Countless songs have been written about how much it sucks to work. Musicians know this subject all too well. From Sixteen Tons to Five O’Clock World, almost everyone can relate to that feeling of hating their job and waiting for the moment they can do a Fred Flintstone slide down a dinosaur’s back. The times usually dictate what the solution is. In Tennessee Ernie Ford’s downtrodden classic, the main character just gives up. The Vogues sing of the time of day where everything magical happens and the day really begins. The rise of disco and bar culture in the late 70s gave songwriters the idea of escapism. Don’t give up, give in. And rather than ‘fight the man’, live it up.

Casey James & Leroy Bell were songwriters in the mid-70s that rode this concept onto the charts in 1979. They were songwriters in the mid-70s for Philadelphia International. How did they get that cushy job? Didn’t hurt that Leroy’s uncle was producer Thom Bell. But they also wrote some catchy songs in the Philly soul vein. A few were recorded by the soul-curious Elton John in 1977, who eventually had a Top 10 hit with one them, Mama Can’t Buy You Love, in 1979. Bell & James, like many songwriting duos of the late 70s, got a recording contract from A&M records and began writing a mood ring adorned middle finger to the man.

Livin’ It Up (Friday Night) reached #15 in 1979 and went Top 10 Soul as well. It had all the fancy trimmings of a 1979 pop disco hit – slow-building intro to give you time to get on the floor, just enough funk to move you without having to learn any new steps and lyrics that talk about how repressed you are during the day so that you need a release when Friday night comes along. Just pray the boss doesn’t ask you to work on the weekend.

But a deeper look at the lyrics tells me that maybe this guy is fighting the man after all, albeit in a passive-aggressive, way.

Up in the morning at six o’clock
Head for the city
Turn on the music, the radio
Nobody’s hurrying

That’s pretty damn early to get up. Are you a baker? How far away do you work from your job?

Day after day
Slaving away
Punching the time
I’m late again
Sneak in the back way

This is starting to sound like the plot from Office Space. This song should have been on the soundtrack.

I count the hours, minutes too
So glad it’s Friday
Jump in my ride
It’s Friday night

I know I should be on the side of the worker. But it sounds like this dude needs to get fired.

Only on a Friday
Never on a Sunday
Never on a Monday

Wait. What happened to Saturday? Can’t party on Saturday? Are you a cantor at Sunday mass? Knock all this Catholic shit off and get your groove on.

Same situation every day
Some kind of voodoo
Same complications
Stand in the way
Nowhere to run to

Does this guy really think his boss has a doll of him in his office that he sticks pins in every day?

My mind is dreaming
I’m somewhere else
Can’t seem to shake it
I miss the feeling of having fun
No way to fake it

Hey, do you know the difference between prison and your job? You can quit your job. Maybe he should be more appreciative of what he has. Especially since he got his job via nepotism.

OK, I’m being harsh. Jump in your ride and turn it up at 5:00 next Friday on your way to the club with your friends. Slaving away is just another day away.