The Grogans’ song “Money Will Chase You,” from their 2019 album Just What You Want, is a laid-back, philosophical anthem about rejecting the “rat race.” Its core meaning is a powerful reminder to prioritize personal fulfillment, purpose, and living in the moment over the empty pursuit of wealth. It is a song that flips the traditional script: instead of you chasing money, you should live such a fulfilling life that money (as a byproduct of success) will eventually “chase” you.
This track is a staple of the Melbourne-based band’s garage-surf sound, blending a cruisy, melancholic tune with a deep, counter-cultural message. It is a song about finding your “place,” ignoring the critics, and realizing that your most valuable asset is not your bank account, but your time.
Verse 1: The Search for Purpose Over Profit
The song opens with the protagonist in a state of deep reflection. He is wondering why it is “taking so long” to figure out where he belongs. This is not a song about a physical location, but about a purpose. He is searching for his place in the world, a life path that feels authentic and meaningful.
This search for meaning is immediately contrasted with the world’s most common, and most hollow, goal: money. He acknowledges that money can buy the “house of your dreams.” This is the great illusion. It can buy the symbols of happiness, like a house, but it cannot protect you from real, human pain.
He states this plainly: “every heart can break so it seems.” This is the song’s first major thesis. It does not matter how much wealth you acquire; you are still vulnerable to the most fundamental parts of being human, like heartbreak and sadness. The house is a hollow shell if the heart inside it is broken.
Chorus: The Grand Reversal of Priorities
The chorus is a powerful, liberating call to action. It presents a radical, anti-capitalist idea. The line “Money will chase you” is a command to stop worrying. It suggests that if you focus on finding your passion, on building a life of purpose, and on doing what you love, success (and the money that comes with it) will be a natural outcome. You will not have to chase it; it will be drawn to you.
The line “but face it, you can try push it away” is a complex and brilliant piece of “slacker rock” philosophy. It is a statement of indifference. The protagonist is saying that the goal is not even to get the money. The goal is the passion. He is so focused on his authentic life that when money does show up, his first instinct is to “push it away” because it is a distraction from what truly matters.
The song then shifts its focus from money to people. The protagonist says not to “worry ’bout all the people, they’re just waiting for their pay.” This is a sharp critique of the 9-to-5 grind. He is painting a picture of a world full of people who are “waiting,” who are passively letting their lives be defined by their paycheck. They are not living; they are just trading their time for money.
This is where the song delivers its most powerful punch. He creates a stark contrast between “you” (the listener, the free-thinker) and “them” (the people waiting for their pay). He says, “Your time ain’t ticking but theirs is slowly, slowly drifting away.”
This is a profound metaphor. The people “waiting for their pay” are watching the clock, and their time is “ticking” and “drifting away.” They are prisoners of time. But for the protagonist, the person who is not focused on money, “your time ain’t ticking.” When you are living in the moment, when you are consumed by your passion, you are no longer a slave to time. You are truly free.
The chorus ends with a direct command that summarizes this entire philosophy. It is the classic carpe diem (seize the day) message, filtered through the lens of garage rock: “So keep on living life like this is your very last day.” This is the how. How do you stop time from ticking? How do you make money chase you? By living with an urgency, a passion, and a presence that makes every single day count.
Verse 2: Escaping the “Small World”
The second verse reinforces this idea of breaking free. The protagonist warns that “you can’t have a problem moving forward,” otherwise you get “caught in this small world.” This “small world” is the bubble of the rat race. It is the world where your value is defined by your job title and your bank account. “Moving forward” means having the courage to leave that world behind and follow your own, undefined path.
He then addresses the critics. He knows that when you step outside the norm, you will face judgment. There will be “people out there who don’t give you the time of day.” These are the “sad folks,” the ones who are so trapped in their own “small world” that they cannot understand or respect anyone who chooses a different path.
The protagonist’s advice is simple and powerful: “Don’t let those sad folks get in your way.” You must have the confidence to ignore them, to push past their negativity, and to stay focused on your own journey. Their judgment is a reflection of their own unhappiness, not a reflection of your worth.
Conclusion: The True Meaning of Wealth
“Money Will Chase You” is a philosophical anthem for a generation that is questioning the old definitions of success. The Grogans are not saying that money is evil. They are saying that it is unimportant. It is a byproduct, not the goal.
The song’s true meaning is a redefinition of wealth. True wealth is not money; it is time. The “sad folks” are “waiting for their pay,” actively losing their time. The free-thinker, by “living life like this is your very last day,” is gaining time by making it stop “ticking.”
It is a song that gives the listener permission to stop, to breathe, and to ask a terrifying question: Am I living a life of purpose, or am I just “waiting for my pay”? The answer, the song suggests, is the only thing that truly matters.