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darcy log... darcy log...
 
M$1 February 28, 2009 03:22 AM

What is the best "story song" (song that tells a story)?

We haven't had a song question in a while (that I've seen) and I thought this would be a good one.

What is your favorite story song? For example, one everyone probably is familiar with is "A Boy Named Sue" (written by Shel Silverstein sung by Johnny Cash)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M89c3hWx3RQ

My choices:

Wish You Were Here by Mark Willis
It is about a man who sends a postcard before getting on a plane and what happens afterwards.
http://raeinar.googlepages.com/MarkWills-WishYouWereHere.mp3

Love, Me by Collin Raye
A grandfather tells his grandson about how he and his grandmother ran off to get married as they head to the hospital to visit her.
http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/7/27/1300211/ENG%20Music%20File%202/LOVE%20ME%20%28COLLINE%20RAYE%29.mp3
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tracebooks tracebooks
 
 February 28, 2009 02:32 PM
Harry Chapin: Cat's in the Cradle. Story song with a message. It may be the reason that a lot of people who've become parents in the 70's and beyond have been accused of helicopter parenting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlHdjjHNEC8
Asker's Rating:
• Man, there were so many great answers it was REALLY hard to choose. However, I do like this song.


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drmatt drmatt
 
February 28, 2009 02:46 PM
I'll put "Lonely Boy" by Andrew Gold right after this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK9A85zu-mg&feature=related

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srgothard srgothard
 
February 28, 2009 03:30 AM
"The Star of the County Down." It's not that long, but it's touching, and it's very well known.

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michaelpau... michaelpau...
 
February 28, 2009 03:32 AM
Anakin Guy, by Weird Al Yankovic


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tracebooks tracebooks
 
February 28, 2009 02:34 PM
Love it! My family goes in cycles on what songs we're all singing, and this is one that is in the cycle more often than not.

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bobapril bobapril
 
February 28, 2009 03:38 AM
A toss-up between "God's Own Drunk" by Jimmy Buffett, and "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie. Both are more talking than singing, but both are very, very funny.

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joyannj joyannj
 
February 28, 2009 03:40 AM
I wonder if this counts:
Paradise by the Dashboard Light...Meatloaf


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bernices bernices
 
February 28, 2009 03:45 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wbmbr7ZCDrE

"Little Girl" by John Michael Montgomery. I cried like an idiot the first time I heard it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Kqk7oSLzE
And this one too, "Letter From Home," also by John Michael Montgomery.

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bbrookin bbrookin
 
February 28, 2009 03:57 AM
There Were Roses, by Tommy Sand. Makes me sad every time. But a good sad.


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drmatt drmatt
 
February 28, 2009 04:03 AM
You fools! There's only one...

Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada Song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVdhZwK7cS8

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dumblonde dumblonde
 
February 28, 2009 04:34 AM
Good one!
But wait, I thought this song was by Jimmy Buffett... Is there any reason I would have thought that or am I wayyyyy off?

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demanda demanda
 
February 28, 2009 04:55 AM
@dumblonde I don't think Jimmy Buffett has ever recorded this song. Maybe you're thinking about Margaritaville?

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dumblonde dumblonde
 
February 28, 2009 05:09 AM
@demanda I'm pretty sure I'm wrong. But when I googled it a lot of people seem to think it's Buffett. Maybe it's just a common misconception.

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chefhenry chefhenry
 
February 28, 2009 07:03 AM
Jimmy Buffet has a song called "If you like Pina Coladas" or at least that is the way I have it listed on my iPod, my entry doesn't have an album listed. Don't know for sure, but I bet there are a couple of songs with similar titles.

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demanda demanda
 
February 28, 2009 08:06 AM
@chefhenry The "if you like pina coladas song" is the same song in this answer. It's definitely not Jimmy Buffett. He is from Mississippi, and I am pretty sure this Rupert Holmes guy is British. I think the song has just been mislabeled a lot because it's about alcohol, just as many of Buffett's songs are.

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easyeboy easyeboy
 
February 28, 2009 04:07 AM
The Killers When You Were Young


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demanda demanda
 
February 28, 2009 04:12 AM
One of my favorite "story songs" is the song Harper Valley P.T.A. by Jeannie C. Riley. There are several reasons why I love it. First of all, my mom used to sing it to me all the time when I was a little girl. I am not sure why I loved it so much as a kid because I had no idea what it was about. I think I just liked that it was about a mom and daughter.

As I got older and heard the song, I liked it because of its message about small-town hypocrisy, which I can definitely relate to. Plus, in the song, Harper Valley is a Jr. High School, and I now teach 8th grade so it's perfect!

I totally forgot that there was a movie until I found this video for the song. I must Netflix it now. =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ivUOnnstpg

Here are the lyrics, which are entertaining in their own right:
http://www.lyricsdir.com/jeannie-c-riley-harper-valley-p-t-a-lyrics.html

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coach-b coach-b
 
February 28, 2009 04:43 AM
My vote goes to The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" which was recorded (believe it or not) in 1966-- so, it has endured for more than 40 years, that's 2 generations now , close to 3, and even finds itself at the heart of the Las Vegas amazing show, "Love," by Cirque de Soleil. Seriously, is there any other "story song" in the history of music that has had this kind of impact? It is the "magnum opus" of the Beatles' songbook and was a turning point in the influence it had on music.

