# Meta-songs: Songs about being a musician **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 6, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057 "2022-09-06T14:20:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/61 "2022-09-06T18:20:11Z")
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Beatles ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/62 "2022-09-06T18:30:19Z")
Just did a quick scroll and damn, somebody beat me to “Beth.” The Clash “Complete Control” is a great one (“On the last tour me mates they couldn’t get in/We’d open up the back door and they’d get run out again.”) And I love Too Much Joy’s cover version of The Records’ “Starry Eyes,” which they rewrote completely to tell the story about getting busted for covering 2 Live Crew songs onstage. ETA: how could I forget “It’s A Long Way To The Top” by AC/DC? Classic ode to the grind of touring, with a kickass bagpipe solo to boot. Road songs are often a albatross around an artist’s second album. Their first album uses up most of their good material, then they tour it relentlessly. It comes time to make a new album, and their life experience has been reduced to the bus and the backstage holding area, so second albums often have a “woe is me, it’s tough to tour” track or two. I seem to remember Tracy Chapman’s sophomore disc suffering from this. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/63 "2022-09-06T18:42:20Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Sorry, this thread is for listing songs about musicians singing about _ **themselves** _ And then there are meta-songs that are about themselves (i.e. about the song itself—like the process of witing it). [“Number Three”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVXZBA6tJPA) - They Might Be Giants _There’s only two songs in me and I just wrote the third Don’t know where I got the inspiration or how I wrote the words_ [“This Is The Title”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Rmp_KQoe0g) - The Swirling Eddies _I’ve only come up with a few lines… I just sang the lines These are the lines_ ---
**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:** [September 6, 2022, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/64 "2022-09-06T18:44:36Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > _I’ve only come up with a few lines… > I just sang the lines > These are the lines_ Reminds me of the Gary Shandling Show theme. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/65 "2022-09-06T18:45:40Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Re-reading over the lyrics, with phrases like “loaded six-string” I think Bon Jovi was trying to draw kind of a poetic metaphor between being a modern musician vs. an old-time outlaw. The best gun/guitar metaphor I’ve heard is [_“Certain Kind of Fool”._](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txeooOvc9YY) It’s the Eagles, off _Desperado_ of course, but it’s thoroughly a Randy Meisner song (who else could sing that high?), and probably auto-biographical. > He saw it in a window > The mark of a new kind of man > He kinda liked the feeling, so shiny and smooth in his hand. > He took it to the country and practiced for days without rest > And then one day he felt it > He knew he could stand with the best > > They got respect, oh yeah > He wants the same, oh yeah > And it’s a certain kind of fool that > Likes to hear the sound of his own name > > A poster on a storefront, the picture of a wanted man > He had a reputation, spreading like fire through the land > It wasn’t for the money, at least it didn’t start that way > It wasn’t for the runnin’ … > … but now he’s runnin’ every day. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/66 "2022-09-06T19:08:53Z")
In a lighter side, how about “Have you heard the news? Dewey Cox Died” written by and autobiographically about a singer named Dewey Cox, sung by Dewey Cox, who literally dies at the end of his singing the song? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/67 "2022-09-06T20:05:34Z")
_We all came down to Montreux,_ _on the Lake Geneva shore line_ _To make records with the Mobile_ _We didn’t have much time_ ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/68 "2022-09-06T20:11:37Z")
“25 or 6 to 4” by Chicago is about a guy staying up into the wee hours of the morning trying to write a song. “Your Song” by Elton John is about a guy writing a song for his lover, and it’s a bit stream-of-consciousness. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/69 "2022-09-06T21:24:23Z")
does "detroit rock city "count? even tho I don’t think they make it to the concert ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/70 "2022-09-06T22:10:34Z")
Chicago - “Wishing You Were Here” (line about “same old show in a different town on another time”, another line “on the road it’s a heavy load”) Bryan Adams - “Summer of '69” (part of the singer’s reminiscences include the band he was in at the time) Foreigner - “Jukebox Hero” (singer becomes an arena musician over the course of the song) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/71 "2022-09-06T22:21:46Z")
“All the Way from Memphis” – Mott the Hoople “The Bride Stripped Bare by ‘Bachelors’” – Bonzo Dog Band, about playing the pub circuit. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/d8mC98wgGag/hqdefault.jpg "Bonzo Dog Band "The Bride Stripped Bare By Bachelors"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8mC98wgGag) ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/72 "2022-09-06T22:45:25Z")
Tennessee Flat Top Box by Johnny Cash ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/73 "2022-09-06T23:47:15Z")
Albert King - I’ll Play the Blues For You ---
**Author:** ![rippingtons\_fan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rippingtons_fan/32/11767_2.png) [@rippingtons\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rippingtons_fan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/74 "2022-09-06T23:51:25Z")
Moody Blues - “I’m Just a Singer In a Rock and Roll Band” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/75 "2022-09-07T01:07:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > That whole _Running On Empty_ album really spoke to me, as I was touring at the time. But what made it hit home was that it was recorded on the road. A few tracks were live, others recorded in hotel rooms, some backstage… “Running On Empty” is the greatest “on the road” album ever. I cannot stress how much I love this album, from start to finish. The only contender, recorded in a similar fashion, is R.E.M.'s “New Adventures In Hifi”, which is their last great album. My own contributions, though they are rather roadie songs: Motörhead- We Are The Road Crew (Lenny spoke from experience, he used to be a roadie for, among others, Jimi Hendrix before joining Hawkwind and later forming Motörhead) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ9V5cRSOPg) And another roadie song, a sad one, “Tonight’s The Night” by Neil Young [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/RTGjVvQPVWg/maxresdefault.jpg "Tonight's the Night (2016 Remaster)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTGjVvQPVWg) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/76 "2022-09-07T01:18:29Z")
“Superstar” by Carpenters is about a woman who fell in love with a rock star when he visited her town, and she remembers the time they had together when she hears his song on the radio. Or maybe she’s delusional, and he has no idea she even exists. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/77 "2022-09-07T03:49:27Z")
“Leaving on an Airplane” by John Denver “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry “Gold” by John Stewart, sung with Stevie Nicks ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/78 "2022-09-07T03:58:38Z")
My favorite is the _Beautiful South_’s wry little number about song writing - _Song For Whoever_. > Deep so deep, the number one I hope to reap > Depends upon the tears you weep, so cry, lovey cry, cry, cry, cry > Oh Cathy, Oh Alison, Oh Phillipa, Oh Sue > You made me so much money, I wrote this song for you [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J-q_gAM1BXQ/maxresdefault.jpg "The Beautiful South - Song For Whoever") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-q_gAM1BXQ) ---
**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:** [September 7, 2022, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/79 "2022-09-07T04:57:28Z")
Tenacious D - “[Tribute](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lK4cX5xGiQ)”. It doesn’t have to be a _true_ story. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2022, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/80 "2022-09-07T04:58:02Z")
_Guitar Man_ by Bread [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CpOjQvADLG4/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHmAYAC8AGKAgwIABABGGUgXChTMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDTz5V9gH2b0O0xv-GfF-y-lxbMJg "Bread Guitar Man") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpOjQvADLG4) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057.md?page=5)