# Songs that paint a picture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622 "2011-10-14T13:26:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/21 "2011-10-14T16:49:14Z")
“The Road Goes On Forever” by Robert Earl Keen. But I don’t identify Mr Keen with the tune. Years ago, Joe Ely was set to close the Houston International Festival. Word was, he would do an acoustic, solo set. But they kept setting up more mikes & amps on the stage as we waited. So he came out with one of his kickass bands (guess they had nothing better to do in Austin that night). And opened the show with “The Road Goes On Forever”–the first time most of us had heard it. Sorry, Bob. It’s now Joe’s song… ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/22 "2011-10-14T17:02:00Z")
Try this little obscure one out and see if it paints a picture: Picture yourself in a boat on a river With tangerine trees and marmalade skies… ---
**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:** [October 14, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/23 "2011-10-14T17:06:16Z")
Mr. Bojangles written by Jerry Jeff Walker. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band probably did the most famous recording but [Sammy Davis Jr.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvYmL5KsvYA&feature=related) had one of the most moving. I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you In worn out shoes With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants The old soft shoe He jumped so high, jumped so high Then he lightly touched down ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/24 "2011-10-14T17:39:57Z")
I think I might have a penchant for evocative and sentimental songs of narrative and imagery. One song that I always rave about for many different reasons is Elbow’s [“Scattered Black and Whites”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLR5ldS-GH8&feature=related) I do so again now, and will keep doing so until its brilliance is acknowledged. And of course Squeeze are always worth recommending. [“Labelled with love”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j34KrI0m9WE) She uncrews the top of a new whisky bottle, Shuffles about in her candlelit hovel. Like some kind of witch, With blue fingers in mittens. She smells like the cat, and the neighbours she sickens. Or perhaps [“Up the Junction”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3635AFfu0s) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/25 "2011-10-14T17:46:21Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > And of course Squeeze are always worth recommending. > > Or perhaps [“Up the Junction”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3635AFfu0s) I love Squeeze, but man, that song just depresses the heck out of me - I mean, in a good way, because it is so well-crafted, but ack, how sad… how about: > [@](#): > > By the bedside, emply pockets - a foot without a sock > Your body gets much closer - I fumble for the clock > Alarmed by the seduction - I wish, that it would stop… ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/26 "2011-10-14T17:52:33Z")
> **[Taxi Lyrics by Harry Chapin](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/taxi.html)** > > Taxi Lyrics by Harry Chapin at the Lyrics Depot Taxi was a great example. Harry Chapin. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/27 "2011-10-14T17:55:00Z")
Speaking of Chapin [Cat’s In The Cradle](http://www.lyricsdepot.com/harry-chapin/cats-in-the-cradle.html) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/28 "2011-10-14T18:10:37Z")
> [@Sandra\_Battye](#): > > Mr. Bojangles written by Jerry Jeff Walker. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band probably did the most famous recording but [Sammy Davis Jr.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvYmL5KsvYA&feature=related) had one of the most moving. > > I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you > In worn out shoes > With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants > The old soft shoe > He jumped so high, jumped so high > Then he lightly touched down I like the one by Mike McClellan but he’s a bit difficult to find outside Australia. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/29 "2011-10-14T18:15:40Z")
_Aqualung_ does this for me. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/30 "2011-10-14T18:31:19Z")
**Ridgetop** , Jessie Colin Young ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/31 "2011-10-14T19:19:32Z")
\*\*Tom Waits \*\*“Watch Her Disappear” “… I watched you undress Wearing your sunset of purple tightly woven around your hair That rose in strangled ebony curls… … …a yellow cat runs out on the stream of hall light and into the yard A wooden cherry scent is faintly breathing the air…” \*\*Robert Earl Keen \*\*“Shades of Grey” “…There were men and dogs and helicopter buzzin’ all around They had the brothers on the pickup hood and me down on the ground Bob flew all to pieces but Randy he held tight When a black man in a suit and tie stepped out into the light He told his men to turn us loose They put down their guns He said these are just some sorry kids, they ain’t the ones…” Also **John Eddie** but it’s a 3-way tie between “Jesus is Comin’” “Family Tree” and “Let Me Down Hard” and I’ve probably used up my quoting-copywritten-stuff quota for one thread. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/32 "2011-10-14T19:52:18Z")
Arctic Monkeys have some really great lyrics… My favs are [Do Me a Favor](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/arcticmonkeys/domeafavour.html) and [Mardy Bum](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/arcticmonkeys/mardybum.html) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/33 "2011-10-14T19:57:56Z")
