Labour & Pop Culture: Work Bitch

This week’s installment of Labour & Pop Culture is the appalling “Work Bitch” from Britney Spears. While this has been on my master list of songs for awhile, I have avoided posting it because, much like Working for the Weekend, there just isn’t much to this song.

Basically, if you wanna buy stuff, youse gotsta work. While I’m all about bringing attention to the commodification of labour (wherein we’re compelled to sell our labor to buy necessities), I’m not sure I’ll make any friends asking you to watch nearly four minutes of this awful dance music video.  Note that, when you get to the bridge in this song, try to resist jumping off of it.



Now maybe there is a deeper message here about how hard Britney has worked to afford her Hollywood life. Meh. So instead, I give you Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager. Because Star Wars.



You wanna
You wanna

[Chorus:]
You wanna hot body
You wanna Bugatti
You wanna Maserati
You better work bitch
You wanna Lamborghini
Sip Martinis
Look hot in a bikini
You better work bitch

You wanna live fancy
Live in a big mansion
Party in France
You better work bitch [4x]

Now get to work bitch
(ahhhh)
Now get to work bitch
(ahhhh)

[Verse 1]
Bring it on
Ring the alarm
Don't stop now
Just be the champion
Work it hard like it's your profession
Watch out now
'Cause here it comes

Here comes the smasher
Here comes the master
Here comes the big beat
Big beat to blast ya
No time to quit now
Just time to get it now
Pick up what I'm putting down
Pick up what I'm putting down

[Chorus]

You better work bitch [4x]

Now get to work bitch
(ahhhh)
Now get to work bitch
(ahhhh)

[Verse 2]
Break it up
Break it down
See me coming
You can hear my sound
Tell somebody in your town
Spread the word
Spread the word

Go call the police
Go call the governor
I bring the trouble
That means the trouble y'all
I make it bubble up
Call me the bubbler
I am the bad bitch
The bitch that you love enough

[Bridge]
Hold your head high
Fingers to the sky
They gon' try to try ya
But they can't deny ya
Keep it building higher and higher

So hold your head high
Fingers to the sky
Now they don't believe ya
But they gonna need ya
Keep it building higher and higher and higher

Work work work work work work work work (Work!)
Work work (Work!)
Work work (Work!)
Work work (Work!)
Work
Work it out [14x]

You better work bitch
You better work bitch

-- Bob Barnetson