11 Songs About Poverty & Being Poor

Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Many families around the world are living below the poverty line with incomes of less than $1.9 per day. Below is a list of songs that touch on poverty:

1. Ed Sheeran – The A-Team

The track was Ed’s debut single that ended up pushing his career to the next level. It focuses on a girl that Ed spoke to when he did a gig at a homeless shelter. He was taken aback by some of the stories that he heard.

 

2. Justin Bieber – Pray

Justin sings about praying and helping the less fortunate in society as he looks for a way to make a change to their situation.

 

3. Bruno Mars – Liquor Store Blues

The track is mainly about a person struggling to make ends meet so he turns to his local liquor store to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

 

4. Eminem – Mocking Bird

The track was directed to his daughters and here Eminem acknowledges that growing up with his media image together with Kim’s drug problem led to a difficult upbringing. At the time Eminem and his family were struggling with poverty.

 

5. Eminem – Rock Bottom

Lyrically, the song deals with the stress and anger brought about by poverty and the struggles of raising a little girl under those conditions. It was written during a depressing point in Eminem’s life.

 

6. Lecrae – Broke

Lecrae addresses how being broke made him gain more wealth in character than what money or fame could bring in.

 

7. Phil Collins – Another Day In Paradise

Collins stated that the song was about the despairing homeless. He wrote the song after visiting Washington DC where he saw many people living in boxes.

 

8. Roonie Dunn – Cost Of Livin

 

9. Queen – Is This The World We Created

The track has been termed as a call to arms of sorts. It asks people to look around and take a moment to assess the state of the broken society we live in.

 

10. Iggy Azalea – Work

Iggy hailed this song as her most personal song. It portrays her life story specifically dealing with her struggle as an up-and-coming rapper and how she relocated from Mullumbimby to Miami at the young age of 16.

 

11. Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror

The hit song is basically Michael Jackson asking people to change the world and make it better. He realizes that the place to start is himself and put his own house in order first.