Funky Dollar Bill

Title of song: Funky Dollar Bill

Artist: Funkadelic

Album: Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow

Year of first release: 1971

This is widely considered one of the best songs on the album.

Songwriters: George Clinton, Ray Davis, Eddie Hazel

Memorable Lyrics:

• "The pusher push, the fixer fix/The judge acquits/The junkie leads his life"
• "It'll buy a war/It will save a land/It pollutes this air/In the name of wealth/It'll buy you life/But not true life/The kind of life/Where the soul is hard/My name is dollar bill"

Complete lyrics at the Motherpage

"Funky Dollar Bill" concerns, ironically, unFunkiness. Materialism and consumerism (recurring themes on this album) are characterized as leading to a complete lack of Funk (meaning, in context, soul, heart and joy, see P Funk mythology). Much of the song deals with what people will do for money, even as it leads only to a joyless, unFunky existence.

Personnel

• Lead Vocals: Tawl Ross
• Piano, Organ: Bernie Worrell