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What are your favorite narrative-based songs? For me, it's gotta be Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue." EVERY time I hear it, I can't help but burst out laughing. One of the funniest songs I've ever heard.
Follow Ups:
Chilling!
Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest (Dylan)
The Last Time I Saw Richard (Joni Mitchell)
Louise (Paul Siebel)
I have heard "Ballad of Frankie Lee & Judas Priest" hundreds of times, love the melody & wordplay but still don't know what the story is about.
Yeah, it's vague like most of his stuff. I take it at face value: "Be charitable and don't covet what others have." How about Bob Dylan's 115th Dream, or Highlands (from Time Out of Mind)? Now those are some FUNNY stories!
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It's not rock but "Pirate Jenny" by Nina Simone or Katy Buckley is an interesting story. It's a Kurt Weil composition I think.
NT -
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Done best (IMO) by Fairport Convention.
Mark
I just want to ride my motorsickle And I don't want to die, Just want to ride my motorcy,,,cle.
Those are two of my favorites but there are a lot of interesting ones.
Not only named after a film, as of course was The Goodbye Girl from the same album, this could easily be a kitchen sink British film from the early 60s.
Poignant and quite quite beautiful. It shows how Squeeze were capable of matching LenMac's tales of British life... She's Leaving Home, for example.
Waiting for The ManKicks
Dirty Boulevard
also...UB40 - Tyler
The Jam - Down in the Tube Station at Midnight
Cale's and Reed's voices coming out separately from each speaker is an experience tailor-made for headphones.
Lou Reed possibly deserves special mention in the story-song section here, especially for "Harry's Circumcision" on the Magic and Loss CD.
nt
by Tex Edwards And Out On Parole.
One of those romantic tryst situations interupted by the husband.
YECH
Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs has some very good tunes, stories and a drop dead killer version of Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts...he does this as a duet with Eliza Gilkyson. There are splenetic top drawer back up musicians on the disc....
Even better is the epic effort called The Man From God Knows Where....the whole disc being a song cycle. Splendid singing and playing and world class guests........
...
NT
actually, just one of many.
This message has been moved to a more appropriate venue .
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as does Dylans "Hurricane" and Springsteens "Sinaloa Cowboys"
....when he sings "and I let the bullet fly" one gets a very emotional connection with the picture that is being painted.One of my fave PG songs.
Cheers,
Nice thread Quint! Some of mine that aren't already listed are: Hot Rod Lincoln, don't laugh- Harper Valley PTA, Boy Named Sue, Ode to Billy Joe, Bedward the Flying Preacher(reggae by Prince Far I), Timothy (remember that one?)Zappa's Billy the Mountain and many others of his.ET
Studebaker Hawk, yeah yeah ,Studebaker Hawk, Stu De Baker Hawk........
The first song to come to my head is a song called "Lost Property", by a group called The Divine Comedy. Never heard of them until I picked up a compilation CD by the band Orbital, called "Back to Mine". The song was on that compilation, and it moved me so intently the first time I heard it, it has stuck with me for the last four years!
Cheers,
Dman
GREAT GEAR DESTROYER!!!
"Lost Property" by The Divine ComedyPostcards and letters
T-shirts and sweaters
Passports and Parkas
Mobiles and chargers
Two tennis rackets
Blue Rizla packets
A new sheep-skin jacket
I lost it allAll through my life there have been
Many rare and precious things
I have tried to call mine
But I just cannot seem
To keep hold of anything
For more than a short time
Possessions of a sentimental kind
They were mine, now they're notGym-kits and trainers
Asthma inhalers
Silk-cuts and Bennies
Ten-packs and twenties
C-class narcotics
Antibiotics
The holes in my pockets
I lost it allAll that I'd like is to know
Just where do those lost things go?
When they slip from my hands
Then one night in a dream
I passed through a sheepskin screen
To a green, pleasant land
I found them all piled up into the sky
And I cried tears of joy
Cheers,
Dman
GREAT GEAR DESTROYER!!!
That song is sad and haunting...
b
Many good choices already mentioned, but here's a couple:Maggie Mae
John Barleycorn (Traffic)
(Ain't no cure for the) Summertime Blues
Lucky Man (Emerson Lake and Palmer)
Mack The Knife (Bobby Darin and Louis Armstrong both did mighty justice to this song)
jack of hearts...
Many of DBT songs are story songs.Couple other great ones - Aftermath and My Sweet Annette.
It was raining hard in 'Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night.
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down,
She got in at the light.
Oh, where you going to, my lady blue,
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain.
She just looked out the window, and said
"Sixteen Parkside Lane".Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before,
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more.
It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."It was somewhere in a fairy tale,
I used to take her home in my car.
We learned about love in the back of the Dodge,
The lesson hadn't gone too far.You see, she was gonna be an actress,
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off to find the sky.Oh, I've got something inside me,
To drive a princess blind.
There's a wild man, wizard,
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind.
Oh, I've got something inside me,
Not what my life's about,
Cause I've been letting my outside tide me,
Over 'till my time, runs out.
Baby's so high that she's skying,
Yes she's flying, afraid to fall.
I'll tell you why baby's crying,
Cause she's dying, aren't we all.There was not much more for us to talk about,
Whatever we had once was gone.
So I turned my cab into the driveway,
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns.And she said we must get together,
But I knew it'd never be arranged.
