Good one. “Do they still play the blues in Chicago…”
I’m Just a Bill by Dave Frishberg, sung by Jack Sheldon
As long as you’re asking for the best story song, my top 3, all from the 70’s (the story song decade) would be:
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Ode to Billie Joe (Bobbie Gentry) That is one haunting song. Didn’t Cecil do a column on this one? What the heck were they throwing off the Tallahatchee Bridge? I always figured the narrator had a pregnancy by Billie Joe, which resulted in a miscarriage or an abortion, and then Billie Joe killed himself out of fundamentalist guilt. (The lame-ass made-for-TV movie based on the song put a different spin on it, of course.)
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Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot) I like the line about the old cook saying “It’s been good to know ya.”
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Mr. Bojangles (Written by Jerry Jeff Walker, I believe. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band made it a hit.) Admit it. You cried when the guy’s dog up and died.
Oh yes, and * Bales of Cocaine * by the Reverand Horton Heat.
bales of cocaine
fallin from low-flying planes
I dunno who dropped em
but I thank em just the same…
God that’s a great song 
Downbound Train by Springsteen. The Smithereens did an excellent cover.
Many good ones. Here’s one:
“The Road Goes On Forever” - Robert Earle Keen
In addition to the other Tom Waits songs, don’t forget “Small Change” - classic Waits.
Great Question!
First: PLG, a woman after my own heart…“House on Pooh Corner” came to mind immediately.
Harry Chapin’s “Taxi”…doesn’t this qualify as a love song? If not, “Same Old Lang Syne” by Dan Fogelberg should rate somewhere as well.
“American City Suite”-Cashman & West.
“Ode to Billy Joe”-Bobbie Gentry.
…yeah, “She’s Leaving Home” definitely.
“Polk Salad Annie” by Tony Joe White, just for the funk factor.
And (I’m gonna get a lot of flak for this one, as I dip my toe into the cheese here): “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle.
::ducks thrown shoes and tin cans::