# Story-songs (other than Alice's Restaurant) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 20, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802 "2021-10-20T01:34:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/21 "2021-10-20T02:30:58Z")
Steve Cook’s “The Legend of the Dogman” is a great one especially for this time of year. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vvlQp5f7ZwU/hqdefault.jpg "The Legend of the Dogman") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvlQp5f7ZwU) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/22 "2021-10-20T02:37:32Z")
Oh, and how could I forget, maybe the two best story songs ever, maybe even better than Dylan, both by Richard Thompson. I’m often driven to tears when hearing them: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5yw2yKNLEPc/hqdefault.jpg "Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yw2yKNLEPc) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YsKEMZW8VmE/maxresdefault.jpg "Beeswing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsKEMZW8VmE) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/23 "2021-10-20T02:40:52Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Feast your earworms on: > > [The night Chicago died](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-L0NpaErkk) When I was 14 my mom and I spent the summer before I started high school giving the attic a makeover so most of it could be my bedroom. She created a playlist of 70s songs for us to listen to as we worked on it, and this one and _Angie Baby_ were my favorites. I was…not exactly disappointed, but surprised to learn recently that _The Night That Chicago Died_ was not based on an actual event. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/24 "2021-10-20T02:41:37Z")
here some humorous ones : [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FQMbXvn2RNI/hqdefault.jpg "Cows With Guns - The Original Animation") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMbXvn2RNI) Now a country guy named ray stevens is known for these and they comprise most of his career but this one’s a hoot : [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/K16fG1sDagU/hqdefault.jpg "Ray Stevens - "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival" (Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K16fG1sDagU) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/25 "2021-10-20T02:44:27Z")
I know those 🙂 Now I’m trying to decide if the also funny “The Cat Came Back” is too much song vs story for my own request… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/26 "2021-10-20T02:44:53Z")
Big Bad John, by Jimmy Dean [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/H_qX5bPbPUo/hqdefault.jpg "Big Bad John - Jimmy Dean - Live") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_qX5bPbPUo) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/27 "2021-10-20T02:59:09Z")
The Devil Went Down to Georgia [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wBjPAqmnvGA/maxresdefault.jpg "The Charlie Daniels Band - The Devil Went Down to Georgia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBjPAqmnvGA) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/28 "2021-10-20T03:02:04Z")
lol ninja’ed so I’ll post this version : [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_dgQzgNLmpA/hqdefault.jpg "David Allan Coe - Devil went down to jamaica (the complete song)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dgQzgNLmpA) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/29 "2021-10-20T03:04:52Z")
Do these count? [Jim Croce - Bad Bad Leroy Brown](https://youtu.be/QvwDohEEQ1E) [The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down](https://youtu.be/jREUrbGGrgM) [Bobbie Gentry - Ode to Billie Joe](https://youtu.be/CZt5Q-u4crc) [Arlo Guthrie - City of New Orleans](https://youtu.be/OfxoM6trtZE) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/30 "2021-10-20T03:11:21Z")
lol this is pg 13 but i thought it was worth a snicker : [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8T_5T9HQ7DY/maxresdefault.jpg "Itty Bitty Titties") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T_5T9HQ7DY) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/31 "2021-10-20T03:13:51Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Given Bob Dylan’s unique vocal talents, the line between talking and singing gets blurry, but how about Subterranean Homesick Blues? May as well bring up Weird Al’s take on it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JUQDzj6R3p4/maxresdefault.jpg ""Weird Al" Yankovic - Bob (Official HD Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQDzj6R3p4) Though calling that a “story” is a _bit_ of a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/32 "2021-10-20T03:22:20Z")
[Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGldNpngDws) ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/33 "2021-10-20T03:25:45Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > [Convoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87r0CPQbFds), by C.W. McCall. > > No, no, no! The classic C.W. story song is: > > [Wolf Creek Pass](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6LzWZYWpOU) > > > It just wasn’t real pretty > > It was hairpin county > > And switchback city > > One of 'em looked like a can full’a worms > > Another one looked like malaria germs C. W. has a lot of them, including “Classified,” “Crispy Critters,” and “Black Bear Road.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/34 "2021-10-20T03:29:14Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Mr. Bojangles - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band I wanted to mention Mr Bojangles, but give the nod to Jerry Jeff Walker, who wrote the song and does a nice version. ---
**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:** [October 20, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/35 "2021-10-20T03:53:51Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas. I was thinking that, and a lot of other Harry Chapin songs as well. I’ve often thought that “Cat’s in the Cradle” is one of his weaker efforts–it seems to be written for Top 40 radio, as a short pop song, with a hummable chorus, and as such, it would get radio airplay. Which it did. Chapin’s better works were generally too long for Top 40 radio, but they had to be that long for the story to be told. There were occasional repeating elements, such as “But music was his life; it was not his livelihood/And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good,” from “Mr. Tanner,” but they tended to complement the story; not distract the listener from it. In addition to “Thirty Thousand Pounds,” I’d recommend “A Better Place to Be” (a lonely night watchman pours out his troubles to a barmaid); “Taxi” and “Sequel” (Harry picks up his old girlfriend in his taxi and they realize they never achieved what they wanted to, then in “Sequel,” they meet again and describe how their lives have changed, and realize that after a few life changes, they have now achieved what they wanted to such a long, long time ago); and “Flowers Are Red” (a teacher absolutely destroys a child’s creative spirit). ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/36 "2021-10-20T04:15:30Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ODxG9jUqH0o/hqdefault.jpg "Charles Mingus - The Chill of Death") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODxG9jUqH0o) ---
**Author:** ![lum\_s\_husband](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lum_s_husband/32/3698_2.png) [@lum\_s\_husband](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lum_s_husband)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/37 "2021-10-20T04:16:15Z")
_99 Bottles of Beer_, which is a story as old as time. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/38 "2021-10-20T04:31:55Z")
Some narrative songs are folk ballads passed down by word of mouth that go back hundreds of years, like “Sir Patrick Spens” [Sir Patrick Spens - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Patrick_Spens) [Fairport Convention - Sir Patrick Spens - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voL7UNyZyf0&ab_channel=WhackaWhacka) and “Matty Groves” [Fairport Convention - Matty Groves - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1it7BP5PckI) Another is “The Bonny Lass of Fyvie” AKA “Pretty Peggy” AKA “Fennario” [Joan Baez - Fennario - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK-SrZhbAyI) One that I have to hold my nose while I type it because IMHO it stinks, but it’s a story song all right: “Coward of the County” by Kenny Rogers And a song by Gordon Lightfoot, an artist I like: [The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K6ojmGZA&ab_channel=GordonLightfoot-Topic) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/39 "2021-10-20T04:34:25Z")
Does “[City of New Orleans](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SfPyg-mGhU)” count? ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/40 "2021-10-20T04:35:21Z")
I think so, it’s in my previous post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802.md?page=3)