# Great story songs. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187 "2014-12-26T03:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/1 "2014-12-26T03:20:21Z")
I’m sure this has been done but I just listened to [Joe Ely, _The Road Goes on Forever_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pgog03z8YI) again and thought I’d throw it out there. What ya got? ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/2 "2014-12-26T05:04:46Z")
Kenny Rogers made a career out of those in the 70’s… oh you said GREAT… never mind I would go with Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald- Gordon Lightfoot ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/3 "2014-12-26T05:05:57Z")
Yes, it’s long, but [Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A) is a good story. ---
**Author:** ![yawuntz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a5b964/32.png) [@yawuntz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawuntz)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/4 "2014-12-26T05:19:14Z")
Melvin van Peebles’ Catch That on the Corner tells an interesting little story at 41:24 [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sHQEXTL8Hg), and the band just _kills_. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/5 "2014-12-26T05:20:40Z")
_[The Man From Snowy River](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW7rgnNqgjE)_,originally written as a poem and published in 1890 by [“Banjo” Paterson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo_Paterson)( who also wrote\* Waltzing Matilda\*). Set to music and performed by [Slim Dusty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Dusty). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/6 "2014-12-26T05:52:49Z")
[And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqN1glz4JY) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/7 "2014-12-26T06:05:22Z")
“Taxi” by Harry Chapin. “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart. These are the first two that come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/8 "2014-12-26T06:05:47Z")
[Alice’s Restaurant.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM) What do I win?🙂 [Taxi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5dwksSbD34) for the number two position. and [Operator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RA4MykPm4s) for third. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/9 "2014-12-26T06:16:36Z")
[Hurricane](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_(Bob_Dylan_song))- Bob Dylan’s song about the arrest of Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/10 "2014-12-26T06:24:42Z")
Jimmy Buffet has quite a few. Margaritaville, Fins, The Weather is Here (I wish you were beautiful), and many many more. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/11 "2014-12-26T06:45:48Z")
(Morning DJ of ) W.O.L.D. by Harry Chapin. ---
**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 26, 2014, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/12 "2014-12-26T07:31:56Z")
[Uneasy Rider](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=952h-AJ3Bcg) by Charlie Daniels. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/13 "2014-12-26T08:40:29Z")
The Mariners Lament, by The Decemberists. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/14 "2014-12-26T09:49:11Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > [Uneasy Rider](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=952h-AJ3Bcg) by Charlie Daniels. Also, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/15 "2014-12-26T09:52:01Z")
I seem to remember from a Thread some time ago that I’m not the only Stan Rogers fan here. For this Thread, I’ll suggest: [The Mary Ellen Carter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhop5VuLDIQ) …one of my all time favorite story songs. ---
**Author:** ![Idilia\_Dubb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@Idilia\_Dubb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idilia_Dubb)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/16 "2014-12-26T10:19:51Z")
“The Night That the Lights Went out in Georgia” “Frankie and Johnny” “Mack the Knife” the theme song to _The Beverly Hillbillies_ ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/17 "2014-12-26T11:03:23Z")
[1952 Vincent Black Lightning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5V0RkCIaXo) by Richard Thompson (and just listen to that guitar). ---
**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 26, 2014, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/18 "2014-12-26T11:28:52Z")
“[Tweeter and the Monkey Man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmAYziKt2pU)”, the Travelling Wilburys. Another Dylan story song. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/19 "2014-12-26T12:22:10Z")
Pogues [Waltzing Matilda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqN1glz4JY). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2014, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187/20 "2014-12-26T13:10:09Z")
> [@Tread](#): > > Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald- Gordon Lightfoot That’s what I came here to post, but since it’s already been mentioned, I’ll offer up Beck’s surreal “Satan Gave Me A Taco”. A few years ago a fan made [a cute animated video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-XuMvxi-vc) to go with it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-story-songs/708187.md?page=2)