History Main / BalladOfASexWorker

* "Keisha's Song (Her Pain)" by Music/KendrickLamar is a tragic cautionary tale about a prostitute who [[spoiler: is stabbed and killed by one of her clients.]] Also a sort of MoralityBallad, as Kendrick says he played the song for his sister to ensure she'd never becomes a prostitute. (The song doesn't condemn Keisha for being a sex worker, more commenting on the dangers of being an impoverished woman in the sex industry).

* The aptly-titled "Lady of the Night" by Music/DonnaSummer is about a working girl who treats sex work like any other job and how she deserves respect rather than pity or derision.

* "Call Me" by Music/{{Blondie}} is a gender-flipped example. It was the theme song to the 1980 movie ''Film/AmericanGigolo'' and the lyrics are written from the perspective of the movie's main character, a male escort.

->''In the brothels of [[UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}} Buenos Aires]] tells the story of a prostitute and the man who falls in love with her. First there is desire. Then, passion. Then, suspicion. Jealousy. Anger. Betrayal. When love is for the highest bidder, there can be no trust. Without trust, there is no love. Jealousy, yes jealousy, will drive you mad!''

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

** In "Private Dancer," she sings as a sex worker so jaded that she does not think of her clients as men, just a source of income ("You don't think of them as human / You don't think of them at all. / Just keep your mind on the money, and your eyes on the wall"). The video changes the context to taxi dancing, though it's strongly implied to be a metaphor for prostitution.

** In "Private Dancer," she sings as a sex worker so jaded that she does not think of her clients as men, just a source of income ("Deutsch marks or dollars/American Express will do nicely, thank you"). The video changes the context to taxi dancing, though it's strongly implied to be a metaphor for prostitution.

* Alex Cameron's "Far From Born Again" is a rare out-and-out celebratory version of this type of song, an ode to independent female sex workers. Rather than portraying them with the usual [[CondescendingCompassion "sympathetic"]] angles (i.e. framing them as victims of tragedy putting up with a humiliating, degrading profession), Cameron describes them as deserving respect for their hustle in a grueling business that unfairly [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets provokes very little]]; that sex work is still honest work, and they should be proud for doing what they can to earn a healthy living and take control of their lives.

A song about the life and times of a lady of the night. The narrator could be a male admirer who is in love with her and/or wishes she'd leave the profession behind, but the song can also be neutral and might simply be about her struggles and decision to walk the streets. If the artist is a woman, the song might be from the perspective of the worker herself.

While prostitutes are the most common subject for this song, it can also be about a stripper, CamWhore, dominatrix, etc. Sub-trope of JobSong and BadGirlSong. Can overlap with IntercourseWithYou if it gets graphic, or BawdySong if it's PlayedForLaughs.

* "Magdalena" by Freddie Aguilar is about the titular girl who got into prostitution to make ends meet. The singer pities her due to the nature of her job, which ears the derision of people around her.

* “Shaking Hands” by Music/{{Nickelback}} is about a high class stripper who has politicians, judges and other powerful men as her clients, allowing her to live an expensive lifestyle.

** In "Private Dancer," she sings as a sex worker so jaded that she does not think of her clients as men, just a source of income ("Deutsch marks or dollars/American Express will do nicely, thank you"). Even though the "dancing" she refers to is a metaphor, the video changes the context from prostitution to taxi dancing.

-->-- ''Film/MoulinRouge'', intro to "El Tango de Roxanne"

* Alex Cameron's "Far From Born Again" is a rare out-and-out celebratory version of this type of song, an ode to independent female sex workers. Rather than portraying them with the usual [[CondescendingCompassion "sympathetic"]] angles (i.e. framing them as putting up with a humiliating, degrading profession), Cameron describes them as deserving respect for their hustle in a grueling business that unfairly [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets provokes very little]]; that sex work is still honest work, and they should be proud for doing what they can to earn a healthy living and take control of their lives.

* Alex Cameron's "Far From Born Again" is a rare out-and-out celebratory version of this type of song, an ode to independent female sex workers. Rather than portraying them with the usual [[CondescendingCompassion "sympathetic"]] angles of sex workers, Cameron describes them as deserving respect for their hustle in a grueling business [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets that provokes very little]]; that sex work is still honest work, and they should be proud for doing what they can to earn a healthy living and take control of their lives.