History Main / WorkingClassAnthem

* Italian song ''Alla mattina appena alzata'' is about difficulties of working in the paddy fields. Its melody was later used in ''Bella Ciao'' song.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': PlayedForLaughs, then [[PlayedForDrama Drama]], in "[[Recap/FireflyE07Jaynestown Jaynestown]]", wherein [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI-fiGUjAPY "The Man They Call Jayne"]] describes how Jayne Cobb stole a safe full of money from the Magistrate of Canton and then dropped it on his impoverished ceramics workers. [[spoiler:Actually, Jayne and his then-partner Stitch Hessian stole the money for themselves, but their shuttle got hit by anti-aircraft fire on the way out and Jayne tossed the money to save weight, ''after'' shoving Stitch out first. The safe landing where the "mudders" could get it was a coincidence.]]

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': PlayedForLaughs, then [[PlayedForDrama Drama]], in "[[Recap/FireflyE07Jaynestown Jaynestown]]", wherein [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI-fiGUjAPY "The Man They Call Jayne"]] describes how Jayne Cobb stole a safe full of money from the Magistrate of Canton and then dropped it on his impoverished ceramics workers. [[spoiler:Actually, Jayne and his then-partner Stitch Hessian stole the money for themselves, but their shuttle got hit by anti-aircraft fire on the way out and Jayne tossed the money to save weight, ''after'' shoving Stitch out first.]]

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

** "Do You Hear the People Sing?" invokes the trope. While it is sung by the relatively well-off college students, they are attempting to incite an uprising in the lower classes who are most affected by the unfair laws. [[spoiler: It doesn't work.]] The song has since been used in a number of real-life protests.

-->'''Mark''': Alexi?? Mark. Call me a hypocrite, but I need to finish my own film! '''I QUIT!'''

* ''VideoGame/Wasteland3'' DLC ''The Battle Of Steeltown'' features a version of Joe Hill's "There Is Power In A Union" as part of its soundtrack - consistent with the DLC's industrial setting of Steeltown.

* Country singer Kip Moore wrote On the Case in time for Labor Day 2014, honoring the men in the construction industry. The first airing was on the official Case Construction website. Kip Moore stated that he was impressed by the workers who make up a large part of his fanbase, and who would come up to thank him for his music after they had worked long shifts before watching him perform.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E9SadieKiller Sadie Killer]]", Steven and the Cool Kids form a band, but struggle to find their sound. Sadie joins them for a horror movie night after an exhausting shift at the Big Donut; motivated by her frustration, she and the band create a song called "The Working Dead" in which Sadie compares her working-class life to being a zombie. At the end of the episode, she joins the band and quits her awful job.

%%* Music/JimCroce released "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" in May 1974.

* "Working Man" by Music/{{Rush|Band}}.

* Music/JimCroce released "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" in May 1974.

* Country singer Kip Moore wrote On the Case in time for Labor Day 2014, honoring the men in the construction industry. The first airing was on the official Case Construction website. Kip Moore stated that he was impressed by the workers who make up a large part of his fanbase, and who would come up to thank him for his music after they had worked long shifts before watching him perform.
-->''Yeah, after all these years, I'm still burning on this road''\\
''I'm willing, ready, rock solid, I keep steady''\\
''This big chip on my shoulder, and this grin upon my face''\\
''Knows I got this man, cause I'm on the case''
%% * Music/BonJovi's "Living on a Prayer" offers a sort-of optimism to folks in a similar situation (Bon Jovi also being from New Jersey).

%% * Music/JimCroce released "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" in May 1974.

* "The Chemical Workers' Song" by Ron Angel of the Teesside Fettlers ([[CoveredUp perhaps most famous in the cover by]] Music/GreatBigSea) is sung by laborers in a chemical plant, and focuses primarily on the hellish conditions of their work, the injuries and health problems that they receive as a result, and the exploitative, manipulative bosses to whom they report.

* Johnny Paycheck's country song "Take This Job and Shove It" is about a guy ready to quit the factory job he's been at for 15 years, partially due to his crappy bosses.

* [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Wnmi35AjOow Stan Rogers’ “White Collar Holler]]” presents a semi-satirical song from the point of view of a computer coder.

* "Working Class Hero" by Music/JohnLennon describes "people who are working class, who are supposed to be processed into the middle classes, or into the machinery."
%%* "Working Man" by Music/{{Rush|Band}} qualifies.
* "Roll On" by Music/TheLivingEnd is specifically about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Australian_waterfront_dispute 1998 Australian Waterfront Dispute]], in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of dismissing their workforce. The restructuring by Patrick Corporation was later ruled illegal by Australian courts. The dispute involved Patrick Corporation terminating the employment of its workforce and locking out the workers of the workplace after the restructuring had taken place, with many of these workers members of the dominant Maritime Union of Australia. The resulting dismissal and locking out of their unionised workforce was supported and backed by [[UsefulNotes/AustralianPolitics the Australian Liberal/National Coalition Government.]]
* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}' "Salt Of The Earth" is about how working-class people and their struggles are overlooked in society.
-->Raise your glass to the hard-working people,
-->Let's drink to the uncounted heads.
-->Let's think of the wavering millions,
-->Who needs leading, but get gamblers, instead.

* "There Is Power In A Union" is the name of two separate songs, one written by songwriter and Industrial Workers Of The World member Joe Hill in 1913, and the other by Music/BillyBragg in 1986.
* Music/DonnaSummer refers to "the oldest profession" in "She Works Hard for the Money"

* [[Music/DollyParton Dolly Parton's]] "9 to 5" is basically an ode to thankless dead-end jobs.

** "Joe Worker" showcases the brutal reality of working class people without the safety of unions.

''That somebody got him in toll''\\