Mississippi Squirrel Revival by Ray Stevens has already been mentioned (and he’s right – it’s a hoot). Another by Ray Stevens that probably meets the OP’s requirements is The Streak.
Also perhaps Gitarzan:
He’s done a lot in that style, but the others I’ve heard seem rather less inspired.
Came in to suggest “Lily Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts” but been beaten to it twice dangit!
When the Beatles Hit America - John Wesley Harding
July 13th 1985 - John Wesley Harding (about attending Live Aid)
A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request - Steve Goodman (who also wrote City of New Orleans)
Deeper In Drive-By Truckers
No, I’m not gonna post a link.
Another Harry Chapin: “Bummer,” about a kid who never really had a chance in life. Lived on the streets, petty crime, and so on. He’s shipped off to Vietnam, where he manages to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, but finds that life back in the US is no better than it was before, Congressional Medal or not. After trying to rob a grocery, the police kill him with gunfire. He’s got his Congressional Medal on him, but the police doubt that it’s really his, and he is denied a burial at Arlington.
Elton John didn’t do many songs that would fit the “story song” category, but one stands out: “Ticking,” from his Caribou album of 1974. Bluntly put, it’s about a mass shooting in a barroom. “An extremely quiet child,” who is now an adult but who has never held a gun, just snaps, walks into a New York bar with a gun, and opens fire, killing 14 people. The song’s title is in reference to a “ticking time bomb,” looking for a time to go off; but as history has shown in subsequent shootings, sometimes it’s those who are quiet and obedient that bottle things up before letting loose. “Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking.”
I did not see these two, but they were both suggested to me by Big John above.
This one is more song than story perhaps but having ancestors who worked the coal mines as immigrants, this was a standard part of my childhood and always with a glass raised in toast to “Papa”, their grandfather (my great grandfather).
And this one is autobiographical and tells a hell of a story about a hell of a man (in his own humble opinion):
This reminded me of this one that was often on the turntable of the other side of my family:
Thought of one more:
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald reminded me of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden. Lots of other Maiden songs would likely qualify as well.
But what I came here to post was this one, by Kate Miller-Heidke: Fire And Iron - YouTube . It gets pretty gut-wrenching (to me, anyway) as the story goes on.
Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road
John Mellencamp, Jack and Diane
… And,of course, a whole raft of dead people/dogs/horses.
Ebony eyes - The Everly Brothers, Old Tige and The blizzard - Jim Reeves et al.
Johnny Horton “Sink the Bismarck”
Streisand and Diamond “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Any More”
Larry Verne “Please, Mr Custer”
OK I’m really not a huge country fan, but somehow the only examples I can think of are country songs about bar altercations. I guess this form had a big run when I was a kid in the 70’s-80’s.
Uneasy Rider by Charlie Daniels
Gimme Three Steps by Lynrd Skynrd
Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers
I just went through the whole thread pretty fast, but I didn’t see this:
My favorite. And I’ve actually met the band members.
I Hung My Head by Johnny Cash. Also covered by Sting.
Did anyone mention “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda”?
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia by Vicki Lawrence.
Roger Miller “Kansas City Star”
Roger Miller “Chug-a-Lug”
Johnny Horton “North to Alaska”
How about Talkin Song Repair Blues by Alan Jackson?
Don’t forget Fairport’s “Tam Lin.”