We all know Pink Floyd as a quintessential chill out band, but they actually did make a song about money. It was meant to be ironic, of course (double ironic because Pink Floyd is obviously rich), but it actually contains some great advice about finances. Sometimes the best people to ask about money are the folks who don’t necessarily care about it as much. They tend to have a better perspective, because they are able to detach emotions from the pursuit. Let’s take a look.
Lyric: Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay
This lyric is quite telling of the times that Pink Floyd came up in. The first association that the band makes with money is about employment – working for someone else for a paycheck. During those times, you could definitely make a decent living as a blue collar worker. Houses were available on one income, and Social Security was not in danger of being upended.
However, the entire song was made as a critique of money. So what was Pink Floyd really saying? Reading forward in the lyrics, you begin to understand that the band was ahead of its time. Trading hours for cash today is not the right way to spend life. In his own way, Roger Waters was telling us to invest in other things – make life and money work for us, not the other way around.
Lyric: Think I’ll buy me a football team
One opinion of the song is that it is sung from the perspective of a person who just obtained new employment. The thought of that first check dancing through his head starts over the top daydreaming, hence the line about the football team. You can’t buy a football team on an employee’s salary, obviously, but a new check certainly makes you feel like you can.
The shrewd songwriting here points to the fact that money doesn’t stretch as far as you think it does. Ergo, it is not as important as you think it is. Money is not the end – it is meant to serve as a tool to obtain the things that really matter in life. Again, a good financial investment plan is key.
Lyric: Don’t give me that do goody good bull****
Pink Floyd latches onto the stereotype that people with money cannot do good and brings it to the forefront. Following the flow of the song, the voice that is saying “don’t give me that do goody good bull****” is likely participating in a delusion. What is the delusion?
An employee’s salary hardly gives anyone the leverage to forego doing good to one’s fellow man. That kind of behavior will only get you ostracized from community and possibly fired from that awesome, high powered job you just earned. In the ironic tone of the song, Pink Floyd is really telling us to do good with our money. Investment in our communities always comes back to us in spades.
Lyric: Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
The voice in the song does not want anyone taking any of his money, and with good reason. Only a penny saved is a penny earned. This is actually good advice, but it does not have to be so hardcore in order to work!
A good financial plan helps your money make money for you. This means that when you “share your money fairly,” you aren’t actually losing anything. Who said that giving has to be a sacrifice? If your financial plan is actually making you a profit, then you can give freely without worrying about anyone taking “a slice of my pie!”
Lyric: But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re giving none away, away, away
No one gives money away – this is definitely a true statement! This is yet another reason that you must get your money working for you as soon as possible. There is no such thing as having a “stable” financial situation – you must always move forward. Staying still means that you are losing ground – inflation and daily costs of living will always chip away at stagnant money.
This lyric is also poignant in that it points out that no one is going to give you anything. You should look to yourself for financial security, not banks, family or government. Pink Floyd definitely hit the nail on the head with this closing line, so pay attention!
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Ethan founded Goalry, Inc in Dec 2016 with the mission to build the world’s first and only Financial Goal Mall. One place to reach financial goals and comparison shop for any money matter. Taub invents the IP for the finance stores within the mall, while overseeing various aspects of the company. He also has orchestrated the company’s earned media across the finance stores: Accury®, Billry®, Budgetry®, Debtry®, Cashry®, Creditry®, Loanry®, Taxry® and Wealthry®. This includes over 1200 blogs, 400 videos, thousands of social post and publications that have been featured across the web.