The second line of _Maggie May_ by Rod Steward: “It’s late September and I really should be back at school.” I can practically smell the fallen leaves and fireplaces and feel the chilly weather and the feeling of beginning a new semester of school, when I hear this line. The rest of the song doesn’t really paint a picture, but this one line sets it up perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![drillrod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@drillrod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drillrod)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/34 "2011-10-14T20:23:44Z")
How about Elvis Costello? Radio Radio: I was tuning in the shine on the light night dial Doing anything my radio advised With every one of those late night stations Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver When the switch broke 'cause it’s old ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/35 "2011-10-14T20:43:02Z")
It’s strange how many of the listed songs are oldies, so I’ll add a recent one: [_Caught in the Crowd_ by Kate Miller-Heidke (2009)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIDarYJHCpA). ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/36 "2011-10-14T23:14:29Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Does the song really say “western Kentucky”? That’s funny - practically all the horse farms in Kentucky surround Lexington, in the center of the state. That’s as good as “born and raised in South Detroit” from _Don’t Stop Believin_’. Yup, it really says western Kentucky, and I realize the location is a bit… off. But I guess it was hard to fit Lexington in there and get the correct rythem. It is still a very moving, emotional song to me, when Secterariat died, one of the sports shows made a video to that song using film clips of his life in it… I bawled like a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/37 "2011-10-14T23:46:46Z")
A Hollow Room by Jay Seeley: _A hollow room bugs and dirt abandoned bra discarded shirt a lonely fly inured to shame beats against the window pane_ ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/38 "2011-10-15T03:02:16Z")
Five Years by Bowie: “Pushing through the market square, so many mothers sighing. News had just come over, we had five years left to cry in. News guy wept and told us, earth was really dying. Cried so much his face was wet, then I knew he was not lying…” ---
**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:** [October 15, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/39 "2011-10-15T03:58:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > powerful imagery of two childhood friends. One of them dying young. It’s on youtube > > It’s taken on a new meaning as I and my childhood friends age. knowing we will be gone eventually too. I miss those days of running in the fields. > > Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks Actually, I think you have misunderstood the imagery. Reading the spoiler might seriously upset you. [spoiler] The protagonist’s wife, Michelle, had an affair with protagonist’s lifelong friend, Emil. The protagonist has killed Emil, and is currently awaiting execution. It’s an adaptation of a French song. The meaning is clearer in the original. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622/40 "2011-10-15T04:29:14Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Actually, I think you have misunderstood the imagery. > > Reading the spoiler might seriously upset you. > > [spoiler] The protagonist’s wife, Michelle, had an affair with protagonist’s lifelong friend, Emil. The protagonist has killed Emil, and is currently awaiting execution. > > It’s an adaptation of a French song. The meaning is clearer in the original. [/spoiler] I’m not sure I buy that. First, a small nitpick. In Brel’s version the affair was with Antoine, not with Emile. I have a fairly low proficiency for reading French, but my reading, with assistance from Google’s translation, is that both Emile and Antoine are still alive, since the singer is telling them to “take care of” his wife, albeit in different ways. McKuen’s translation, as recorded by the Kingston Trio, seems to combine the two men into one character. But even then, I don’t see any indication that any of the people that the singer is addressing (Emile, Papa, Francoise) is dead. And then Terry Jacks’ version completely cuts out Francoise, completely changing the meaning of the song. I can see a possible argument for your interpretation in the original or in the Kingston Trio version, but not in the Terry Jacks recording. For my own contribution, I would have mentioned Springsteen if he hadn’t already been mentioned. I want to add a good chunk of the works of the Hold Steady (who are hugely influenced by Springsteen). Like Springsteen, singer Craig Finn’s lyrics reference individuals who are largely rejected by society, but he paints a much harsher and often unpleasant picture. But it is vivid. “Your Little Hoodrat Friend” “Your little hoodrat friend’s been calling me again And I can’t stand all the things that she sticks into her skin Like sharpened ballpoint pens and steel guitar strings She says it hurts, but it’s worth it Tiny little text etched into her neck it said ‘Jesus lived and died for all your sins’ She’s got blue black ink and it’s scratched into her lower back It said, ‘Damn right I’ll rise again’ Yeah, damn right you’ll rise again” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-paint-a-picture/599622.md?page=3)