# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/101 "2022-09-08T04:31:26Z")
That ‘Shining’ thing was fucking _Brilliant!_ ---
**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:** [September 8, 2022, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/102 "2022-09-08T04:57:39Z")
Not much (if any) rap mentioned yet. Here’s two examples of many: “Rock Superstar”/“Rap Superstar” by Cypress Hill “Stan” by Eminem ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/103 "2022-09-08T06:46:28Z")
To widen the range a bit: Der Leiermann (from Schubert’s _Winterreise_ + here in English: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iW04f0olXUY/hqdefault.jpg "HARRY PLUNKET GREEN - 1934 HURDY GURDY MAN - SCHUBERT Der Leiermann - Wintterreise") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW04f0olXUY) L’Accordëoniste - Piaf: > **[Edith Piaf L' Accordeoniste English subtitles - video Dailymotion](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2iz6n)** > > One of Piaf's earliest major hits, a wartime song from 1942 by Michel Emer, himself a soldier about to leave for the front. It's about a prostitute in love with an accordionist who goes to war, doesn't return, and somehow cannot be replaced. Thanks... ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/104 "2022-09-08T09:47:54Z")
In addition to “Piano Man” and “The Entertainer” mentioned above, Billy Joel also gave us “[Scandinavian Skies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5g75rHKecM)” which is about a tour. I don’t think he enjoyed it. Meanwhile, Paul and Storm had these about a much lower budget tour: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0Tg-k9OMKHc/hqdefault.jpg "Paul and Storm - Opening Band") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tg-k9OMKHc) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/if56DwEv-oU/maxresdefault.jpg "Your Town") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if56DwEv-oU) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/105 "2022-09-08T12:15:36Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > That ‘Shining’ thing was fucking _Brilliant!_ Recut trailers are a thing. [Here’s another rom-com about an unlikely romance between a young FBI agent just trying to fit in, and a psychiatrist with bad boy tendencies. No ‘Solsbury Hill’ though, unfortunately.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCoTiU0S85Y) [Here’s a chilling horror movie about a mysterious nanny with magical powers who suddenly shows up in a family’s life and terrorizes them.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic) ---
**Author:** ![Sandra\_Battye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sandra_battye/32/552_2.png) [@Sandra\_Battye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandra_Battye)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/106 "2022-09-09T04:14:15Z")
Troubadour - George Strait. [George Strait - Troubadour (Closed-Captioned) - YouTube](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9jJf-p6RYvo) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/107 "2022-09-09T08:25:30Z")
[Baby Girl](https://youtu.be/Y75lVEv7Tqw) by Sugarland ---
**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 10, 2022, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/108 "2022-09-10T07:49:25Z")
The Kinks album _Lola vs. Powerman and the Money-Go-Round_ has several songs about being a musician, notably “Get Back in Line” and “Top of the Pops.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/109 "2022-09-10T14:20:31Z")
The [Theme from the Dukes of Hazzard](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_from_The_Dukes_of_Hazzard_(Good_Ol%27_Boys)) went to #1 on the country chart for Waylon Jennings, who can be seen playing a guitar in the opening credits for which he sings said song. But they don’t show his _face_; and, to get all meta for a moment, when he’d do the song in concert, Jennings would add a bit about being the guy who gets his hands but not his face shown on TV… ---
**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 10, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/110 "2022-09-10T15:43:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The Kinks album _Lola vs. Powerman and the Money-Go-Round_ has several songs about being a musician, notably “Get Back in Line” and “Top of the Pops.” Also “Denmark Street”: _You go to a publisher and play him your song He says ‘I hate your music and your hair is too long But I’ll sign you up because I’d hate to be wrong’_ ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/111 "2022-09-10T15:53:35Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > But they don’t show his _face_; and, to get all meta for a moment, when he’d do the song in concert, Jennings would add a bit about being the guy who gets his hands but not his face shown on TV… I’m a good old boy. You know my mama loves me. But she don’t understand They keep showing my hands Not my face on TV. Naturally, it’s his mother who complains. She’s probably the only person on Earth who loves that face. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/112 "2022-09-11T02:23:32Z")
A different _Guitar Man_. Jerry Reed this time. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/44oMsDyLzHg/maxresdefault.jpg "Jerry Reed - Guitar Man 1978") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44oMsDyLzHg) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/113 "2022-09-11T02:40:46Z")
Kick Out the Jams by the MC 5 (although you really have to [parse the lyrics](https://genius.com/Mc5-kick-out-the-jams-lyrics) to understand what they’re saying) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0tx8GiTFK-I/hqdefault.jpg "MC5 - Kick Out The Jams - Live Tartar Field, 1970 - with M\*thf\*ker restored ( colorised) .") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tx8GiTFK-I) ---
**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 11, 2022, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/114 "2022-09-11T03:11:16Z")
King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/115 "2022-09-11T03:16:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > King of Rock ‘n’ Roll Comment or song suggestion? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Bj_lZ4hkJd8/maxresdefault.jpg "Long John Baldry - "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King of Rock & Roll"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj_lZ4hkJd8) ---
**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 11, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/116 "2022-09-11T03:30:59Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Comment or song suggestion? Song suggestion. I refer to Prefab Sprout’s song about an aging one-hit wonder [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4T6e3GJCjow/maxresdefault.jpg "Prefab Sprout - The King of Rock 'N' Roll") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T6e3GJCjow) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/117 "2022-09-11T05:15:11Z")
Stan Rodgers, Song of the Candle > Tonight, in a room full of candles, another cup of madness drains away > And at times it gets so hard to handle > Knowing one more simple song has swiftly taken wing > And I’m left alone to hear the song a lonely candle sings [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fiQZ16jJK0I/maxresdefault.jpg "Song of the Candle") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiQZ16jJK0I) ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2022, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/118 "2022-09-11T05:24:54Z")
I’m sure Leonard Cohen wrote a bunch of songs that fit the OP, here’s one: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nceRfJJZcP4/maxresdefault.jpg "Leonard Cohen - Tower Of Song (Live in London)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nceRfJJZcP4) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/119 "2022-09-16T20:00:12Z")
> So I got to wondering, what does “25 or 6 to 4” mean? Is is a reference to musical time signatures or something? > > [According to this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/25_or_6_to_4#Composition), it is indeed about trying to write a song in the middle of the night, and the title merely refers to it being “25 or 26 minutes before 4 AM”. Or we can refer to the words of the Master: > **[What does the Chicago lyric “25 or 6 to 4” mean?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342982/what-does-the-chicago-lyric-25-or-6-to-4-mean)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD (He confirms that the writer is up in the wee small hours, struggling to come up with some lyrics) ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057/120 "2022-09-16T20:07:47Z")
A friend of mine once told me the song was about a guy who has been up until that time of morning (“25 or 6 to 4”) doing acid. I figured, well, all the lyrics seem to check out okay for that. “Spinning room is sinking deep” and “Should I try to do some more?” I’m not arguing the point, but, by God, that’s always been what it’s about in my head, and I’m going to cling tenaciously to it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meta-songs-songs-about-being-a-musician/971057.md?page=7)