Ian is a tremendously gifted songwriter – it is unfortunate that there isn’t room for her in todays recording culture.
Or Tracy Chapman
Or any number of talented people who tell stories in song. The format isn’t designed to engage so much as it is to fill the silence with unobtrusive noise.
I’ll echo others who have said:
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Cat in the Cradle
and add the “dead animal” songs that always made me cry:
Wildfire by Michael Martin Murphy - “she’s coming for me I know and on Wildfire we’re both going to go…”
Shannon by Henry Gross - “Shannon has gone away, he’s drifted out to sea”
Oh, and Puff the Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul and Mary who didn’t exactly die, but slinked into his cave. Damn that Jackie Paper.
Let’s not forget Kinky Friedman’s [b[They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore**
And his Psycho Billy Cadillac. 
Kirsty Macoll.
‘Papa won’t leave you Henry’ by Nick Cave (take any NC song really, most of them are story songs)
‘Then She Did…’ by Janes Addiction.
The Art Teacher - Rufus Wainwright
The Captain and the Kid - Jimmy Buffett
Beercan - Beck 
Waiting for My Real Life to Begin - Colin Hay
Banditos - The Refreshments
Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon
All these posts and no mention of:
The Way by Fastball
??? 
???
“They just drove off, and left it all behind them. Where were they going without ever knowing the way?”
Also, any of you heard The Levellers’ version of Devil Went Down To Georgia? That’s my second one.
Lots of great music mentioned in this thread! - many of my favorites too - from traditional ballads (“Tam Lin” - Fairport Convention) to new folk classics (“And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” - I like Priscilla Herdman’s version best’; “Mary Ellen Carter” - Stan Rogers") and fun pop stuff (“Brandy”)
Some I like which haven’t been listed:
“Aragon Mill” - written by Si Kahn
“Penny Evans” - Steve Goodman
“He went to Paris” - Jimmy Buffett
“Paradise” - John Prine
“Coal Tattoo” - [by that guy who’s name I’ve forgotten & can’t look up right now]
Tom Paxton has written so many good story songs (“Born on the Fourth of July”, “Steven Biko”), I can’t choose just one.
Man, so many good ones! I’m glad there were some late Springsteen mentions, but I’ve gotta throw in Incident on 57th Street , one of my all time favorites.
For governor!
To bad I don’t live in Texas.
On second thought, I’ll take back “Sink the Bismarck” and replace it with Kevin Johnson’s “Rock & Roll I Gave You the Best Years of My Life”.
Another Kinky Friedman song…Asshole from El Paso
My two
Carefree highway and Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald-Gorden Lightfoot
**Bobby Brown Goes Down ** and The Yellow Snow Suite by Frank Zappa
2112 by Rush
**Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver ** by Primus
Someone mentioned Ray Stevens but forgot a classic - The Streak!
“Don’t look, Ethyl!” :eek:
How about some of the great truck songs? Red Sovine had a pile of 'em - “Teddy Bear”, “Phantom 309”, “Little Rosa” and “Giddy-up Go” come to mind.
There’s also Dave Dudley’s 'Six Days On the Road" plus a bunch who’s performers I forget. “The Girl On the Billboard”, “Convoy”, “CB Savage” and so on.
Oh, and another Alice Cooper, of course - “Dead Babies” which continues into “Killer”. Forgot “Ballad Of Dwight Frye” too.
The Ballad of Curtis Loew do I have to say who did it?
The Ballad of Ira Hayes by Johhny Cash
I can’t believe this one hasn’t been mentioned…
Bonnie and Clyde were pretty lookin’ people
But I can tell you people They were the devil’s children,
Bonnie and Clyde began their evil doin’
One lazy afternoon down Savannah way,
They robbed a store, and high-tailed outa that town
Got clean away in a stolen car,
And waited till the heat died down,
Bonnie and Clyde advanced their reputation
And made the graduation
Into the banking business.
Hang down your head Tom Dooley…
Hang down your head and cry
Hang down your Tom Dooley
Poor boy you’re bound to die…
His name was actually Tom Dula. The story took place ritght here in NC.
[QUOTE=zoogirlAnd finally, my obligatory Alice Cooper offering, “Crazy Little Child”. Very unexpected, sort of a cross between “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Night Chicago Died” A tale of the bad old days and a small time hood’s last run in with the “Sherriff’s bullets”[/QUOTE]
I sorta did! 
And I have NO idea what happened there! I meant to bold “Bonnie and Clyde”! :eek:
My apologies.
I missed it.
The recomendation looks good on you.
Another good one just popped into my head: Blue Oyster Cult’s “Then Came The Last Days Of May” about a drug deal gone bad.