# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/121 "2021-10-21T14:59:34Z")
Truck Got Stuck. With a sung chorus to boot. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QCcWzLAcv4o/hqdefault.jpg "The Truck Got Stuck - Corb Lund") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCcWzLAcv4o) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/122 "2021-10-21T16:17:40Z")
I came here to mention Richard Thompson but was handily beat to it, so naturally, my backup offering is “Peel Their Caps Back” by Ice-T. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/123 "2021-10-21T17:03:31Z")
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner by Warren Zevon: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wRWCK9zGynA/maxresdefault.jpg "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWCK9zGynA) And another, ‘Veracruz’: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/48y-2wdlj6o/maxresdefault.jpg "Veracruz") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48y-2wdlj6o) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/124 "2021-10-21T17:39:25Z")
Surprised nobody mentioned this one yet: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CD8EtvWW8nw/hqdefault.jpg "Frank Gallop - The Ballad Of Irving (1966)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD8EtvWW8nw) ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/125 "2021-10-21T18:25:11Z")
Doesn’t quite meet the ‘spoken words’ part of the OP, but _The Ballad of Pancho and Lefty_ has always been a personal favorite: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/StcA5KeNYoo/maxresdefault.jpg "Pancho and Lefty") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcA5KeNYoo) ---
**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 21, 2021, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/126 "2021-10-21T18:43:35Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Doesn’t quite meet the ‘spoken words’ part of the OP, but _The Ballad of Pancho and Lefty_ has always been a personal favorite: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcA5KeNYoo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcA5KeNYoo) See this post 😉. Nobody does Townes Van Zandt better than Townes. > [@Story-songs (other than Alice's Restaurant)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/18): > > The greatest story song, “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts” has been posted, so I post the second best: [[Townes Van Zandt - Pancho And Lefty] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvKoWMX9gmU) Another great story song of course is Neil Young’s “Powderfinger”: [[Powderfinger (2016 Remaster)] ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdPs5YXQTSw) ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/127 "2021-10-21T18:54:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > See this post 😉. Nobody does Townes Van Zandt better than Townes. Interesting! I did a search for “Pancho” and nothing came up. It must not look at the links. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/128 "2021-10-21T18:55:51Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Doesn’t quite meet the ‘spoken words’ part of the OP, but _The Ballad of Pancho and Lefty_ has always been a personal favorite: This song will now always be lodged in my head as “The Ballad of @Beckdawrek and Her Wayward Kidneys.” (It’s a long story.) ---
**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:** [October 21, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/129 "2021-10-21T21:41:43Z")
Here are two from the solid gold year of 1970. Eric Burdon and War “Spill the Wine” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W77Kwh6f0TE/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgUCg7MA8=&rs=AOn4CLAmPD3_xRK_T3V76wCGsPKUl7leaw "Eric Burdon and War - Spill the Wine (1970 )") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W77Kwh6f0TE) And Three Dog Night “Mama Told Me Not to Come” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9DZvJQ0PTEg/maxresdefault.jpg "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DZvJQ0PTEg) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/130 "2021-10-22T01:15:11Z")
Thanks @kenobi_65 , you’re such a loyal friend. 🤭 ---
**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:** [October 22, 2021, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/131 "2021-10-22T01:23:45Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MhVHE5V49oA/hqdefault.jpg "Townes Van Zandt Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVHE5V49oA) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ohFHsOBuLc4/hqdefault.jpg "The Smoke Off-Shel Silverstein") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohFHsOBuLc4) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/132 "2021-10-22T01:27:32Z")
Dylan: Black Diamond Bay and Romance in Durango The Band: The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down ---
**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 22, 2021, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/133 "2021-10-22T01:36:54Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Dylan: Black Diamond Bay and Romance in Durango Another great story song from “Desire”, besides your examples and the aforementioned “Hurricane”, is “Isis”. Maybe his second most cinematic song after “Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts”. It’s an album full of story songs, and one of his best. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/INilAY6aJTc/maxresdefault.jpg "Bob Dylan - Isis (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INilAY6aJTc) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/134 "2021-10-22T03:24:29Z")
Three by the great Phil Harris: [That’s What I like About the South](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_dK0W0qfRo) [Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette]([https://www.youtube.com/results?search\_query=phil+harris+smoke+that+cigarette](https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=phil+harris+smoke+that+cigarette) [Dark Town Poker Club](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aufCfiS0AA) ---
**Author:** ![MonkeysBrother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/135 "2021-10-22T03:54:41Z")
How about Steve Martin and Edie Brickell? Pretty Little One. (He says it’s a story song right there in the intro.) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4lFMK3UIa74/maxresdefault.jpg "Pretty Little One - Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers feat. Edie Brickell") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lFMK3UIa74) ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/136 "2021-10-22T16:49:11Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > John Lee Hooker did it better ten years before Thorogood. And Amos Milburn originally recorded the song in 1953, over ten years before Hooker. I’ll bet the Hooker version kicks ass. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/137 "2021-10-22T17:24:32Z")
Spoken word with musical background, but no chorus. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/63yyMxlBhZs/maxresdefault.jpg "No Anchovies, Please") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63yyMxlBhZs) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/138 "2021-10-22T17:29:47Z")
I missed the spoken word requirement in the OP. Some of these have verses that are spoken/sung but I think they qualify. You Better Get it While you Can - Steve Goodman [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3-yusNiK2do/hqdefault.jpg "Steve Goodman- You better get it while you can(The Ballad of...)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-yusNiK2do) Vegematic - Steve Goodman [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HnqtGjHJjs8/hqdefault.jpg "Steve Goodman -- Vegematic [Live]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnqtGjHJjs8) Beer Run - Todd Snider [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rxGbwiV4Mo8/hqdefault.jpg "Todd Snider - Beer Run") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxGbwiV4Mo8) ---
**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 22, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/139 "2021-10-22T21:32:18Z")
Surprisingly, this hasn’t been mentioned yet (I don’t think): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/isG3qkQXBic/maxresdefault.jpg "Billy Joel - Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (1980 - Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isG3qkQXBic) ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802/140 "2021-10-22T22:31:49Z")
Keeping on topic with the OP’s “spoken word” requirement: “[Spanish Train](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnaUvPoiTfQ)” by Chris de Burgh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/story-songs-other-than-alices-restaurant/952802.md?page=8)