Whether you’re dancing your way through your chores, or seeking a reflection of the clean feeling that doing the laundry brings, our playlist of songs about laundry crosses the genres and covers it all!
Songs About Laundry
1. Nivea ft. R. Kelly – Laundromat
This 90s R&B collab from Nivea and R Kelly is artfully worded like a break-up argument between a cheating man and his girl.
Nivea’s quirky ‘Laundromat’ metaphor appears in the chorus; creating a sudden change of conversation from her man’s sickening unfaithfulness, reflecting that her mind’s made up, she’s leaving and she’s not sacrificing another moment for the pain he brings.
Laundromat is breathtakingly upbeat and melodic, Nivea’s mesmerising soft vocals fashioning a peacefully empowering piece for anyone deep cleaning their life;
“Pretty clear that you’s a lie, tired of sitting around hearing all your phoney alibis … Soap, powder, bleach, towels, fabric softner, dollars, change, pants, socks, dirty drawers, I’m headed to the laundromat … Baby what you saying? Baby read between the lines, do I have to spell it out to you, I’m saying goodbye.”
2. Mitski – Washing Machine Heart
Mitski’s electro-pop track is captivatingly strange, its eccentric harmony tiptoeing a fine line between eeriness and a daydream.
Washing Machine Heart is anchored in its kooky metaphor for taking in someone’s love along with all its recklessness; “Toss your dirty shoes in my washing-machine heart, baby, bang it up inside.”
Mitsky’s artsy vocals and hypnotic instrumental choices assemble to craft a sound which is wondrously reminiscent of a 00s pop-rock track, overlayed with striking contemporary flairs.
3. Cavetown – Laundry Day
Cavetown conjures an otherworldly, cinematic ambience for his 2022 track, Laundry Day, centring his captivating piece in a lush yet terror-stained acoustic harmony.
Crowned with string sections and an unimaginably nostalgic atmosphere, this track captures a radiance similar to the first scattering of sun after a bleak storm, mirroring its lyrical concept of unburdening yourself from trauma.
Laundry Day is embellished with two metaphors within its lyrics; the first comparing self-cleansing from despair with cleaning the laundry, and refreshing your sense of being.
Cavetown uniquely compares laundry day to comfort, lacing romantic help with the chores with supporting a partner through their recovery;
“They’re not coming back, you’re living in the past … Laundry day, gonna shrink your shirt, makes a perfect fit for me, don’t know when you’ll learn… All the better time for me, please just let it go.”
4. Miranda Lambert – It All Comes Out In The Wash
It All Comes Out In The Wash is a clear-skied country track flooded with laundry references. Miranda Lambert devotes her verses to listing the accidents of life, comparing physical stains with emotional trouble in her signature, evocative lyrical style;
“If you wear a white shirt to a crawfish boil, stonewashed jeans while you’re changing the oil, when you find yourself dating the bridesmaid’s ex, you accidentally bring him to the wedding, whoops.”
Linking her list together, Lambert uses her title lyric as an uplifting symbol of self-renewal and positively dealing with personal problems,
“It’ll all come out in the wash, every little stain, every little heartbreak, no matter how messy it got, you take the sin and the men, and you throw ’em all in, and you put that sucker on spin.”
5. J. Cole – Foldin’ Clothes
This hip hop track by J. Cole carries an unexpectedly sweet and cosy message of being there for your wife and kids, accepting responsibility and being a true man around the house.
Layering rap upon a rich funk/R&B sound, Foldin’ Clothes is shamelessly warm-hearted in its affectionate display of support, offering to take on the laundry chore completely;
“If I can make life easier, the way you do mine, save you some time, alleviate a bit of stress from your mind, help you relax, let you recline babe, then I should do it, cause Heaven only knows how much you have done that for me.”
J. Cole’s profound theme of settling down is a breath of fresh air for his genre, composing a heartfelt track perfect for any couple melting into their lifestyle of love;
“Listen, this is a meditation for me, a practice of being present, there’s no where I need to be, except right here with you, foldin’ clothes, watching Netflix.”
6. All Time Low – Dirty Laundry
All Time Low’s 2017 pop single, Dirty Laundry, metaphorises emotional baggage as dirty laundry. The band weave a number of clever clothing lines within their track about loving every single side of your partner;
“I know it’s not my place, who am I to tell you that you need to change? … Her closet’s such a mess, filled up with all the skeletons she’s kept, nobody’s perfect I confess, but she’s perfect enough without ever dressing up.”
Tying this dreamy electronic pop song together is the theme of acceptance and delving deep into your relationship, no matter the cost;
“Dirty laundry is piling in her room, she’s got her secrets, yeah I got mine too, I don’t care about what you did, only care about what we do, dirty laundry looks good on you.”
7. Alesha Dixon – The Boy Does Nothing
Alesha Dixon’s pop hit, The Boy Does Nothing, glistens with a Latin-inspired energy, compelling you to dance to its rhythm. Alesha fashions an anthem for anyone in love with a man that’s as useless doing the chores as he is on the dancefloor;
“Does he wash up? He never wash up. Does he clean up? No, he never cleans up. Does he brush up? He never brushed up. He does nothing, the boy does nothing.”
8. Lisa Mitchell – Coin Laundry
Coin Laundry is an offbeat indie pop track centred in a beatbox rhythm and topped by a stylistically childlike piano harmony. Lisa Mitchell assumes a quirky character for this track, adopting the personality of an insecure teen who can’t quite spark a proper conversation with her laundromat crush.
Coin Laundry’s lyrics appear almost nonsensical before revealing their loose theme of falling in love in a laundromat and awkwardly forgetting all your social skills;
“There I was sitting on the top of the world in a coin laundry, well I could have been royalty, sitting in the palace like a queen … Do you have a dollar?.. Do you have a story for me? Do you know the one where we’ll all live happily … Can I be the girl that you met in a coin laundry?”