Has there ever been a better "story song" than...

That’s the first one I thought of.
How about “Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner” by Warren Zevon"?

Miami 2017 by Billy Joel is one of my absolute favorites.

I can’t believe no one has mentioned Red Foley’s “Old Shep” yet. Have the works of Red Sovine finally been forgotten?

There’s Bob Dylan’s “Boots Of Spanish Leather” and Tom Paxton’s “Talking Vietnam Potluck Blues”.

Here’s what I think

I think we should go to the quarry and throw stuff in there

What is a story song?

How about something much more recent

Jamie Lawson - I wasn’t expecting that.

Given this is a US message board, you may not know this song, but its in our charts right now.
Oh, by the way, its dusty around here

Damn good question! Most songs have at least some implied story being told. Many are oblique in the narrative’s finer points and may just suggest some plot line or story arc.

To my way of thinking, a “story song” is along the lines of the old ballads (whenever they were the main means of telling stories to “the folk” before printed matter came along) where the main issue is narration.

I haven’t bothered yet to find a more precise definition since I assumed most people have their own definition and a batch of examples to go with it.

But this may be the time and place to narrow the concept down to its essentials.

Your turn: What is a story song? :slight_smile:

We could begin by pointing out what’s wrong with these: Inventory: 26 Songs that are just as good as short stories

Well, while we’re on the subject, “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” by Eric Bogle. Bring your handkerchief for this one.

That one has to be among the Top Ten all-time story songs!

Richard Shindell (part of Cry, Cry, Cry) has an extensive solo career filled with lots of story based songs.

Try Sparrow’s Point

I felt this was very innovative, musically, at the time. odd rhyming scheme, cadence, etc. I don’t think there was anything sounded remotely like it before it.

Is Maggie May A story song? It is a fictional story between a young male (early 20’s) about his slightly older lover. But, it is really just a love song that uses that narrative/device as device, it is not a completely fictional story within a song about a completely fictional topic that is not self referencing the singer/song writer.

My best example of a Story Song, set to that criteria, is Sam Stone by John Prine. Whereas as Daniel by Elton John (inspired by and loosely about Vietnam Vets) is not really a “story”. Nor, is Empty Garden, that is a song about the death of John Lennon, not fictional, in other words. Nikita, while having the elements of a story (it has the outline of a story but no actual story)… is still not a completley made up story like, Sam Stone or Rocky Raccoon,

Tom Waits

Hope I don’t fall in love with you

Here’s one I bet nobody’s heard. El Gallo del Cielo

Several good ones in this thread but my favorite is “Same Auld Lang Syne” by Dan Fogelberg.

I would only hear it around Christmas time and in the pre internet era it was essentially impossible to find the title because it isn’t in the song.

I feel like a story song is similar to a literary short story in that it is a cohesive tale with
a beginning, middle and conclusion. For example Cher’s Dark Lady is a full on narrative where as another of her songs, Half Breed *, does *tell a story, but in more of a disjointed, typical way for a song.

Bad Company: Shooting Star

This was my first thought, too. Dylan has so many good story songs; here are a few others I like:

[ul]
[li]Hurricane[/li][li]Joey[/li][li]The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll[/li][/ul]

Would Paul Simon’s The Boxer count?

From the Wiki page:

I know our British readers wont care for it but “The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton.

And Johnny Horton had others like Sink the Bismark and North to Alaska.

Harper Valley PTA by Jeanie Riley