Songs about welding: the ultimate playlist

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While working only from home during the height of the pandemic, I spent a lot of time exploring different types of music. The day-in and day-out drudge of the home office, away from face-to-face coworker interactions, can get monotonous, and I found that new music helps keep the workday fresh.

One day, by chance, I came across “Welding Song” by British indie band Year of the Kite (more on the song below). Naturally, it piqued my interest. Not just because of the industry TheFabricator.com serves, but also because it isn’t a country song. It's atmospheric and has hints of that Radiohead-esque haunting. This sent me down a rabbit hole, scouring YouTube and Spotify to find as many different songs about welding as I could.

Now, don’t get me wrong—there are a lot of country music songs about welding and the skilled trades, especially about good ol’ boys working the pipelines and closing down bars. But don’t let the stereotype fool you: Songs about welding aren’t just for country musicians.

From hip hop to ska (yes, ska) to bluegrass, the topic of welding/metalworking transcends one single genre of music—just as various welding techniques transcend different sectors of metal manufacturing.

Based on what I found, I've compiled a 64-song playlist for The FABRICATOR on Spotify. I also included songs that referenced steel fabrication, other forms of metalworking, or are simply about working in manufacturing. Give it a listen and let me know if you have any suggestions. I’d be interested in what songs you might add.

Here is a closer look at some of the songs that stood out and some that were such deep cuts, they weren’t available on Spotify.

“He’s a Welder”; “He’s still a Welder”; “He Used to be a Welder” by E. Frank Murphy

Yes, these songs are country, but it’s only right to begin with this trio. Fantasy nerds have the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, nostalgia nerds have the “Back to the Future” trilogy, and sci-fi nerds have the original “Star Wars” trilogy.

Welding nerds? Well, they have E. Frank Murphy’s “He’s a Welder” trilogy off his 2015 album, "Pipeline Blues." This epic three-part twangy masterwork tells the epic journey of a nameless pipeline welder who goes from cocky and well-paid to becoming quickly burnt out to being replaced by an automated welding robot.

It’s a cautionary tale about how complacency, lack of self-awareness, and not embracing technology in the metal fabrication industry can bite you in the ass. Contrary to what some might believe about the manufacturing industry, automation and robots aren't out there to replace workers. The technology is only going to help create jobs. Folks just need to be willing to pivot.

To get the full effect, listen to Part II and Part III.

“The Welder” by Blind Corn Liquor Pickers

This might be my favorite song on the list for two simple reasons: First, the song has a chorus that deserves to be screen-printed on a T-shirt and put on bumper sticker: “Welding all the day. Hellbent all the night.” Second, Blind Corn Liquor Pickers is definitely the best band name on the entire list.

As the chorus eludes, it tells the story of a welder’s tumultuous relationship with a lady friend.

Anyone who’s a fan of Trampled by Turtles or old-school Avett Brothers will like this progressive bluegrass six-piece from Lexington, Ky.

“Welder by Day” by The Skashank Redemption

This song breaks the mold when it comes to songs about welding. Love or hate ska music, it’s refreshing to hear something different. (Warning: It’s not safe to skank and wield a welding torch at the same time.)

It’s one of the very few songs that tells a story about a female welder. This story in particular is about a woman who lives a, to say the least, wild lifestyle while breaking some hearts along the way. The chorus is pretty straightforward: “She’s a welder by day and a stripper by night.”

Wait. Isn’t that the plot of “Flashdance”? In the 1983 movie, an 18-year-old girl lands a daytime unionized welding job at a Pittsburgh steel mill right out of high school and dances cabaret at a bar at night.

It's also worth noting that there’s even a nod to Rosie the Riveter, calling the woman in the song “A Rosie Do It All.” In fact, the "Rosie the Riveter" term was first used in a song written in 1942 to celebrate/promote women working in manufacturing during World War II. Various musicians covered the song at the time, including The Four Vagabonds. Singer-songwriter Suzy Bogguss also covered it on a 2007 compilation album called "Song of America." And Cincinnati folk quartet The Tillers wrote their own version of the song for their 2008 album "Ludlow Street Rag."

Dante Terrell and Joe Brown

Dante Terrell and Joe Brown might be two of the only artists on this list who are also an active career welder-fabricators. On top of that, they are also the only hip hop artists on the list.

Terrell is a Jacksonville, Fla.-based welder/artist and themes most of his song catalog around his career as a pipeline welder.

