# Best "Ripped From The Headlines" Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2009, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858 "2009-12-29T00:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/21 "2009-12-29T10:18:59Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruins” was actually written (but not recorded) prior to the headline, but was first introduced to the general public as being connected with 9/11. The heavy metal band [Hades](http://www.spirit-of-metal.com/groupe-groupe-Hades_%28USA%29-l-en.html) recorded a song called “Ground Zero NYC” – in 2000. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/22 "2009-12-29T14:11:31Z")
Leonard Cohen’s [Chelsea Hotel No. 2](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/CHELSEA-HOTEL-NO-2-lyrics-Leonard-Cohen/1A7711D520478DBF48256AF00027B605) and Loudon Wainwright III’s “Saw Your Name in the Papers,” both about the death of Janis Joplin. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/23 "2009-12-29T15:48:58Z")
Weird Al Yankovic’s “Headline News,” which told the stories of Tonya Harding, John Bobbitt and that kid who got caned in Singapore, to the tune of Crash Test Dummies “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dU95v23MQ4c/maxresdefault.jpg ""Weird Al" Yankovic - Headline News (Parody of "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" - Official HD Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU95v23MQ4c) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/24 "2009-12-29T16:42:55Z")
Randy Newman’s [_Lousiana 1927_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs2iLoDUYE) was originally about a [certain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mississippi_Flood_of_1927)flood, but it became associated with another one 78 years later. And of course, there’s [_Strange Fruit._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/25 "2009-12-29T16:46:59Z")
Shel Silverstein’s “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan” is said to be based on the story of a woman who killed her family. The movie Montenegro, which uses the song on the soundtrack, is supposedly based on the same story. Kate Bush has several story songs: “Houdini” is about the death of Houdini and his wife’s attempts to contact him after death. “Mother Stands for Comfort” is about how mothers of murderers will protect their children against the police. I’m sure there are more specific songs of hers too, but brain tired. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/26 "2009-12-29T17:31:12Z")
“Dead Skin Mask” by Slayer was “inspired” by [Ed Gein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein). The song was 29 years after the killings, so it’s not quite “current” events. Similarly, “Pride (In The Name Of Love”) was released 17 years after the assassination of MLK Jr. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/27 "2009-12-29T17:38:02Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Kate Bush has several story songs: “Houdini” is about the death of Houdini and his wife’s attempts to contact him after death. “Mother Stands for Comfort” is about how mothers of murderers will protect their children against the police. I’m sure there are more specific songs of hers too, but brain tired. Her song “Cloudbusting” is the story, more or less, of [Wilhelm Reich’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich) [experiments](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloudbuster). ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/28 "2009-12-29T17:39:46Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > “Dead Skin Mask” by Slayer was “inspired” by [Ed Gein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein). The song was 29 years after the killings, so it’s not quite “current” events. > > Similarly, “Pride (In The Name Of Love”) was released 17 years after the assassination of MLK Jr. I should have pointed out that "Pride (In The Name Of Love) was a U2 song. My first post makes it seem like it’s a Slayer song. Which would, I think, cause the universe to implode. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/29 "2009-12-29T20:26:01Z")
**Bonzo Goes to Bitburg** by the _Ramones_, 1985, about Regan’s visit to West Germany earlier that year. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew\_21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@Andrew\_21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andrew_21)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/30 "2009-12-29T21:01:20Z")
“Black Day in July” by Gordon Lightfoot. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/31 "2009-12-29T23:02:46Z")
Another one that’s more historical, but “Marie Provost” by Nick Lowe, about a former silent film actress who died in her apartment and was nibbled on by her dog before anyone found her. ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/32 "2009-12-29T23:06:14Z")
I’ve always been partial to “Wheat Kings” by **The Tragically Hip** , which is about David Milgaard. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/33 "2009-12-29T23:16:15Z")
> [@thwartme](#): > > I was looking through my Random Tunes file, and ran across “41 Shots” by Bruce Springsteen. It’s about/inspired by the [Amadou Diallo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_dialo) shooting in NYC. Wyclef Jean also did a song about this tragedy. It’s called “Diallo” and really quite beautiful. > [@](#): > > Leonard Cohen’s Chelsea Hotel No. 2 and Loudon Wainwright III’s “Saw Your Name in the Papers,” both about the death of Janis Joplin. I’ve always read that Chelsea Hotel is about his affair with Janis. Cohen joked that he never was one to kiss and tell, except for this song. It’s one of my favorites, the lyrics are so great. “I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel you were famous, your heart was a legend. You told me again you preferred handsome men but for me you would make an exception.” and “I don’t mean to suggest that I loved you the best, I can’t keep track of each fallen robin. I remember you well in the Chelsea Hotel, that’s all, I don’t even think of you that often.” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Baldy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Gary\_Baldy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Baldy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/34 "2009-12-29T23:55:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Randy Newman’s [_Lousiana 1927_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGs2iLoDUYE) was originally about a [certain](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Mississippi_Flood_of_1927)flood, but it became associated with another one 78 years later. > > And of course, there’s [_Strange Fruit._](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs) I thought “ripped from the headlines” meant a current specific event. Not to pick on just Alessan since I see several posts that don’t seem to be “ripped from the headlines”, but a song written 50 years (give or take) after the event is not ripped from the headlines. People might as well start saying things like Chris DeBurgh’s Crusader or Motorhead’s 1916. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/35 "2009-12-30T03:30:44Z")
Tom Lehrer wrote a series of headline songs for **That Was the Week That Was** called [That Was the Year that Was](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Was_The_Year_That_Was). ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/36 "2009-12-30T04:39:27Z")
> [@Gary\_Baldy](#): > > I thought “ripped from the headlines” meant a current specific event. Not to pick on just Alessan since I see several posts that don’t seem to be “ripped from the headlines”, but a song written 50 years (give or take) after the event is not ripped from the headlines. People might as well start saying things like Chris DeBurgh’s Crusader or Motorhead’s 1916. I know what you mean. To be fair, though, the OP threw me off track by including “Hey Man, Nice Shot,” which was released 8 years after Bud Dwyer’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/37 "2009-12-30T04:44:44Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > [Kathleen Edwards - “Alicia Ross.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_2tbunfanY&feature=related) > > Also on my list of “Saddest Songs I’ve Ever Heard.” Thanks for sharing that song. It’s heartbreakingly lovely. (I remember following the Alicia Ross case back when it happened, because a couple of my friends ran in the same extended social circle up in Thornhill… it was an awful, awful story) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/38 "2009-12-30T05:09:19Z")
[Free Nelson Mandela](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCZKZILvE70) - The Special AKA ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/39 "2009-12-30T05:13:02Z")
[The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WME495PWWJE) - Billy Bragg (About [Rachel Corrie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Corrie).) ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858/40 "2009-12-30T15:13:18Z")
“Remember Pearl Harbor” “Rueben James” And my all-time favorite which was written and published in 1961 shortly after a group of Lumbee indians broke up a Klan meeting in Maxton County, N.C.: The Battle of Maxton County Oh, Have you seen the bed sheet boys, The Terrors of the night? They’re gathering in Maxton, Just a-honing for a fight. Oh, gather round you Klansmen bold, But do not show your face. We’ll burn the fiery cross tonight, And save the Nordic race. Oh, the Klan, Oh, the Klan It calls on every red-blood fighting man. If you are free and white and bigot, And get your courage from a spigot, We’ll be needing reinforcements For to fight the indian… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-ripped-from-the-headlines-songs/522858.md?page=3)