The handshake seals the contract, from the contract, there’s no turning back … the grabbing hands grab all they can, all for themselves, after all, it’s a competitive world, everything counts in large amounts.”
6. Liza Minnelli & Joel Grey – Money Makes The World Go Round
A dark and offbeat cabaret track, Liza Minnelli & Joel Grey’s showstopping performance of Money Makes The World Go Round is a vintage masterpiece of choreography to the tune of capitalism.
Glistening with clink clanking of coinbag percussion and shimmering metallic highlights, this song is strange and suggestive like the golden melting feeling of meeting a man with mountains of cash.
7. Honest Iago – If Capitalism Doesn’t Kill Me, This Song Will
Honest Iago melt their late 00’s emo sound with an enchanting post-punk atmosphere in this colourful capitalist track, If Capitalism Doesn’t Kill Me, This Song Will.
A disorienting intro dissolves into an obscure anthem of cut-throat energy and hard-hitting truths, with hypnotic electronic elements highlighting their thick landscape of nostalgic sound.
This track is truly genre-blending; a mind-blowingly original take on raw emo rock, interspersed with breathtakingly nostalgic harmony, delicate piano details and raspy, pain-struck vocals bearing the truth of capitalism through lines like “breaking me down from the inside.”
8. Tom MacDonald – Sheeple
Tom MacDonald’s rap track Sheeple is a track flooded with hard-hitting revelations of government corruption and population control, tangled with divisive opinions on racism from an adamantly Republican perspective.
Some of Tom’s sentiments are purposely shocking to encourage your own free thought, but don’t let their vile taste repel you from neutral contemplation on the roots of his perspective, rather than instant, ignorant cancellation like modern society would ruthlessly advise;
“George called ’em “thought police”, now we call ’em fact-checkers… Mass incarceration equals capital for cash investments, the system isn’t broke, it’s workin’ fine, oppressive and chaotic is how it was designed … Black folks who were never ever actual slaves, fighting with white folks who ain’t actual Nazis, controlled by rich folks who use the news to make hate.”
9. Rage Against The Machine – Sleep Now In The Fire
Sleep Now In The Fire by Rage Against The Machine is a bloodthirsty track penned from a capitalist perspective.
Their opening lines, “The world is my expense, the cost of my desire, Jesus blessed me with its future, and I protect it with fire,” sets a metaphor for a rich man’s burning need to maintain his golden status, maniacally enjoying the suffering that befalls the pawn-like workers strung like puppets upon the fingers of the rich; “Crawl with me into tomorrow, or I’ll drag you to your grave… Sleep now in the fire.”