Work songs: recommended masterpieces and popular tracks

HeroFUNKY MONKEY BABYS

FUNKY MONKEY BABYS "Hero"

A song that could make any office worker sob, conveying that even ordinary salarymen—without flashy achievements—are admirable heroes who work hard every day.

The music video features announcer Shinichi Hatori, and it became a hot topic when he also appeared across networks at that year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen.

TAXISuzuki Kiyomi

Seimi Suzuki — TAXI

Ms.

Kiyomi Suzuki is the older sister of Mr.

Masayuki Suzuki—well-known from groups like the Chanels—and as siblings, they both have strikingly soulful voices that don’t sound typically Japanese.

It’s a song with an adult vibe, like meeting the usual woman at the usual bar after work.

We RookiesDISH//

DISH// – We Rookies [Official Video Short ver.]

This song honestly expresses the inner feelings of a new employee.

Even while fully aware that the world isn’t easy, they still think they’ll climb the career ladder smoothly—maybe that’s just what it means to be part of the “Yutori generation”? But in the music video, they do come across as a very straightforward and genuine new employee.

GuildBUMP OF CHICKEN

BUMP OF CHICKEN "Guild"

A masterpiece that deeply questions the meaning of life and one’s own worth has been making waves.

The ballad released by BUMP OF CHICKEN in November 2006 is a work that expresses the self by likening life to a “job.” Its meticulously crafted guitar riffs and delicate vocals weave a melody that gently stays with the listener, evoking profound empathy.

The piece was also developed as a puppet-theater DVD, with band members serving as voice actors, expanding its world beyond music.

This is a song especially for those searching for what it means to live true to themselves, or for anyone feeling worn out by daily life.

Let’s workNORIKIYO from SD JUNKSTA

NORIKIYO from SD JUNKSTA [MV] “Let’s Get to Work”

Of course, NORIKIYO’s rap skills shine, but despite the MV’s comedic sensibility, it’s a hard-hitting track.

Surprisingly, the lyrics say some pretty sensible things, so it might even work as a work-themed song.

The senior-dis track on the same album also drew attention.

I messed up!!busai-ku

No Festival Crew / We Messed Up! FNS Summer Song Festival

The third single by Busaiku, a spin-off unit from Kis-My-Ft2.

Johnny’s idols sing and dance in plain gray suits.

It’s playful, but the lyrics deliver a classic pep talk: even if you fail, let’s pick ourselves up and work hard again!

2 a.m. and a highballnakigoto

2 a.m. and a highball

On the way home after a shift, the 2 a.m.

air mingles with the languor of a highball.

It’s a song about a night like that—one almost everyone has lived—by the female rock duo Nakigoto.

Written by Emiri Minakami with the aim of creating a “song that saves,” it beautifully captures the delicate moment when, in the depths of dejection, an offhand word from someone close suddenly lifts you up.

First released on the September 2019 mini-album How to Make the Night, it was later re-included on the full-length album NAKIGOTO,.

If you listen on a night when work has drained you and you’re on the verge of losing sight of your own worth, won’t you find yourself in the protagonist, and feel—somehow—that you can get through tomorrow?