Work songs: recommended masterpieces and popular tracks

Fight, GhostwriterMegurine Ruka

Fight! Ghostwriter (loves. Megurine Luka)

It’s a Vocaloid song that makes you jittery with an insanely fast BPM.

It layers a hero-theme-style melody over a samba rhythm, packing in tons of musical elements.

The title plays on “ghostwriter” and “Kamen Rider,” and the chorus urges you to fight.

Young police officerHikawa Kiyoshi

Young Policeman (Shiro Sone)

It’s a hit song sung by Shiro Sone in 1956 (Showa 31).

You can feel the era in the part where natto isn’t sold in packs but wrapped in straw.

The police officer is young, yet his way of speaking sounds oddly old-fashioned.

Still, the way he invites the woman at the tobacco shop he visits while off duty on a date in the end shows he’s very much a young officer at heart.

A city sandwich board manTsuruta Koji

Koji Tsuruta 'The Sandwich Man of the City'

You used to often see them on the streets in the Showa era, but you don’t see them anymore these days.

I think they were called human billboards—people dressed in flashy, attention-grabbing outfits holding placards or hanging signs on both their front and back to advertise a shop.

They were called sandwich men.

Since the job is really about drawing attention and getting people to look at you, it might not be suitable for someone who’s shy.

Even so, this song sings of the lament in the heart of a man who works for a living.

50%Ofisharu Higedan Dism

Official HIGE DANDism – 50% [Official Video]

As a pep song dedicated to people who tend to push themselves too hard in modern society, Official HIGE DANDism’s gentle message strikes a chord.

It speaks to us with a grand, gospel-tinged sound, encouraging us to face forward at our own pace without overexerting ourselves.

Written as the theme song for the film Cells at Work! released in December 2024, the piece gives voice to those living in an era where endless competition is the norm.

It also harmonizes beautifully with the film’s worldview and its message of “taking care of your own body.” It’s best enjoyed while relaxing in front of a smart speaker.

When you want to soothe a tired mind and body, when you feel like treating yourself kindly, this song will surely be by your side.

House mannequin in the night mistyaya

Somewhat, the night-mist house mannequin

You’re probably wondering, “What’s a house mannequin?” Long ago in Japan, the term referred to female shop staff who wore their own brand’s clothes and sold them in the store.

In French, mannequin means model, but this usage is entirely Japanese.

It was during the bubble era, and with fierce brand competition, meeting sales quotas and such was apparently quite tough—hence songs like this were born.

The Northern Ship of SuccessFukuda Kouhei

[Official Full] Kohei Fukuda 'Northbound Success Ship' Music Video

When it comes to big catches in Aomori’s fisheries, it’s got to be Ōma’s tuna, right? I’ve seen it in TV documentaries too—reeling in a single fish that could be worth tens of millions of yen really conveys the men’s desperation.

But landing a giant isn’t easy.

Just as the lyrics say, it takes grit and patience—and it’s a song of men staking everything on their intuition and skill in a showdown at sea.

Sad Little DoveMisora Hibari

Sad Little Dove

Hibari Misora was 15 years old at the time, but her singing ability is unbelievable for a 15-year-old.

It’s the theme song of a film—a story about a sad parting with her family, set in a circus in which Hibari Misora herself stars.

In the past, circuses had the image of being poor, itinerant troupes living day to day.

People who grew up during the period of rapid economic growth say their parents would scold them with, “If you don’t listen, I’ll sell you to the circus!” That’s quite a different image from today’s glamorous, artistic theme-park-like spaces.