dalnet22 Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Bob Dylan - All Along the Watchtower Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA Bruce Springsteen - The River Bad Company - Shooting Star Bob Seger - Against The Wind Don McClean - American Pie Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing Foreigner - Juke Box Hero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mairi Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 'Rat Trap' by The Boomtown Rats is IMO one of the greatest songs with a story ever. It is part of my teenage years, and one of the few songs I will sing out loud in the car with passengers. Regards Hey Diggs, is I Don't Like Mondays by Boomtown Rats not also a story? I heard it was about someone shooting someone. Anyway, i love that song. oooh and Tribute-Tenacious D is a song that me and my friends all sing in a big circle everytime we all get together, it's the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonJonSurfer Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 Young American by Bowie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin35336 Posted January 17, 2005 Report Share Posted January 17, 2005 I've been trying to work these lyrics out for years but what a story: What do you do? Bonzo Do Dog Band. What do you do? I don't know, but I know I do it every day Why do you do it? I don't know, but I know I do it anyway I do what I do, indeed I do I do what I do, every day Indeed I do I do what I do, indeed I do I do what I do, every day I do what I do, I am what I am We are what we are, we do what we can What do you do? I don't know, but I know I do it everyday Why do you do it? I don't know, but I know I do it anyway I do what I do, indeed I do I do what I do, everyday Indeed I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy1104 Posted January 18, 2005 Report Share Posted January 18, 2005 When I saw the topic I thought immediately of Harry Chapin. He was the great songs storyteller. Of course his hits include Taxi and Cats In The Cradle, but you would have to listen to his albums to really appreciate his storytelling. Other songs I would recommend listening to are 30,000 Pounds of Bananas and I Wanna Learn A Love Song. My favorite by him is a song called What Made America Famous. What Made America Famous by Harry Chapin It was the town that made America famous. The churches full and the kids all gone to hell. Six traffic lights and seven cops and all the streets kept clean. The supermarket and the drug store and the bars all doing well. They were the folks that made America famous. The local fire department stocked with shorthaired volunteers. And on Saturday night while America boozes The fire department showed dirty movies, The lawyer and the grocer seeing their dreams Come to life on the movie screens While the plumber hopes that he won't be seen As he tries to hide his fears and he wipes away his tears. But something's burning somewhere. Does anybody care? We were the kids that made America famous. The kind of kids that long since drove our parents to dispair. We were lazy long hairs dropping our, lost confused, and copping out. Convinced our futures were in doubt and trying not to care. We lived in the house that made America famous. It was a rundown slum, the shame of all the decent folks in town. We hippies and some welfare cases, Crowded families of coal black faces, Cramped inside some cracked old boards, The best that we all could afford But still to nice for the rich landlord To tear it down and we could hear the sound Of something burning somewhere. Is anybody there? We all lived the life that made America famous. Our cops would make a point to shadow us around our town. And we love children put a swastika on the bright red firehouse door. America, the beautiful, it makes a body proud. And then came the night that made America famous. Was it carelessness or someone's sick idea of a joke. In the tinder box trap that we hippies lived in someone struck a spark. At first I thought I was dreaming, Then I saw the first flames gleaming And heard the sound of children screaming Coming through the smoke. That's when the horror broke. Something's burning somewhere. Does anybody care? It was the fire that made America famous. The sirens wailed and the firemen stumbled sleepy from their homes. And the plumber yelled: "Come on let's go!" But they saw what was burning and said: "Take it slow, Let'em sweat a little, they'll never know And besides, we just cleaned the chrome." Said the plumber: "I'm going alone." He rolled on up in the fire truck And raised the ladder to the ledge Where me and my girl and a couple of kids Were clinging like bats to the edge. We staggered to salvation, Collapsed on the street. And I never thought that a fat man's face Would ever look so sweet. It was the scene that made America famous. If not the love that made America great. You see we spent the rest of that night in the home of a man I'd never known before. It's funny when you get that close it's kind of hard to hate. I went to sleep with the hope that made America famous. I had the kind of a dream that maybe they're still trying to teach in school. Of the America that made America famous...and Of the people who just might understand That how together yes we can Create a country better than The one we have made of this land, We have a choice to make each man who dares to dream, reaching out his hand A prophet or just a crazy God damn Dreamer of a fool - yes a crazy fool There's something burning somewhere. Does anybody care? Is anybody there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted April 5, 2005 Report Share