Why Don't You Get A Job? - The Offspring, 1999

 
 

My friend's got a girlfriend and he hates that bitch
He tells me every day
He says "man I really gotta lose my chick
In the worst kind of way"

She sits on her ass
He works his hands to the bone
To give her money every payday
But she wants more dinero just to stay at home
Well my friend, you gotta say:

I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job

I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
To keep her bill collectors at bay
I guess all his money, well it isn't enough
Cause that girl's got expensive taste

I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job

Well I guess it ain't easy doing nothing at all oh yeah
But hey man free rides just don't come along every day

(Let me tell you about my other friend now)

My friend's got a boyfriend and she hates that dick
She tells me every day
He wants more dinero just to stay at home
Well my friend, you gotta say:

I won't pay, I won't pay ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job
(oh yeah)
I won't give ya no money, I always pay
now now why don't you get a job
Say no way, say no way ya, no way
now now why don't you get a job

 
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The band was officially christened The Offspring in 1985, but it would be almost a decade until they had a huge hit with the 1994 album, Smash. Buying out the rights to their own music, The Offspring started their own label, Nitro Records. Considered a Punk band themselves, they managed to sign a handful of minor Punk acts such as AFI, The Vandals, and Guttermouth.

The late '90s saw the release of their most popular mainstream album, Americana. This has sold more than 11 million copies worldwide. Songs such as Why Don't You Get a Job? received a lot of attention on MTV, with a rather compelling video that builds effectively from a single hang-glider landing on a suburban street.

The band believed in the power of downloading to reach a wider audience, and had intended to release their 2000 album, Conspiracy of One, online (through their official website). Under threat from Columbia and parent company Sony Music, they relented... although, they did make one song, Original Prankster available. Also, they printed and sold "Napster" T-shirts, and donated the profits to the peer-to-peer pioneer, Shawn Fanning.