# Your favorite descriptions of a character in a song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 21, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883 "2012-06-21T20:09:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/1 "2012-06-21T20:09:55Z")
Not sure if this has been done before, but what are some of your favorite lyrical descriptions of a character in a song, either real or fictional? It doesn’t have to be poetic, or beautifully written - you just have to like it. I’ll start with one I’ve always loved from the song “Kate” by **Ben Folds Five**. It’s very simple, but paints a pretty good picture of what kind of girl Kate is: “Every day she wears the same thing, I think she smokes pot.” What are some favorites of yours? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/2 "2012-06-21T20:15:06Z")
I knew a man Bojangles and he’d dance for you **In worn out shoes With silver hair, a ragged shirt, and baggy pants** The old soft shoe ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/3 "2012-06-21T20:20:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Now Leroy more than trouble > You see he stand 'bout six foot four > All the downtown ladies call him “Treetop Lover” > All the men just call him “Sir” > … > He got a custom Continental > He got an Eldorado too > He got a .32 gun in his pocket for fun > He got a razor in his shoe And on a related note: > [@](#): > > Yeah, he’s big and dumb as a man can come > But he’s stronger than a country hoss > And when the bad folks all get together at night > You know they all call big Jim “Boss”, just because > And they say – > > You don’t tug on Superman’s cape > You don’t spit into the wind > You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger > And you don’t mess around with Jim ---
**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:** [June 21, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/4 "2012-06-21T20:26:20Z")
I came just to post the “.32 gun in his pocket…” lines. Beaten to it but I love the lyrical flow and imagery. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/5 "2012-06-21T20:30:42Z")
Curtis Loew: > [@](#): > > old Curt was a black man with white curly hair > when he had a fifth of wine he didnot have a care > he used to own and old dobro used to play across his knee > I’d give old Curt my money he play all day for me ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/6 "2012-06-21T21:27:18Z")
Dylan has plenty, such as this one (quoted from memory, hope I’m not too far off): Now Ophelia, she’s 'neath the window For her I feel so afraid On her twenty-second birthday She already is an old maid Now to her death is quite romantic She wears an iron vest Her profession is her religion Her sin is her lifelessness And though her eyes are fixed upon Noah’s great rainbow She spends her spare time peeking into Desolation Row. Here’s one from Brian Eno: The Fat Lady of Limbourg Looked at the samples that we sent And furrowed her brow. You would never believe that She’d tasted royalty and fame If you saw her now. But her sense of taste is such that she’ll distinguish with her tongue The subtleties a spectrograph would miss, And announce her decision, While demanding her reward – The jellyfish kiss. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/7 "2012-06-21T21:32:00Z")
[Suzanne.](http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/album1.html#0) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/8 "2012-06-21T21:33:19Z")
The entirety of [CNR](http://weirdal.wikia.com/wiki/Lyrics:CNR). > [@](#): > > Charles Nelson Reilly was a mighty man > The kind of man you’d never disrespect > He stood 8 foot tall, wore glasses > And he had a third nipple on the back of his neck > He ate his own weight in coal > And excreted diamonds every day > He could throw you down a flight of stairs > But you still would love him anyway > Yeah, you know you’d love him anyway ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/9 "2012-06-21T22:00:43Z")
It’s simple, but I love Hot Chocolate’s description of Emma: “And when she said she’d be a movie queen / Nobody laughed.” Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” has some nice lines. “Kind of broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip / and everybody knew you didn’t give no lip / to Big John.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/10 "2012-06-21T22:12:26Z")
She was just seventeen - you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/11 "2012-06-21T22:21:38Z")
“like lady’s stacked and that’s a fact…36-24-36 , oh, what a winning hand” Brick House - Lionel Ritchie (or is it the Commodores) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/12 "2012-06-21T22:37:24Z")
Golden words he will pour in your ear But his lies can’t disguise what you fear For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her It’s the kiss of death from Mister Goldfinger ---
**Author:** ![NGC2024](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f475e1/32.png) [@NGC2024](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NGC2024)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/13 "2012-06-21T22:45:32Z")
The Diary of Horace Wimp, by Electric Light Orchestra. Love this song. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/14 "2012-06-21T23:53:28Z")
Tom Waits- Ghosts of Saturday Night “As he dreams of a waitress with Maxwell House eyes And marmalade thighs with scrambled yellow hair.” ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/15 "2012-06-22T00:18:49Z")
Another Jim Croce: She was five foot six and two fifteen A bleached-blonde mama With a streak of mean She knew how to knuckle And she knew how to scuffle and fight And the roller derby program said That she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head Her fans call her “Tuffy” But all her buddies called her “Spike” And another great 70s song: She was black as the night Louie was whiter than white Danger, danger when you taste brown sugar Louie fell in love overnight Nothing bad, it was good Louie had the best girl he could When he took her home To meet his mama and papa Louie knew just where he stood ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/16 "2012-06-22T00:21:14Z")
She’s a very kinky girl The kind you don’t take home to mother She will never let your spirits down Once you get her off the street ---
**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:** [June 22, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/17 "2012-06-22T00:35:27Z")
A couple from Al Stewart’s “Year of the Cat”: \*She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running like a watercolour in the rain… Well, she looks at you so cooly, And her eyes shine, like the moon on the sea; She comes in incense and patchouli… \* ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/18 "2012-06-22T00:55:02Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Dylan has plenty, such as this one (quoted from memory, hope I’m not too far off): > > Here’s one from Brian Eno: Desolation Row and The Fat Lady of Limbourg? I honestly had to check your name and the date of the post because I thought I had posted that. Another Dylan: _Louise she’s all right she’s just near She’s delicate and seems like a mirror But she just makes it all too concise and too clear That Johanna’s not here The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place._ ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/19 "2012-06-22T01:17:35Z")
Joni Mitchell: _Coyote’s in the coffee shop He’s staring a hole in his scrambled eggs He picks up my scent on his fingers While he’s watching the waitresses’ legs_ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883/20 "2012-06-22T01:20:57Z")
_Billy was a Mountain Ethel was a tree growing off of his shoulder Billy had two big caves for eyes With a cliff for a jaw that would go up or down And whenever it did He’d puff out some dust And hack up a boulder._ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-descriptions-of-a-character-in-a-song/625883.md?page=2)