Imagine it this way: no one has any trouble thinking of a love song. Cloying songs about parents, children, brothers and sisters are harder to come by, but certainly out there. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few semi-recent pop song about man's best friend (Sublime has at least one, and Suicide Machine's "Sometimes I Don't Mind" sounds like it's about a girlfriend ... but then takes a detour). There are also countless songs extolling cars and liquor.
But there are only a few dozen recognizable songs about work. A quick google search reveals this topic is being tossed around right now on the Boston Job Blog. Here are a few entries, from there and other sites:
Huey Lewis: Workin' for a Livin'
Tracy Chapman: Fast Car
Jim Croce: Working at the Car Wash Blues
Billy Joel: Allentown
John Lennon: Working Class Hero
Parton, Dolly: 9 to 5
Styx: Blue Collar Man
Donna Summer: She Works Hard for the Money
Creedence: Proud Mary
Rush: Working Man
Francis Dunnery: American Life in the Summertime
Elvis Costello: Welcome to the Working Week
Jon Bon Jovi: Livin' On A Prayer
Offspring: Why Don't You Get a Job
R.E.M. : Finest Worksong
They Might Be Giants: Minimum Wage
Bruce Springsteen: umm.... all of 'em
Dire Straits: Money for Nothing
Johnny Paycheck: Take this Job and Shove It
The Police: Synchronicity II
Kool Moe Dee: I Go to Work
The thing is, all these songs (and the others appearing when you google "songs about work") are kind of bluesy. Or angry. Work is hard, working for the man sucks, work is killing me, I'm not making ends meet, etc. This is still undoubtedly true for many Americans, but surely there should be some kind of "opposing view" -- just like there are love songs and breakup songs. I could compromise: maybe there's a tune about the ups and downs of owning a small business, somewhere.
How about the soundtrack to Rocky? "Gonna Fly Now" comes close to what I'm talking about, except there are only about 6 different words in the whole song. Also, I don't want to include vague inspirational stuff, otherwise "Faith of the Heart" and "I Believe I Can Fly" get lumped in.
UPDATE: Songs about the music industry don't count.