Lyrical Philosophy Top Ten: If Your Work Isn't What You Love Then Something Isn't Right (#3)

@FourWalls (61328)
United States
September 17, 2018 8:34am CST
Things are getting exciting as we head into the final two weeks of baseball season. The Cleveland Indians have already secured a spot in the post-season, winning the AL Central. With over 100 victories the Boston Red Sox have a place...but they haven't won their division yet. Wow. I'll put baseball aside for a moment and give you some more words of wisdom, courtesy of lyrics from a song. Here's today's thought. #3: If Your Work Isn't What You Love Then Something Isn't Right I actually quit a job thanks to that line. Okay, not exactly because of that line, but it certainly confirmed that I needed to move on from the work I had been doing. This line comes from "Found a Job," one of the songs on the great Talking Heads album More Songs About Buildings and Food. Funny album title (it was on my list of best/most humorous album titles), great album. This was the first Talking Heads album I owned....forty years ago (wow! How'd they get so old!? ). "Found a Job" is about a couple who gripe about TV: the reception ("damn that television, what a bad picture") and the content ("nothing's ever on....I don't know why you bother"), so they decide to make their own TV series. Near the end, David Byrne offers these great words of wisdom, even prefacing them by singing, "Think about this little scene, apply it to your life." I did exactly that one time...and decided my work wasn't what I loved, so I quit. I'm getting dangerously close to 60 now, and I have no idea where the time went. I can confirm that life is short, way too short to be spent chained to a job that gives you nothing but a paycheck. Sadly, not everyone has the luxury of being able to change jobs (due to things out of their control, such as economic, education, or disability restrictions). I'll tell you one thing, though: one of the most liberating things I've ever done is free myself from the shackles of a thankless job. Oh, and extra kudos because it's grammatically correct!!!! If Your Work Isn't What You Love Then Something Isn't Right From "Found a Job" Written by David Byrne Recorded by Talking Heads From More Songs About Buildings and Food, 1978 Bob is on the street today:
David Byrne - guitar & vocals Tina Weymouth - bass Chris Frantz - drums Jerry Harrison - keyboards & guitar
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2 responses
@LeaPea2417 (36267)
• Toccoa, Georgia
17 Sep 18
I need to share what you wrote with my husband. At the moment, he really is hating his job. He has nightmares about it and dreads going each day. He will then say, that he should be thankful that he has a job.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (61328)
• United States
17 Sep 18
Oh, brother, don’t tell him to quit because I said so. I’ve always had temporary agencies (Kelly, Manpower, things like that) to fall back on, so it wasn’t much of a “jump off the cliff.”
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36267)
• Toccoa, Georgia
18 Sep 18
@FourWalls He wont just quit with no job lined up. If he finds a better job, then he would.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109865)
• Los Angeles, California
22 Sep 18
A great song!!!!
1 person likes this