# Has there ever been a better "story song" than... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2015, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526 "2015-10-13T06:08:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/61 "2015-10-13T19:15:27Z")
Oh Wow, you guys have to see this. [Sink the Bismarck - by the Blues Brothers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cs_es5DR8U)!!! It was a deleted scene from the movie. ---
**Author:** ![CatastrophicFailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@CatastrophicFailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatastrophicFailure)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/62 "2015-10-13T19:28:17Z")
I forgot to mention Dylan’s Isis (Desire is full of story songs!) and Black Diamond Bay, which is a favorite of mine. ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/63 "2015-10-13T20:10:13Z")
[Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e1xvyTdBZI) by Benny Hill ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/64 "2015-10-13T20:17:40Z")
[Little Does She Know](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zf1loc6S7U) by the Kursaal Flyers ---
**Author:** ![scoots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@scoots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scoots)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/65 "2015-10-13T20:26:30Z")
[Lucky Stars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-k3hjvMGuU) by Dean Friedman ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/66 "2015-10-13T20:43:22Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Well, while we’re on the subject, “[The Band Played Waltzing Matilda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG48Ftsr3OI)” by Eric Bogle. Bring your handkerchief for this one. And in the tradition of narrators losing legs, we can add: [Barrett’s Privateers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwzRkjn86w) - Stan Rogers [Soldier’s Joy, 1864](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tzSaUVl9ww) - Guy Clark ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/67 "2015-10-13T21:03:30Z")
A few more by Townes van Zandt: [Marie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6O9eRvNs5k&feature=youtu.be&t=25) [Tecumseh Valley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rq5GsZHd0Y) [Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVHE5V49oA) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/68 "2015-10-13T21:13:33Z")
Nothing compares to [THE BEAR.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDKYtmJ8Uks) This version by Barenaked Ladies, of course, it’s an oldie. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/69 "2015-10-13T21:16:14Z")
Introduced to me via The Band’s version, this is the original I think: Lefty Frizzell - Long Black Veil ---
**Author:** ![northporlarbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7bcc69/32.png) [@northporlarbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/northporlarbear)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/70 "2015-10-13T21:22:24Z")
Not sure if this counts, but Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. [Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin Lyrics - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHFxncb1gRY) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/71 "2015-10-13T22:22:22Z")
[The Playmates - Beep Beep](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enqNl7tdLR4) ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/72 "2015-10-13T22:41:19Z")
Whoa! No Tom T. Hall? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx5te3VkTtQ&index=9&list=PLwWsIjlV3KDHMbSaPlalCCmlec1DmThPm https://www.youtube.com/embed/pnn3WS9kuA4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=PLwWsIjlV3KDHMbSaPlalCCmlec1DmThPm ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/73 "2015-10-13T23:00:13Z")
Dylan wrote a lot of great ones- I love Brownsville Girl. How about Zevon and Springsteen’s Jeannie Needs a Shooter? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/74 "2015-10-14T00:05:32Z")
I first encountered this song right here on the Dope, and later discovered that I had met and done audio for the artist back in college when his band Government Cheese played in our little campus club; here’s [Tommy Womack - Alpha Male & the Canine Mystery Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suII6T4ce-k). ---
**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:** [October 14, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/75 "2015-10-14T01:14:48Z")
What have I missed? No one has mentioned [Mr. Bojangles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LVXR6rjXs)? [Jim Stafford’s version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjEQEUkRAQU) is slightly enhanced. Also, John Denver’s [Matthew](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb2WoVHuFuw). [Maxwell’s Silver Hammer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfnpZhJ8exQ) - those Liverpool guys. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/76 "2015-10-14T02:07:14Z")
I was going to add The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and The Last of Barrett’s Privateers, but others have mentioned them before and I can but second them. But I didn’t see this one, and I think it qualifies: THe City of New Orleans [Arlo Guthrie /City of New Orleans - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfxoM6trtZE) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/77 "2015-10-14T03:46:42Z")
They never found Hattie Never found the shack Never made the trip back in Because a parchment note they found tacked to a stone said: “Don’t come lookin again” ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/78 "2015-10-14T04:01:34Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > I was going to add The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and The Last of Barrett’s Privateers, but others have mentioned them before and I can but second them. > > But I didn’t see this one, and I think it qualifies: THe City of New Orleans [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfxoM6trtZE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfxoM6trtZE) But the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is an account of real life event. And, who is the person/character in City of New Orleans? What about House of the Rising Sun? Is it an actual story, or, is it a warning that employs the use of 1 or 2 characters? I consider all of the following to be almost story songs but still are not story songs: Sunday Morning Coming Down - Kris Kristofferson Positively 4th Street - Bob Dylan Five Years - David Bowie Last Thing I Needed - Willie Nelson I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am - Merle Haggard The Way It Was in '51 - Merle Haggard Born In The USA - Bruce Springsteen My Hometown - Bruce Springsteen Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple Sweet Jane - Velvet Underground Stan - Eminem Fourteen Years - Guns N Roses Jigsaw Puzzle - Rolling Stones Jane Says - Jane’s Addiction Jeremy - Pearljam April 29, 1992 - Sublime Cleaning Windows - Van Morrison The River - Bruce Springsteen I think a real story song is like a book or a movie, where the events of the story and characters are both fictional but also separate and distinct entities from the Author. For this reason [Operator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaE-sBJQixg), [Highway Patrolman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EVCO7ZKVDs)\*, and [Maggie May](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rod+stewart+maggie+may) are not story songs (they are about the author, a first hand narrative) but [Sam Stone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl9ZkYViEIs) or [Rocky Raccoon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS2aYNxOod4) are entirely fictional and about third parties. - Highway Patrolman does tell a story, more or less. Heck, it is the basis for the script of [Indian Runner](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102116/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_8), written directed by Sean Penn, with the events of the song are direct, literal outline of the script… but again, it is a first hand account (within the context of the song). I think a real story song is like a book or a movie, where the events of the story and characters are both fictional but also separate and distinct entities from the Author. Also, as stated else where, a story has, as much as possible, a beginning a middle and an end… Ok, yes, I’ve probably put wayyyyyyyy too much thought into this and have a pretty narrow definition of story song. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/79 "2015-10-14T08:22:08Z")
[quote=“Accidental\_Martyr, post:41, topic:734526”] That’s the first one I thought of. How about “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” by Warren Zevon"? [/QUOTE] O yes. That’s the one I thought of immediately. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2015, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526/80 "2015-10-14T11:11:44Z")
Not the best, but still good: Tom Waits’s Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-better-story-song-than/734526.md?page=5)