# Why Are There No Story Songs Any More? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2001, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539 "2001-08-01T21:04:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/41 "2001-08-03T03:34:18Z")
Ministry: _Jesus Built My Hotrod_ The entire **Operation Mindcrime** album, every song, from Queensryche. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/42 "2001-08-03T03:54:46Z")
2 from Crash Test Dummies: God Shuffled His Feet (Sure the story’s a little sparse, but it’s there) and Two Knights and Maidens (Not a single, but good.) (And Sir Rhosis - I think you missed gex gex’s point which was that the Top 40 listeners of today don’t have shorter attention spans than those of 30…wait…40 years ago when the Beatles were putting out I Wanna Hold Your Hand.) (And, as a final aside, really, honestly… Thus Spake Darwin’s Finch: > [@](#): > > (for me, the ultimate “story song” is the aforementioned “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot - that is storytelling). Sure, but it AIN’T songwriting… He stretched a LOOONG way to put the story to the tune sometimes.) ---
**Author:** ![k.os](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e0b2c6/32.png) [@k.os](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k.os)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/43 "2001-08-03T03:59:42Z")
I’m surprised no one mentioned the Barenaked Ladies. A lot of their songs are ballads (in the storytelling aspect) and they have had success in the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/44 "2001-08-03T04:00:44Z")
“Jeremy” and their cover of “Last Kiss” have already been mentioned, but I think that there are quite a few other Pearl Jam songs that could qualify as story songs. The songs “Alive”, “Once”, and “Footsteps” were written together as a “mini rock opera” about (I kid you not) a serial killer who preys on prostitutes. ---
**Author:** ![Nocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nocturne)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/45 "2001-08-03T04:05:29Z")
Better Than Ezra’s “Under You” and “Beautiful Mistake” are somewhat-story songs. One’s about a bittersweet love affair; the other’s about a father leaving his children and returning 20 years later. Ben Folds Five’s “Steven’s Last Night in Town” seems to be one, but maybe not. “The Boxer” by Simon and Garfunkel maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Lionors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c37758/32.png) [@Lionors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionors)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/46 "2001-08-03T04:27:41Z")
Time may factor into it, too. Some of Harry Chapin’s (now _there_ was a balladeer!) best songs never became hits simply because they were too long to get much airplay – too tough for the programmer to get the necessary spots that had to go in the hour. (Stinks, but someone’s gotta pay the light bill.) My guess would be that something very similar kicks in as far as videos go. Very few recording artists, whatever their genre, don’t end up making videos of their songs anymore. The typical video for a non-ballad song can pretty much anything, but I’d imagine it would be considerably difficult (not to mention make the video a lot longer) to make a video of a true ballad. I mean, think of what it would take to adequately get across the story of “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” or “Sequel” in a video. Not only that, but think about trying to make a video that was no longer than the song that got the story across. Could definitely be difficult. On the other hand, it would sure make for better music videos than most I’ve seen… ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/47 "2001-08-03T06:12:06Z")
Only because I’m suprised no one’s brought it up yet is Tracey Chapman’s _Fast Cars_. My other immediate choice is Cracker’s _Eurotrash Girl_ which may not have hit the charts, but is played by the local college radio station here quite a bit and is a rather amusing little story. ---
**Author:** ![mikehardware](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mikehardware](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikehardware)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/48 "2001-08-03T13:26:25Z")
How about Bob Carlise’s “Butterfly Kisses” and NewSong’s “Christmas Shoes”? ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/49 "2001-08-03T13:39:24Z")
The Ultimate story song has been mentioned, in the form of Alice’s Restaurant. I’ll just plug the penultimate story song, then, Warren Zevon’s _Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner_ ---
