I was listening to the radio, and there was Hey Joe, by Jimi Hendrix followed by Shooting Star, by Bad Company(?). Can you think of any others, preferably in the classic rock genre?
A few others:
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot.
I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
Last Kiss - ?
One head light - The Wallflowers
Tallahachie Bridge - (don’t know)
Diamond Smile - Boomtown Rats
Death of a Disco Dancer - Smiths
There is a light that never goes out - Smiths
Sing me to sleep - Smiths
…and that’s just off the top of my head…
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner–Warren Zevon
Excitable Boy–Warren Zevon
Bat out of Hell–Meatloaf
‘stereotype’ - the specials
‘jerry was a racecar driver’ - primus
any rap song - any rapper
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Miss Otis Regrets - Cole Porter
Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Bob Dylan
Maxwell’s Silver Hammer - The Beatles
Mack the Knife - The Threepenny Opera
Were You There (When they Crucified My Lord) - Traditional
Highway Patrolman - Bruce Springsteen
Long Black Veil - Traditional
plus these Johnny Cash songs (off the top of my head):
Folsom Prison Blues
Don’t Take Your Guns to Town
25 Minutes to Go
The Wall
Homecoming Queen’s Got A Gun - Julie Brown
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer - ???
The Night the Lights went out in Georgia–Vickie Lawrence
Billy Don’t Be a Hero–Paper Lace
Wildfire–Micheal Murphy
Seasons in the sun–Terry Jacks
Shannon–Henry Gross (well it’s a dog, but its still a death)
Ode to Billie Jo–Bobbie Gentry
Elanor Rigby, and A Day in the Life, by the Beatles
The Night Santa Went Crazy, and Jurassic Park, by “Weird Al” Yankovic
D.O.A., by not sure, but I think it was something like Bloodrock
Sniper, by Harry Chapin
Timothy (probably the biggest hit ever about cannibalism).
I count 31.
Janie’s Got a Gun–Aerosmith
Papa Loved Mama–Garth Brooks
Shit-fire.
After “Young Love,” and “Lust,” Death is THE most-mentioned phenomenon in popular music!
Here’s a book recommendation: Jeff Pike; THE DEATH OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL: UNTIMELY DEMISES, MORBID PREOCCUPATIONS, AND PREMATURE FORECASTS OF DOOM IN POP MUSIC, Faber & Faber, 1993.
what about “Video Killed the Radio Star”?
jingle bells
“James K. Polk” by They Might Be Giants
“Doug at Home”/“Doug at the Gates of Hell” and “Isaac’s Lament” by Uncle Bonsai
“Here Comes the Groom” by John Wesley Harding
“The Hunting Song” by Tom Lehrer
“Woman in the Wall” by The Beautiful South
“The Drinking Song” by Moxy Früvous
“Please Don’t Bury Me” John Prine
“Bye Bye Johnny” Bruce Springsteen
“Abraham Martin and John” Dion DiMucci
“I Don’t Like Mondays” Boomtown Rats
“Hey Joe” Jimi Hendrix
“Vincent Black Ligtning '52” Richard Thompson
“Devonside” Richard Thompson
“Matty Groves” Fairport Convention
“Marie Provost” Nick Lowe
Last Kiss
Leader of the Pack
“IMHO” by the manhattan transfer.
Oops, no, sorry, that’s not a song. That’s where this thread belongs.
I know the OP said classic rock but I am going to throw this in for good measure. I listen to a lot of Heavy Metal and a lot of it has to do with death - just from a small handfull of disks I grabbed out of my desk drawer:
Bleen for Ancient Gods - Amon Amarth
Killing Floor - Bruce Dickenson
Silent Night, Bodom Night - Childern of Bodom
Children of the Grave - Black Sabbath
Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden
Serenity Painted Death - Opeth
Glimpse Into Genocide - Napalm Death
and just about anything by the Misfits, Sentenced, Six Feet Under, Cannibal Corpse and a host of others. I could go on for hours…
Was It a Lie?-Sleater Kinney (talk about depressing, geeez)
Marianne-Tori Amos
Hello Birmingham-Ani Difranco
Little Amsterdam-Tori Amos
Phanta-Le Tigre (Well, sort of. There’s an explosion at the end, you can just kind of assume I guess)
Toodles Mr. Jim-Tori Amos
Ooo wah, ooo wah cool, cool kitty
Sending off the thread to MPSIMS city
Ooo wah, ooo wah c’mon kitty
Cleaning up GQ without no pity…
Timothy by the Buoys.
Not only death, but cannibalism!