Terrell has released two albums so far that you can stream on Spotify: “It’s Dark and Welds are Hot,” released in 2020, and “No Purge,” released in 2021.

There are really too many good welding-themed songs of his to pick from: “Weld Star,” “Beading Up,” “Interstate Junkie,” “Weld Talk,” “Bead Man,” "Alloy Cowboy" … the list goes on. But the first track he evet released is call "I Be Welding" in 2017.

I reached out to Terrell on his Instagram account, which heavily features his music and welding projects, to ask him what inspired him to focus so much on welding in his songwriting.

“I feel it’s important because no one is advocating for the welding trade, as far as hip hop goes, but myself. We listen to all sorts of music, but how many of those songs really represent what you do every day? We as people enjoy listening to music that’s entertaining and that we can relate to. Everything that I represent in my music, a welder can relate to. I enjoy using my creativity and embellishing the welding trade through music.”

That mindset was echoed by Joe Brown, who goes by Black Feniks on the hip hop scene. Readers of TheFabricator.com might recognize Brown from his feature in our Still Building America series, where he talks about how he blends his Phoenix-based metal fabrication business, Hog On Welding, with his music career.

“Our culture tends to glorify fast money, not realizing that what comes fast can leave even faster,” Brown said in a conversation on Instagram. “We have to create stability by manufacturing and making our products using skills like welding.”

Brown’s priority is reaching the younger folks through his music and then teaching them the value of learning a skilled trade like metal fabrication.

“My goal is to break the chains of the hip hop culture not learning skilled trades,” he added. “It's important to me because it's my legacy, a true reflection of who I am, how I live, and what I do. Music is an influence of vibes, so I place hip hop music in my welding to influence the young generation to partake on the skill and learn the trade like they do music.”

“Welding Song” by Year of the Kite

Here’s another interesting song about a welder. As mentioned before, it comes from indie British band Year of the Kite’s 2018 album “With Sparks Flying,” which obviously evokes metalworking imagery. “Welding Song” is haunting and atmospheric, but at first listen it’s hard to understand what the song is about.

I reached out to the band’s keyboardist, Doug Cresswell, who explained the song is tribute to his friend, Tom: “(He’s an) artist, cyclist, constructor, charmer, dancer and amateur welder. He set up a welding workshop in the back shed of our student house and made amazing things. One day he left his mask up and sent himself blind for a few days, which is what the last verse is talking about.”

Safety first, kids.

“Jock the Singing Welder” by Sting

This one comes from Sting’s 2013 concept album “The Last Ship,” which also was the inspiration for the 2014 musical by the same title.

The entire album reflects on Sting’s youth growing up in Wallsend, a shipyard town full of skilled workers in North East England.

One of the deeper cuts from the project (so deep that it’s nowhere to be found on Spotify) is a little ditty called “Jock the Singing Welder.” Sting explains the song was inspired from a conversation he had with Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, who said that, because of fume inhalation and too much time wearing a helmet, welders are crazy and think they can sing like Elvis.

“Steel Men” by Jimmy Dean

The upbeat tune from country music/sausage legend Jimmy Dean reveres metalworkers: “They hammered and they cut and they riveted, and the welding torches were bright.” But the tone is a little misleading since this song is about a real-life tragedy.

The 1961 release is the focus of a bridge collapse that happened in 1958 near Vancouver, BC. During construction, several anchor spans of the arch of came crashing down when a temporary arm malfunctioned. Nearly 80 ironworkers and welders went plunging 100 feet into the Burrard Inlet. A total of 18 were tragically killed.

“Steel men, living and dying by steel,” sings Dean at the end of the song.

The bridge was renamed Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossings in 1994 to honor those workers who lost their lives.

“Welding Burns” by Rod Picott

Released in 2011 on the heels of the Great Recession, Picott’s “Welding Burns” album is themed around the economic downturn of 2007-2009 and the effect it had on manufacturing.

It’s truly a depressing collection that include songs about the downfall of the auto industry (“Rust Belt Fields”) and unemployment lines (“410”). But the chorus of the title track sums up the messaging of the entire album: “Some things you're born to, some things you gotta learn: broken homes, wrecked cars, scars, and welding burns.”

Picott grew up in industrial New England and his dad worked as a welder in a Navy yard, so it makes sense that he felt compelled to address the subject.