**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:** [August 3, 2001, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/50 "2001-08-03T13:41:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\*Granted, **99 Red Balloons** may be one of the weaker entries, but it does tell a complete story. 99 red balloons float away, they get misidentified as incoming Russian missiles, they provoke a nuclear response, and the song ends with the singer walking around “in this dust that was a city.” A full story. \*\* _THAT’S_ what that song’s about? Jesus, I need to listen to it again. And I hate the English version. Billy Joel has had a few story songs, including: **Scenes from an Italian Restaurant I Don’t Want to be Alone James Laura** (great song, plus Billy says the word _fuck_) **Sleeping With the Television On Stop In Nevada Zanzibar Half a Mile Away** Bon Jovi had **Livin’ On a Prayer** ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/51 "2001-08-03T13:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfkin477 \* > \*\* > Cowboy Mouth- Whatcha Gonna Do? > \*\* **_HOLY SH_T!!!** \* Someone ELSE knows Cowboy Mouth?!?!?!?! Elfkin, you’re my new hero… And I was just singing **Delta Dawn** in the shower this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/52 "2001-08-03T13:47:39Z")
OK, I see a handful more from the 90’s (though not all are true story songs). Here are a bunch more from the 70’s (again, not all are good):[ul][li]Night Moves[_]Main Street[_]Piano Man[_]Space Oddity[_]Mr. Bojangles[_]Midnight Train to Georgia[_]Bad, Bad Leroy Brown[_]Billy Don’t Be a Hero (ouch, my brain!)[_]Cold Kentucky Rain[_]In the Ghetto[_]Wildfire[_]Crocodile Rock[_]Don’t Mess Around with Jim[_]Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves[_]Hollywood Nights[_]Vincent[_]Chuck E.‘s in Love[_](Hey Baby, I’m the)Telephone Man[_]Blinded by the Light (at least I think there’s a story in there)[_]Squeeze Box[_]Keep on Smilin’[_]Play that Funky Music[_]Walk This Way[/ul][/li] (Should I keep going? I could, you know…) Point is that there used to be a lot of story songs on the radio. Now there are only a few. Granted (as **Biggirl** pointed out), a lot of the story songs of the 70’s were crap (I couldn’t even bring myself to add “Muskrat Love” to the list, for fear of highlighting this fact). On the other hand, many were real gems. They were pop songs, after all, so you can only expect so much quality. On the whole, I think I’d rather hear a crappy story song than a “good” Brittney Spears song. Maybe that’s just me. ( **Sir Rhosis** - Good catch on the Pink Houses/Jack and Diane thing. Those songs run together in my head for some reason.) ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/53 "2001-08-03T13:57:29Z")
No one here mentions **Turtle Power** … I wonder why? [insert chirping crickets here] ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/54 "2001-08-03T14:13:59Z")
More- Billy Joel: _Downeaster Alexa_ Genisis: _Driving the Last Spike_ (excellent song, IMO) Allan Sherman: _Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter From Camp)_ Ice-T: _Six on the Morning_ BareNaked Ladies: _Hello City_ Def Leppard: _Billy’s Got a Gun_ (also _Too Late For Love_) OAR: _That Was a Crazy Game of Poker_ Bryan Bowers: _The Scotsman_ ---
**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:** [August 3, 2001, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/55 "2001-08-03T14:15:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by thinksnow \* > \*\* > Bryan Bowers: _The Scotsman_ \*\* You just had to work that in, didn’t ya? Dork. 🙂 ---
**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:** [August 3, 2001, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/56 "2001-08-03T14:18:22Z")
Not sure if anybody’s mentioned these yet, but I’ll throw them out for consideration anyway: **Werewolf** , by the Five Man Electrical Band. Yep, they did more than just “Signs.” I’d also include **Operator** , by Jim Croce. Compared to some of the others in this thread, it seems to be a bit of an oddity–a story within a story, if you will: the story of the singer and his lost love, as told to the telephone operator while he waffles about having the operator put the call through. Interesting take on it! Country can be a good place to find story songs. Here’s a few that immediately come to mind: **The Devil Went Down to Georgia** , by the Charlie Daniels Band. **Della and the Dealer** , by Hoyt Axton. **Love, Me** , by Collin Raye **He Would Be Sixteen** , by Michelle Wright **Where’ve You Been?** , by Kathy Mattea Somebody earlier mentioned Harry Chapin, and I’ll second that one. Too bad most of his songs were too long to get any airplay, because they deserve hearing. Anyway, among my favourite Harry Chapin stories are **Better Place to Be** , **Bummer** , **30,000 Pounds of Bananas** , and of course **Taxi** and **Sequel**. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/57 "2001-08-03T18:56:06Z")
Me and Bobby McGee Drive South The Night They Drove Dixie Down ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/58 "2001-08-03T18:59:50Z")
Richard Thompson has written many story songs/ballads as well. My favorite is “Vincent Black Lightning 1952”, which I believe was fairly successful. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/59 "2001-08-03T19:03:25Z")
Oops, Bobby McGee was already mentioned. More: Snoopy vs. the Red Baron Return of the Red Baron Snoopy for President Memphis, Tennessee ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2001, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539/60 "2001-08-03T19:04:58Z")
Oh, and Space Oddity [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-story-songs-any-more/74539.md?page=4)