Songs with a Story

In My Humble Opinion
1

We’ve had threads on SciFi songs, Beatle songs, song meanings, one-hit wonders, and so on, but I haven’t seen one on … “Songs with a Story.” That is, where the lyrics tell a short-story, with a beginning, a middle, and end. Stepping into the wayback machine, Johnny Cash’s A Boy Named Sue is an example.

So, Dopers, list your best or worst songs with a story. The reason for inclusion should mostly be about the story, but the song (music) is important, too.

Some of my favorites:
“One Way Out” Allman Bro’s. Live at Fillmore - seems the protagonist is “the other man” in her upstairs room, when hubby (SO) comes home. Also, a great live tune.

“Gimme 3 Steps” Lynyrd Skynyrd - another possibly adulterous situation, protagonist pleads for his life (3 steps to get away) from gun wielding SO. Again, good rockin’ song.

On the other hand, sucky - “Tallahatchie Bridge” by some country girl of the 60s/70s - unmarried woman tosses her illegitimate baby into the river?

2

“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” (Vicky Lawrence) - kid sister whacks brother’s unfaithful wife.

“Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” - Gordon Lightfoot - True story of an ill-fated ore ship.

“American Pie” - Don Maclean - Quick history of major tragedies in rock music.

“Disco Duck” - Rick Dees - Man goes to a disco and is turned into a funky duck.

BTW, that “Tallahatchie Bridge” song is “Ode to Billy Joe” by Bobbie Gentry. Was made into mostly-bad flick w/Robby Benson

3

Metallica - “One”
Savatage - The entire album “Streets”

4

Beck’s Satan Gave Me a Taco is my favorite. It’s on his Stereopathetic Soulmanure album. Funny stuff.

5

I’m a folk music junkie, so I know tons of ballads, which tell stories by definition. Some of my favorites:

“King Henry” (recorded by Steeleye Span): King Henry’s feasting is interrupted by a hungry female monster who demands food (and lots of it), wine, and sex. King Henry obliges, so in the morning she turns into a beautiful lady.

“Thomas the Rhymer” (also recorded by Steeleye Span): The Queen of Elfland visits Thomas. He mistakes her for the Virgin Mary. She sets the record straight and invites him to seven years of service, which he naturally accepts. (The music is the main selling point here. :D)

“Matty Groves” (recorded by Fairport Convention and Joan Baez): Lord Arlen’s wife sleeps with Matty Groves while her husband is away, but her page spills the beans. Lord Arlen comes home and catches them in bed, and kills Matty. (In the Fairport version, he kills his wife too.)

“The Deserter” (recorded by Fairport Convention): An unfortunate man gets pressed into army service. He tries to run away twice, but his friend and then his girlfriend squeal on him. He’s sentenced to be shot, but his life is spared when Prince Albert comes along and has him set free, because he thinks our protagonist would make a good soldier.

“The Victory” (recorded by Steeleye Span): The narrator is seeing a guy whom her parents don’t approve of, because he’s poor. She loves him anyway, but he gets impressed into the Navy and has to serve on the H.M.S. Victory. He ends up getting killed along with Lord Nelson at Trafalgar.

“A Maid that’s Deep in Love” (recorded by Pentangle): A girl disguises as a man in order to follow her boyfriend to America. The captain of the ship she’s on falls for her, though he still thinks she’s a guy. When they get to America, she tells him the truth, and he asks her to marry him, but she turns him down.

(I’ve got lots more where these came from, too… :D)

6

Just for the record, “A Boy Named Sue” was written by Shel Silverstein.

Plus, I’ve always been partial to “Spanish Johnny” and “Katskill Serenade” by David Bromberg, myself.

SDStaffSongbird
Straight Dope Science Advisory Board

7

“Date Rape” – Sublime

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“Every Fucking City (Sounds the Same)” by Paul Kelly. For anybody who has done the backpacking through Europe thing. Actually, ANY Paul Kelly song for that matter.

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Any song by Harry Chapin…The best storyteller of al.

10

The worst story song is, without a doubt, The Little Girl.

Probably not the best, but I get a kick out of Aaron Tippin’s Kiss This. Someone Else’s Cadillac and Girls with Guitars are a couple more that I like.

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I’ll second that Reeder and raise you 30,000 lbs of bananas.:slight_smile:

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The Devil Went Down To Georgia.

And, before someone else points out the obvious,
The Devil Went Back To Georgia.

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Cats in the Cradle- Ugly kid joe (I don’t remember who sang it first) ; the story of a father that was always too busy for his little boy, The boy eventually grows up, becomes a busy man who never gets time to talk to his father.

99 luftbaloons- Neena : As far as I can tell, the story is that her and her SO set off a bag of balloons, which starts a war, her boyfriend is a pilot and dies. (some say it is about WW3, but I haven’t seen it yet)

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Cat Stevens

15

Al Stewart’s Past, Present and Future album. The whole album is a serie of vignettes telling the story of the 20[sup]th[/sup] century (all except Nostradamus of course).

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Thanks. Downloading the original right now :smiley:

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Beck - Mexico (Does anyone know who did the original of this, called something like ‘Down With the Buffaloes’?) - hysterical song that shows that not all slackers are actually too slack to do anything - just to do anything useful :).

Iron Maiden - Alexander the Great: Excellent as a source of information for several ‘Trivial Pursuit’ questions.

Velvet Underground - Sister Ray: I’m not sure what the story is, but it sounds like a great party! (Oh yeah, and for a real story, flip the record over and check out ‘The Gift’).

Leonard Cohen - Master Song, Avalanche, Teachers, Let’s Sing Another Song, and about thirty others. I always feel like I’ve just read a novel after listening to most of his songs.

HenrySpencer

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Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris

(!)

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Mattk please behave yourself !!!
Rush - 2112

Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak album side one.

Chuck Berry - Reelin an rockin

Rennaissence - A trip to the fair

Saw Doctors - Will it ever stop rainin?

Beatle - Norwegion wood

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street

Bobby Goldsbro - Summer(The first time) Ugh!!

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About 9700 songs by Kenny Rogers, the most famous being the Gambler.