Posted April 5, 2005 What are some good songs that have a sort of plot to them? One of my favorites is Iron Man. I tried to find a deeper meaning to it, but now realize it is just a story. It's good because it's clever and ironic. A man goes into the future and sees the end of the world, a man made of iron killing everyone. He goes back to the present to warn everyone, but on his way back, he travels through a magnetic field and becomes iron himself. Nobody believes the end is really coming, which makes him angry. He takes out his vengeance on the human race, bringing about the end of the world that he saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syd Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 One of my favorite story themed songs, true story for that matter, is ?The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald? by Gordon Lightfoot. The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior 20 years ago. Gordon Lightfoot's song is a tribute to this shipwreck and the men who lost their lives. On November 10, 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. All 29 crewmembers died. At the time, it was the worst shipping disaster on the Great Lakes. Sticking with Lightfoot, there is the song ?Black Day In July?, which was written after the 1967 Detroit riots. It began simply enough, police raided an illegal bar in the inner city, known as a ?Blind Pig? a place to get a drink after the bars closed. The rioting quickly spread to encompass over fourteen square miles of Detroit?s neighborhoods. Unlike earlier outbreaks, the ?67 riots were indiscriminate, mobs torched and plundered black businesses as freely as white ones and burned down a number of black homes. Both blacks and whites participated in looting, burning and rioting. Forty-three people lay dead by the time the 1967 Detroit riot ended five days later on July 28. Go Gordon!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Laurie_ Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 how about alice's restaurant ohio cats in the cradle devil went down to georgia...lol love that one! or that's the night the lights went out in georgia, not my favorite song, but it tells a story... ode to billy joe i could go on and on, but there's a few for ya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy1104 Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Just about anything by Harry Chapin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImThatGuyToo Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash) Rocky Raccoon (The Beatles) Hot Rod Lincoln (Bill Kirchen) Piano Man (Billy Joel) Hurricane (Bob Dylan) Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan) Turn The Page (Bob Seger) Life In The Fast Lane (The Eagles) Lola (The Kinks) Well Respected Man (The Kinks) Gallow's Pole (Led Zeppelin) Going to California (Led Zeppelin) Take the Money and Run (Steve Miller Band) The Gift (Velvet Underground) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Didn´t we have a thread about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Track Listings 1. Spanish Train 2. Lonely Sky 3. This Song For You 4. Patricia The Stripper 5. A Spaceman Came Travelling 6. I'm Coming Home 7. The Painter 8. Old Friend 9. The Tower 10. Just Another Poor Boy Chris De Burgh's album 'Spanish Train' is an excellent example of songs telling a story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth-Angel Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Didn´t we have a thread about that? Correct Edna, there is a longish one somewhere around here. Why can't I find it? I know it has been posted before... :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crovax Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 "White man came, across the sea: He brought us pain.. and misery!" Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 "The River" by Bruce Springsteen tells a story. Some Billy Joel ones besides Piano Man: The Downeaster Alexa Leningrad Scenes from An Italian Restaurant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen I had a friend was a big baseball player Back in high school He could throw that speedball by you Make you look like a fool, boy Saw him the other night at this roadside bar I was walking in and he was walking out We went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks but all he kept talking about was-- Glory days, well they'll pass you by Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye Glory days, glory days There's a girl lives up the block Back in school she could turn all the boys' heads Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by and have a few drinks After she put her kids to bed Her and her husband Bobby, well, they split up I guess it's two years gone by now We just sit around talking about the old times She says when she feels like crying she starts laughing thinking about-- Glory days, well they'll pass you by Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye Glory days, glory days Think I'm going down to the well tonight And I'm going to drink till I get my fill And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it But I probably will Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture A little of the glory of But time slips away and leaves you with nothing, mister, but boring stories of-- Glory days, well they'll pass you by Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye Glory days, glory days Blake Shelton ~ Ol' Red Well I caught my wife with another man And it cost me ninety nine On a prison farm in Georgia Close to the Florida line Well I'd been here for two long years I finally made the warden my friend And so