Popular songs that teach a lesson (i.e. We didn't start the fire)

Cafe Society
41

More from Warren Zevon -

“Veracruz”
*
I heard Woodrow Wilson’s guns
I heard Maria crying
Late last night I heard the news
That was dying
Veracruz was dying…
*
These are the background chanting lyrics in “Run Straight Down” -*
(4-Aminobiphenyl, hexachlorobenzene
Dimethyl sulfate, chloromethyl methylether
2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-
para-dioxin, carbon disulfide)

(Dibromochloropane, chlorinated
benzenes, 2-Nitropropane, pentachlorophenol,
Benzotrichloride, strontium chromate
1, 2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane)
*
Then the lyrics kick in, while the chant repeats in the background:
*
I went walking in the wasted city
Started thinking about entropy
Smelled the wind from the ruined river
Went home to watch TV

And it’s worse when I try to remember
When I think about then and now
I’d rather see it on the news at eleven
Sit back, and watch it run straight down…
*

Incidentally, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd plays the guitar parts on this song.

And “Turmoil” is really just a song about how the changes in Russia caused all kinds of internal chaos.

Well you can talk about your perestroika
And that’s all right for you
But, Comrade Schevardnadze, tell me
What’s a poor boy like me to do?

Turmoil back in Moscow brought this turbulence down on me
Turmoil back in Moscow brought this turbulence down on me

Well, we’ve been fightin’ with the mujahaddin
Down in Afghanistan
Comrade Gorbachev, can I
Go back to Vladivostok, man?
*
etc…

42

Rasputin by Boney M…

43

It’s a great song, but unfortunately they didn’t get it quite right. The line goes Early morning, April 4…. King was actually shot at 6:01 pm.

44

**Pink Floyd ** hit the nail on the head when they said…Money …is the root of all evil today.

45

“Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young is about the violent military intervention during Vietnam protest riots at Kent State University

46

Oops “Ohio” was already mentioned.

Here’s another by Billy Joel: “Allentown,”

47

Yup, I knew it was a cover, but still…

Oh, and it’s the third song. Meet James Ensor and James K. Polk are two different songs, BTW.

48

Peter Gabriel’s “Family Snapshot” is about the Kennedy assassination, told from the point of view of Lee Harvey Oswald.

U2’s “Mothers of the Disappeared,” about the desaparecidos in Argentina.

What about Falco’s “Rock Me Amadeus”?

49

Another Billy Joel song: Leningrad.

StG

50

This is a bit off the subject, but I am completely obsessed with Vladivostok! I read the Vladivostok News every day. I have read all the archives of the Vladivostok Daily. I can’t really explain it…but at least I’m not 100% alone.

51

Can you guys please post explanations with your songs?

52

Rain on the Scarecrow by John Cougar Mellonhead about the plight of farmers in America. Pretty educational.

53

Well, I checked out the Vladivostok News, and found this interesting story about a poor guy who is missing 2 dots:

http://vlad.tribnet.com/News/upd01.HTM

Neat site. Thanks for the tip, even sven.

54

How about The Hurricane, by Bob Dylan? It’s the story of Rubin Carter, the boxer, who was falsely accused of murder…

55

Still more Zevon!

Frank and Jesse James (which Zevon once said he wrote “for and about Phil and Don Everly”):

On a small Missouri farm back when the West was young
Two boys learned to rope and ride and be handy with a gun
War broke out between the States and they joined up with Quantrill
And it was over in Clay County that Frank and Jesse finally learned to kill…
…After Appomattox they was on the losing side
So no amnesty was granted and as outlaws they did ride…
…Robert Ford, a gunman, in exchange for his parole
Took the life of James the outlaw, which he snuck up on and stole…

56

Good one…and considering that my dad grew up there and used to do security for Billy way back before Piano Man, it holds a special place in his and my heart.
How about Don McClean’s “American Pie”? Though it may be up in the air to exactly what it teaches us…it still tell the story of lost innocence.