“Welding Steel” by David Sudbury

The UK has a deep and rich history with metalworking, which dates back to the Middle Ages when bronze casting was at its peak. Fast forward to today, and the British metalworking sectors are still going strong. The UK ranks as the ninth largest manufacturing nation in the world, according to a 2020 report.

And Sudbury’s “Welding Steel” captures the pride Brits take in the industry. What makes this simple little ditty great is how vivid and descriptive the lyrics are.

He sings: “Welding steel is my world. … I’m a man and I know how to work it. … I work with men, good and true. … Traveled ‘round when I was young, from job to job, wherever the work would lead me. ... They say the money is rubbish, but the crack is great. … Welding plants sing your song. … Pull together in this crew, working with lads from all across the kingdom.”

Based on that, it seems like Sudbury might have a background as a traveling pipeline welder. It’s a safe bet considering he’s from industry-heavy Derbyshire, England, where metal manufacturing makes up one-sixth of the region’s employment. Hell, just north of Derbyshire, Sheffield United FC is nicknamed The Blades in reference to the area’s steelmaking prowess.

“Welding Son of a Gun” by Chuck Hawthorne

Texas knows a thing or two about welding. It also knows a thing or two about turning out a song with great storytelling. Much like Sudbury’s song, this one from Austin, Texas, singer-songwriter Chuck Hawthorne is equally as simple and equally as powerful.

Hawthorne’s “Welding Son of a Gun” tells the tale of a someone who uses welding as a way to rehab from some bad habits. He sings, "So you buy yourself an old, used welding machine. Forgive yourself of every little dirty thing. … Pick up the broken things at your feet. Slap on your welding gloves and turn up the heat. ... It puts holes in my shirt and keeps my spirit clean.”

The subject of the song is clearly going through some shit. Thankfully, welding has been known to be therapeutic.

“Welding Mask” by Ace & the Kings

Ace & the Kings is a garage punk band out of Bloomsburg, Pa. And that’s pretty much all I could find about the band and the song. There isn’t a ton of information out there. But, in all honestly, I really love the raw energy of this song.

While the song doesn’t really mention anything about welding specifically, the lyrics seem to tell the story of a tatted- and pierced-up young person who’s at a crossroads in his or her life. The chorus repeats: “How are you gonna be free?” Considering the title of the song, it could be taken two ways: Either the subject needs the structure of a welding career, or the person needs to get out of a toxic fab shop.

I reached out to the only email I could find associated with the band. Hopefully they’ll respond and set me straight. Stay posted.

“Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle

Probably the most recognizable song of the bunch. And while "Copperhead Road” is mostly about a road in Mountain City, Tenn., that’s used by moonshiners to run product and has only one reference to metalworking, the song, in general, just kicks ass and never gets old in my book.

That reference to metalworking? “He only came to town about twice a year. He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line. Everybody knew that he made moonshine.”

It immediately reminded me of a story that TPJ Editor Eric Lundin wrote early in 2021 about Kentucky distillery fabricator Hillbilly Stills.

“The Welding Man” by Cody Cooke

This is the grittiest song of the bunch, but also one that’s maybe a little too on the nose. “The Welding Man” hits every stereotype (right or wrong) of a worn-down welder who travels from job to job. As one part of the lyric goes: “He’d rather drink. He’d rather hunt. He’d rather go fish or work on his truck. But it pays for all of that, so I tell you he will show up. This is the story of the welding man.”

“The Welding Man” instantly reminded me of a slightly more intense version of a Drive-By Truckers song called “Bob”—a song that could also be about a welder, but still leaves plenty of room open for interpretation.

“Weld” by Neil Young and Crazy Horse

“Weld” is compilation live album from shows that Neil Young and Crazy Horse performed during 1990 and 1991 to support their album Ragged Glory.

I couldn’t find out exactly why Young named the album “Weld,” but he took the metalworking concept even further by releasing it as part of a three-disc set called “Arc-Weld.” The “Arc” disc is interesting: It’s one 35-minute-long collage of just guitar noises and feedback.

I included the live versions “Love to Burn” and “F*ckin’ Up” on the playlist since they could conjure up some welding emotions.

“Welding” by Dictionary Dave

The shortest song of the bunch at 40 seconds. Pretty straightforward ditty about a guy who just started welding and explains that “with welding you combine two pieces of metal.” He’s not wrong.

It was such a weird little song that I felt compelled to look at the rest of the album. Turns out Dictionary Dave just wrote a bunch of songs about words that begin with the letter W and named the album, you guessed it, “The W Album.”