he sentenced me to a life of ease Taking care of Ol Red Now Ol' Red he's the damnedest dog that I've ever seen Got a nose that can smell a two day trail He's a four legged tracking machine You can consider yourself mighty lucky To get past the gators and the quicksand beds But all these years that I've been here Ain't nobody got past Red And the warden sang Come on somebody Why don't you run Ol' Red's itchin' to have a little fun Get my lantern Get my gun Red'll have you treed before the mornin' comes Well I paid off the guard and I slipped out a letter To my cousin up in Tennessee Oh and he brought down a blue tick hound She was pretty as she could be Well they penned her up in the swampland 'Bout a mile just south of the gate And I'd take Ol' Red for his evening run I'd just drop him off and wait And the warden sang Come on somebody Why don't you run Ol' Red's itchin' to have a little fun Get my lantern Get my gun Red'll have you treed before the mornin' comes Now Ol' Red got real used to seeing His lady every night And so I kept him away for three or four days And waited till the time got right Well I made my run with the evenin' sun And I smiled when I heard 'em let Red out 'Cause I was headed north to Tennessee And Ol' Red was headed south And the warden sang Come on somebody Why don't you run Ol' Red's itchin' to have a little fun Get my lantern Get my gun Red'll have you treed before the mornin' comes Now there's red haired blue ticks all in the South Love got me in here and love got me out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Some of my faves: "Sloop John B" ~ The Beach Boys "Jack & Diane" ~ John Mellancamp "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos" ~ Woody Guthrie "Love Letter" ~ Bonnie Raitt "Both Sides Now" ~ Joni Mitchell "The Boxer" ~ Paul Simon "All That You Have Is Your Soul" ~ Tracey Chapman "American Pie" ~ Don McLean "Tribute" ~ Tenacious D "The Gambler" ~ Don Schlitz "Mr Custer" ~ Larry Verne "The Witch Of West-Mer-Lands" ~ Archie Fisher/Garnett Rodgers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Some of my faves: "Tribute" ~ Tenacious D Love ya, Foxy baby... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Love ya, Foxy baby... Right back at ya Peachy Mama! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanAm Posted April 6, 2005 Report Share Posted April 6, 2005 Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - a song written about a larger-than-life character Croce met while doing military service in New Jersey. Sailing To Philadelphia (Mark Knopfler)- A song written about the surveying duo of Jeremiah Dixon (an Englishman) and Charles Mason (an American) who together established the boundary between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland known as the Mason and Dixon line. Fotheringay(Fairport Convention) - a song about the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots in Fotheringay castle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete38890 Posted April 7, 2005 Report Share Posted April 7, 2005 "He Went to Paris" -Jimmy Buffett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Kat WQAQ98.1 Posted April 7, 2005 Report Share Posted April 7, 2005 Story Songs: (some of htese may have been listed before): Alice's Resturant -Guthrie Scenes from and Italtion Resturant -BIlly Joel Rocky Raccoon -Beatles Pinball Wizard -The Who Roland the Headless Tompson GUnner -Warren Zevon Cicso Kid -War Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald The Night Chicago Died -Paper Lace Spiders and Snakes -Jim Stafford Lola -Kinks Cats in the Cradle -Harry Chapin Taxi -Chapin Aqualung -Jethro Tull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katie_sane Posted April 7, 2005 Report Share Posted April 7, 2005 'Certain Kind Of Fool' by The Eagles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Posted April 7, 2005 Report Share Posted April 7, 2005 "All That You Have Is Your Soul" ~ Tracey Chapman I think "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman also tells a story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvish Posted April 7, 2005 Report Share Posted April 7, 2005 "Pancho and Lefty" Written by Townes Van Zandt and performed by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard Living on the road my friend Was gonna keep you free and clean Now you wear your skin like iron Your breath's as hard as kerosene You weren't your mama's only boy But her favorite one it seems She began to cry when you said goodbye And sank into your dreams Pancho was a bandit boys His horse was fast as polished steel Wore his gun outside his pants For all the honest world to feel Pancho met his match you know On the deserts down in Mexico Nobody heard his dying words That's the way it goes All the federales say They could have had him any day They only let him hang around Out of kindness I suppose Lefty he can't sing the blues All night long like he used to The dust that Pancho bit down south Ended up in Lefty's mouth The day they laid poor Pancho low Lefty split for Ohio Where he got the bread to go There ain't nobody knows All the federales say They could have had him any day They only let him slip away Out of kindness I suppose The poets tell how Pancho fell Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold So the story ends we're told Pancho needs your prayers it's true, But save a few for Lefty too He just did what he had to do Now he's growing old A few gray federales say They could have had him any day They only let him go so wrong Out of kindness I suppose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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