# Songs with different/odd stories **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2020, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729 "2020-05-13T17:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/21 "2020-05-13T21:27:26Z")
_Billy The Mountain_ by Zappa & The Mothers A mountain (Billy) and his wife (Ethyl, a tree) decide to go on vacation, which causes untold havoc when they open a hole in the earth’s crust. They are confronted by a mysterious would-be hero named Studebacher Hoch, who wears cardboard, foil-covered wings and is propelled by flies. The meeting of mountain and man results in Studebacher falling off of Billy’s side to ignominious defeat. (I’ve left out quite a few details, but you get the idea…😃 ) ---
**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:** [May 13, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/22 "2020-05-13T21:40:47Z")
How about _The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia_? Little sister kills her brother’s cheating wife and her lover. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2020, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/23 "2020-05-14T03:00:41Z")
Mark Knopfler wrote the story of Mason and Dixon on their way to America “to draw the line”. He and James Taylor sing the characters’ lines. [Sailing to Philadelphia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bua4oiejPaE&list=PLRPRarjTSOuszksbHPiyhZjud_dE2J_UJ&index=2) ---
**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:** [May 14, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/24 "2020-05-14T03:14:36Z")
“'39” by Queen is about time dilation. “Boris the Spider” by the Who. Several other Entwhistle songs had unusual subjects: “905” about clones, his solo “I was Just Being Friendly” about mistaking a woman for a prostitute, “Cousin Kevin” and “Fiddle About” from Tommy ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/25 "2020-05-14T03:54:36Z")
ENTWISTLE! “Squire James” by Sanford and Townsend. Woman catches husband in his barn with a younger woman. Burns the barn down with them in it. Gets visited in the night by smouldering figures riding demon horses. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/26 "2020-05-14T06:28:56Z")
Billy Joel’s “Downeaster Alexa” is about the plight of commercial fishermen. Faith No More had a few of these off of “The Real Thing.” For instance: “Edge of the World” is first-person creepy guy trying to get a little girl to come with him (“it’s not the point that I’m 40 years older…you can trust me, I’m no criminal, but I’d kill my mother to be with you”) “Zombie Eaters” is a newborn baby singing to its mother “Surprise! You’re Dead” is about becoming a vampire “Underwater Love” is about a guy trying to drown his lover (“liquid seeps into your lungs, but your eyes look so serene”) Metallica has a song called “Of Wolf and Man,” which is about werewolves Violent Femmes has “Country Death Song,” which is about a guy going crazy and throwing his young daughter into a bottomless well ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/27 "2020-05-14T06:48:32Z")
_Maxwell’s Silver Hammer_, about a serial killer, and _Timothy_, about cannibalism during a mine accident, are a bit odd. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/28 "2020-05-14T07:56:09Z")
Iron Maiden performs songs about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Dune, WWII dogfights, the massacre of natives by American settlers, and what feels to me like sort of a Legend of Sleepy Hollow tale about coming across some devil worshipers in the night. And that’s just on their first few albums. I haven’t heard any of their albums since Powerslave. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/29 "2020-05-14T08:38:05Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > Iron Maiden performs songs about The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Dune, WWII dogfights, the massacre of natives by American settlers, and what feels to me like sort of a Legend of Sleepy Hollow tale about coming across some devil worshipers in the night. And that’s just on their first few albums. I haven’t heard any of their albums since Powerslave. I liked the song about the experimental zeppelin going down in a storm on its maiden voyage. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2020, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/30 "2020-05-14T09:01:12Z")
This could be a **Drive-By Trucker** thread! _That Wig_ about a preacher’s wife who shot him and ran off with the kids. Song tells you why. \* Deeper In.\* Based on a true story of… uh… well… ‘Brotherly Love’. \* 18 Wheels of Love\*. Another true story of how the author’s Mom found love late in life. _Goode’s Field Road_. About a businessman in too deep and gets offed to protect the family. So, so many more. _The Great Car Dealer War, Pulaski, 3 Dimes Down…_ ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/31 "2020-05-14T10:08:04Z")
[“Satan Gave Me A Taco”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-XuMvxi-vc) by Beck. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/32 "2020-05-14T10:24:02Z")
“Oliver’s Army” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. An army recruiter’s pitch to an unemployed British kid, and keeping unemployment deliberately high to grease the skids that push unemployable teenagers into the English army. “If I Had a Boat” by Lyle Lovett. A little boy dreams about what the ultimate freedom would be like. His musings go a little off the rails as he overthinks them, but he’s pretty sure a boat and a pony are involved. “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow. Ever watch somebody in a bar peel the label off a wet beer bottle? Yeah? How about at 10:00 AM? “Savoy Truffle” by the Beatles, G. Harrison writer. You know those name and placement charts in a Whitman Sampler that tell you what and where each chocolate is? Bet you can’t write a song about every single one of them! Anyway, that stuff’s bad for your teeth. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2020, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/33 "2020-05-14T12:37:19Z")
Lovett also had other songs with odd premises. “L.A. County” is about a killer who murders his ex-girlfriend at the church altar as she’s about to marry someone else.\* “Church” is about a church service going on too long. The Bonzo Dog Band has songs about vacations (“Postcard”), a boring neighbor (“My Pink Half of the Drainpipe”), a woman being murdered (“Death Cab for Cutie”), boredom itself (“I’m Bored”), bodybuilding (“Mr. Apollo”), a tent (“Tent”), egotism (“Look at Me, I’m Wonderful”), “Waiting for the Wardrobe,” and many more. And, of course, just about every song by Captain Beefheart. \*In a live callin, someone requested it, telling Lovett they played it at their wedding. Lovett asked, “Do you even know what that song is about?” She replied, “Well, we changed the lyrics a little.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/34 "2020-05-14T13:22:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Lovett also had other songs with odd premises. “L.A. County” is about a killer who murders his ex-girlfriend at the church altar as she’s about to marry someone else.\* Not exactly an uncommon premise. An uncomfortable one, but kind of a staple of old folk and blues songs. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/35 "2020-05-15T01:28:09Z")
I don’t know if this counts, but the song Steppenwolf by Hawkwind is based on the novel of the same name ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/36 "2020-05-15T02:00:08Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “'39” by Queen is about time dilation. One of the more notable rock songs about Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity. 😃 My nominee: “Tweeter and the Monkey Man,” by the Traveling Wilburys – a song about two drug dealers in New Jersey, one of whom is apparently a trans woman and Vietnam vet. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/37 "2020-05-15T05:55:13Z")
Is “Flowers On the Wall” about a stint in the mental hospital? “Playing solitaire til dawn with a deck of 51”? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/38 "2020-05-15T06:06:47Z")
“Cygnus X-1” by Rush, the first part which concludes “A Farewell to Kings”, is about a black hole in space, specifically the one named Cygnus X-1. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/39 "2020-05-15T06:17:33Z")
Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote a song about a mass shooting: “Ticking.” It was released on the _Caribou_ album in 1974. Definitely not their usual material. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729/40 "2020-05-15T06:26:48Z")
Jethro Tull-_Hunting Girl_ Alan Parsons Project-the whole _Tales of Mystery and Imagination_ album. David Bromberg-_Sharon_ Mary Gauthier- _Drag Queens in Limousines_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-different-odd-stories/853729.md?page=3)