…
He called for liquor of the best, he being a roving blade
And quickly fixed his eyes upon the lovely chambermaid
…
“One sovereign I will give to you all to enjoy your charms”
And this fair maid all night did sleep all in the butcher’s arms
'Twas early the next morning he prepared to go away
The landlord said “Your reckoning, sir, you have forgot to pay”
“Oh no”, the butcher did reply “pray do not think it strange
One sovereign I gave your maid and I haven’t got the change”
They straight way called the chambermaid and charged her with the same
The golden sovereign she laid down, prepared she’d get the blame…
'Twas in a twelve months after he came to town again
And then as he had done before he stopped at that same inn
'Twas then the buxom chambermaid she chanced him for to see
She brought a babe just three months old and placed him on his knee
…
She said “Kind sir, it is your own, pray do not think it strange
One sovereign you gave to me and here I’ve brought your change”
Several songs by The Decemberists fall into the category of ‘story songs’, but my two favorites are The Mariner’s Revenge Song and Yankee Bayonette.
One of my favorite songs that I think would count is Regina Spektor’s song Samson which tells an alternate version of the Samson and Delilah story in which Samson falls in love with her and lets her cut his hair leading to a very different ending.
“You couldn’t knock the columns down
You couldn’t destroy a single one
And the history books forgot about us
And the Bible didn’t mention us
Not even once.”
It’s possible, I suppose, but somehow, I don’t think so.
They know each other somewhat already (“Hey, bub, it’s been a while since you been around…”), and he totally ignores her. At least for a minute or two. If he wanted the waitress at the beginning, I think he’d be a little more aware of her, instead of paying more attention to his drink.
Remember also that its the waitress who comes onto him by the end of the song, and he actually seems to stop and think about it (“And the little man looked at the empty glass in his hand/And he smiled a crooked grin/He said, ‘I guess I’m outta gin/And I know we both have been so lonely…’”)
Like I said, it’s possible, but (to me, anyway) it seems that the man’s story is simply the man’s story–not a ruse.
“Billy Don’t Be A Hero” was originally recorded by Paper Lace, who also gave us “The Night Chicago Died,” another of the most hated and joked-about songs in rock history. Although I rather like “Billy.” Despite the bouncy tune, it’s actually a protest song of sorts, which had relevance to the Vietnam conflict and today’s conflict in Iraq, with the fiance telling Billy not to risk his ass, to stay safe and come home to her. And of course when she gets the letter telling her she should be proud of Billy for his sacrifice, she throws it away.
I mainly came in to nominate “Uneasy Rider” by the Charlie Daniels Band, though.
“You Never Even Called Me By My Name” by Steve Goodman and performed by David Allen Coe. The whole song isn’t necessarily a story, but there is a great story verse, if nothing else.
It starts out:
I was drunk the day my Mom got out of prison…
Well, she had not been sailing
But two weeks or three
When she was overtaken by the Turkish enemy
As she lay along the lowlands, lowlands low
As she lay along the lowlands sea
You classic story of a ship in danger, heroic effort on the part of the cabin boy to save it, the captain’s duplicity, and a sad ending. Lovely melody, too.
Another – more rousing but just as tragic – song about a ship in danger is The Mermaid. My favorite verse:
The up spoke the cook of our gallant ship
And a crazy old butcher was he
Said, “I care far more for me pots and me pans
Than I do for the bottom of the sea, of the sea,
Than I do for the bottom of the sea.”
Chorus:
And the ocean waves do roll
And the stormy winds do blow
And we poor sailors go skippin’ at the top
While the landlubbers lie down below
