# Songs With a Plot **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 23, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024 "2009-07-23T18:22:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/21 "2009-07-23T19:58:24Z")
Jimmy Buffett has a number of them (a few off the top of my head): Death of An Unpopular Poet He Went To Paris The Ballad of Spider John Cuban Crime of Passion Jolly Mon Sing The Great Filling Station Holdup A Pirate Looks at Forty Peanut Butter Conspiracy Railroad Lady ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/22 "2009-07-23T19:58:54Z")
_Life in the Fast Lane_ - The Eagles ---
**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:** [July 23, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/23 "2009-07-23T20:26:59Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gimme Three Steps > > Heard a cover of this by some local band. They got the verses out of order. So the guy was running from the bar screaming, then staring down the barrel of a 44. šŸ˜• That reminds me of the joke about what happens when you play a country song backwards. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/24 "2009-07-23T20:55:13Z")
ā€œHorse With No Nameā€ by America. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/25 "2009-07-23T21:10:15Z")
Well, there are millions, arenā€™t there? Arguably the most well-known plot in American music is ā€œFrankie and Johnny.ā€ A person inclined to argue that would probably bring up ā€œStagger Lee.ā€ The most well-known plot in the English language, Iā€™d submit, is ā€œBarbara Allen.ā€ ---
**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:** [July 24, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/26 "2009-07-24T02:01:57Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Bob Dylan Ahh, Bob may not be a sweet-sounding singer, but he does have a way with words. Add to Bobā€™s Bodacious Ballads: **Tangled Up In Blue** : _ā€œShe was married when they first met, To a man four times her age. He left her penniless in a state of regret ā€“ It was time to bust out of that cage.ā€_ (Yeah, Bob changes the lyrics around when he performs) And he teamed up with playwright Sam Shepard for the cryptically poetic **Brownsville Girl** : _ā€œWell, the first thing we learned about Henry Porter was that his name wasnā€™t Henry Porterā€¦ā€_ One of the few songs whose lyrics Iā€™ve actually studied. It was lauded in the ā€œBest First Linesā€ thread: \*ā€œThere was this movie I seen one time, and it starred Gregory Peck.ā€ \* Well, listen as his relationship to the movie changes with each verseā€¦ no, I havenā€™t figured it all out yet. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/27 "2009-07-24T03:32:22Z")
Commander Codyā€™s _Hot Rod Lincoln_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/28 "2009-07-24T07:11:39Z")
Buenos Tardes Amigo-- Ween ---
**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:** [July 24, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/29 "2009-07-24T07:17:53Z")
**A BIG MISTAKE** by Jeb Loy Nichols (and his old band Fellow Travellers) Jeb has a number of great stories, including one set to just drums and tuba: _ā€œAnd they got married, and that was A Big Mistake. They had a baby, and that was A Big Mistakeā€¦ā€_ The bouncy beat and oompa oompa tuba makes the heartache hilarious. Also check out **ā€œMary, Her Husband, and Tommy, Tooā€** or **"New York Tragedy"** **THE STRANGE CASE OF FRANK CASH AND THE MORNING PAPER** by T-Bone Burnett has the protagonist on trial for killing a man: _ā€œYour honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, all this has been happening to me because of this guy named T-Bone Burnett. Heā€™s been making all this up, and I just want to say I donā€™t believe in him, in fact I donā€™t even think he exists, and not only that BUT THIS SONG IS OVER.ā€_ ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/30 "2009-07-24T07:22:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > Buenos Tardes Amigo-- Ween An **excellent** song. Also, [Beckā€™s Mexico](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wT9ftsCKSKQ&feature=related). By the way, if anyone knows what this song is a parody of, Iā€™d love to know! ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/31 "2009-07-24T07:56:56Z")
**Isaacā€™s Lament** , by Uncle Bonsai; about someone who commits suicide on hearing that _The Love Boat_ has been cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/32 "2009-07-24T08:48:41Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Also from the _sultry_ Bobbie Gentry, _Fancy_. Sultry? Really? Iā€™ve heard her music but I always figured she was some overweight-ish Grand Ole Opry lady in a matronly high collar blouse, maybe like June Carter Cash. Letā€™s see what Google Images has to say . . . [oh](http://www.flickr.com/photos/hillyblue/2381984454/). Ahem. Well, then. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/33 "2009-07-24T08:56:39Z")
**Rainy day SAT Blues** from the Princeton Review Vocabulary Minute. Brought a tear to my eye. [www.princetonreview.com/vocab-minute.aspx](http://www.princetonreview.com/vocab-minute.aspx) Ninth from the bottom. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/34 "2009-07-24T12:31:09Z")
\*You Never Can Tell \*-- Chuck Berry ---
**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:** [July 24, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/35 "2009-07-24T13:05:44Z")
Folk singer Tom Paxton has tons of them. The best is Born on the 4th of July. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/36 "2009-07-24T13:26:49Z")
yeah, youā€™ve got a whole genre here, practically. Several of the ones on the 2-disc ā€œOnce Upon a Songā€ set ([http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Song-CD-SET/dp/B000BTI9JO/ref=sr\_1\_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1248441873&sr=8-5](http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Song-CD-SET/dp/B000BTI9JO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1248441873&sr=8-5)) have already been called out here. Although I do have to say itā€™s marginal for them to have put ā€œAt Seventeenā€ as a story song, I donā€™t really think thereā€™s much story in it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/37 "2009-07-24T15:09:28Z")
_And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda_ by Eric Bogle, popularised by the Pogues. [Link to lyrics](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/RumSodomy/Waltzing.html) - try not to cry. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/38 "2009-07-24T15:14:49Z")
I love this song, ā€œThe Flower of Northumberlandā€: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni3CTxCblZA) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/39 "2009-07-24T15:20:54Z")
_Aliceā€™s Restaurant_ is a lengthy tale about littering with just enough music to qualify as a song. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024/40 "2009-07-24T15:35:57Z")
Kinkyā€™s [They Ainā€™t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kinky+friedman/they+aint+makin+jews+like+jesus+anymore_20079424.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-plot/504024.md?page=3)