And she handed me twenty dollars,
For a two fifty fare, she said
"Harry, keep the change."Well another man might have been angry,
And another man might have been hurt,
But another man never would have let her go...
I stashed the bill in my shirt.And she walked away in silence,
It's strange, how you never know,
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for,
Such a long, long time ago.You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly.
She took off to find the footlights,
And I took off for the sky.And here, she's acting happy,
Inside her handsome home.
And me, I'm flying in my taxi,
Taking tips, and getting stoned,
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned.
Unfullfilled loved is truely sad..
..if this song doesn't bring back ....
Woody Guthrie/Almanac Singers: The Sinking of the Reuben James
Only a minute & 50 seconds but Tom Waits story of "Frank's Wild Years" on Swordfishtrombones tells a great story; also Joe Ely, "The Road Goes on Forever" from the Love & Danger CD and Tony Joe White's "High Sheriff of Calhoun Parish" amoungst others. There are thousands but these are some of my faves. I have at least 8 CDs worth of story-songs compiled along with some spoken-word / poetry stuff and like to listen to them in shuffle play mode.
would be right up there. I absolutely love "story" songs, and yes there is too many to chose from for me to pick favorites. Concept albums too for that matter!
N/T
"I always play jazz records backwards, they sound better that way"
-Thomas Edison
ddd
nt
Dean.
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like... "The Sky Above and the Mud Below" or "Gallo Del Cielo" or the whole "The Man from God Knows Where" cdA few of Robert Earl Keen's songs as well. "The Road Goes On Forever" and "Sonora's Death Row" (much like Marty Robbin's "El Paso")
Especially if Emmylou Harris is singing it.
____________________________
Neck Deep in the Big Muddy and the Damned Fool Yells, "Push On!"
Has a very involved, sad feel to it.
Charlie Daniels Band- "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Loosiana fellow to the Promised Land-Big John
(Big John, Big John) Big Bad John (Big John)
When I lived in Jersey, he was my neighbor in Bergen County back in the 70's and 80's, before his wife took him to the cleaners in divorce court! LOL!
(BOLD indicates official lyrics which correct earlier guesses)Alrighty, then ... picture this if you will.
10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi DMT, and a box of Krispy Kremes,
in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51
Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy
when a flaming stealth banana split the sky
like one would hope but never really expect
to see in a place like this.
Cutting right angle donuts on a dime
and stopping right at my Birkenstocks,
and me yelping...
Holy fucking shit!Then the X-Files being,
Looking like some kind of blue-green Jackie Chan
with Isabella Rossellini lips, and breath that reeked of
vanilla Chig Champa
Did a slow-mo Matrix descent
Outta the butt end of the banana vessel
And hovered above my bug-eyes, my gaping jaw,
and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip,
and all I could think was:
"I hope Uncle Martin here doesn't notice
that I pissed my fuckin' pants."So light in his way,
Like an apparition, [that]
He had me crying out,
"Fuck me
It's gotta be
the Deadhead Chemistry
The blotter got [right] on top of me
Got me seein' E-motherfuckin'-T!"And after calming me down
with some orange slices
and some fetal spooning,
E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose.
He said, "You are the Chosen One,
the One who will deliver the message.
A message of hope for those who choose to hear it
and a warning for those who do not."
Me. The Chosen One?
They chose me!!!
And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school.You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better...
You'd better listen.Then he looked right through me
With somniferous almond eyes
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down
This is so real
Like the time Dave floated away
See, my heart is pounding
'Cause this shit never happens to meI can't breathe right now!
It was so real,
Like I woke up in Wonderland.
All sorta terrifying
I don't wanna be all alone
While I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why
Y'all sound like Peanuts parents?
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real
Finally, it's my lucky day
See, my heart is racing
'Cause this shit never happens to meI can't breathe right now!
You believe me, don't you?
Please believe what I've just said!
See the Dead ain't touring
And this wasn't all in my head.
See, they took me by the hand
And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin.Strapped down [to] my bed
Feet cold [and] eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bed.Hey ...
Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the One
Born to bear and bring to all the details of our ending,
To write it down for all the world to see.But I forgot my pen
Shit the bed again ...
Typical.Strapped down [to] my bed
Feet cold and eyes red
I'm out of my head
Am I alive? Am I dead?
Sunkist and Sudafed *
Gyroscopes and infrared
Won't help, I'm brain dead
Can't remember what they said
God damn, shit the bedI can't remember what they said to me
Can't remember what they said to make me out to be the hero
Can't remember what they said
Bob help me!
Can't remember what they said[We] don't know, [and we] won't know (x12)
God damn, shit the bed!
* though the "official" transcript does say "sun kissed", this is likely one of the many typos on all of Tool's official transcripts
(nt)
The obvious winner!!
from Blue Oyster Cult.
by Arlo Guthrie. A Thanksgiving Day favorite.
... by the Detergents
it might not be my favorite, but i like it.
/
"Did you ever stand and shiver,
Cause' you were lookin' at a river."Regards,
by willis alan ramsey
I just learned that last week.
all the best,
mrh
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
Roads to Moscow by Al Stewart
The Highwayman as sung by Loreena McKennitt
Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of HeartsFirst Release
Blood on the Tracks
Blood on the Tracks
The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall.
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down,
Anyone with any sense had already left town.
He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts."I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled.
She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday.
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch,
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere,
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear.
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts.
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