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gonzojoe gonzojoe
 
February 28, 2009 09:08 AM
"Sgt. Pepper's..." as an album definitely marks the transition in the overall mood, feeling, and style from early Beatles to late Beatles. But I would argue that "Day in the Life" is a much better story song from the very same album.

That's mostly a matter of taste though. They're both good story songs.

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lebeq lebeq
 
February 28, 2009 04:45 AM
Vincent (also known as Starry Starry Night, by Don McLean. It tells the story of Vincent Van Gogh.

Source(s):
http://www.don-mclean.com/?p=107


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dumblonde dumblonde
 
February 28, 2009 05:08 AM
Space Oddity - David Bowie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhSYbRiYwTY

And then. A NSFW song but that tells a compelling story.
Date Rape - Sublime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2sg4Eme-BQ

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gonzojoe gonzojoe
 
February 28, 2009 09:01 AM
"This is ground control to Major Tom..."

I still get goosebumps. Bowie is a master.

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andrewtess... andrewtess...
 
February 28, 2009 05:15 AM
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald

I mean come on... It is Gordon Lightfoot!
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Edmund_Fitzgerald


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chefhenry chefhenry
 
February 28, 2009 06:14 AM
For years I would have said American Pie was the best story song, then so many others came along that have a message to tell, Biko by Peter Gabriel; If I Had a Rocket Launcher, Bruce Cockburn; and One in Ten, by UB40 come to mind as powerful stories to hear. Guess I got older and more bitter at the things that happen in this world sometimes and far too often.

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gonzojoe gonzojoe
 
February 28, 2009 08:50 AM
I grew up on country music. It's not something I'm particularly proud of, but being the child of conservative Christian parents, it was the only secular music I could rationalize as not being from the mouth of the Devil himself. With that in mind, please know that I was happy to simply read the responses to this question and maybe comment on one or two of them. But when I saw (and compulsorily played) "Love, me," I couldn't keep my eyes from welling up.

And so I must answer with a song from my shameful country music past that still causes my eyes to water.

Don't Take the Girl, by Tim McGraw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP1G5i5q-hk

It's terribly contrived. It's unrepentantly sappy and sentimental. It's everything that I would hate in a song if I heard it today.

But I didn't hear it today. I heard it when I was twelve.

And I suppose that makes all the difference.

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rosshann rosshann
 
February 28, 2009 11:22 AM
MacArthur Park, written by Jimmy Webb and performed by Richard Harris. Jimmy is an amazing story teller.

Source(s):
http://www.jimmywebb.com/jimmy.html


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nushka nushka
 
March 01, 2009 02:52 PM
I'll give it a Helpful Answer point just to listen Richard Harris sing.

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arjo arjo
 
February 28, 2009 11:43 AM
Dire Straits - Telegraph Road
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0cvL8KsHI
lyrics:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dire+straits/telegraph+road_20040667.html
Source(s):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj0cvL8KsHI


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jfinke jfinke
 
February 28, 2009 01:10 PM
The best story song has got to be "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel.


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drmatt drmatt
 
February 28, 2009 02:43 PM
Mmm... two stories in one song! Nice.

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interzone interzone
 
February 28, 2009 01:41 PM
Candy Says! Arguably, one of the most beautiful songs written by Lou Reed - a master storyteller, to be sure.

Here is a particularly touching version of it, tender, reflective, deeply felt interpretation by Antony Hegarty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em7gC0bq_aM

Candy says I've come to hate my body
and all that it requires in this world
Candy says I'd like to know completely
what others so discreetly talk about

I'm gonna watch the blue birds fly over my shoulder
I'm gonna watch them pass me by
Maybe when I'm older
What do you think I'd see
If I could walk away from me

Candy says I hate the quiet places
that cause the smallest taste of what will be
Candy says I hate those big decisions
that cause endless revisions in my mind
Source(s):
Lou Reed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed

Antony Hegarty:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_Hegarty


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meatstack meatstack
 
February 28, 2009 02:11 PM
For story songs, Harry Chapin only did story stongs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Chapin

His music sounds a little dated by today's standards, but some of the best are:WOLDMr. Tanner Flowers are Red
Source(s):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l0fH0dRUow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea6cgfU8bC4&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noVC5Jt2Gu8&feature=related


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robotech_m... robotech_m...
 
February 28, 2009 03:50 PM
Ocean Gypsy. This song moves me to tears every time I hear it.

Blackmore's Night version –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83gss8sAaCc (embedding disabled) No video other than a looping ocean wave, but it has the complete lyrics.

The original version is by Renaissance; the only version of theirs I can find on YouTube is part of this live concert medley:



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chazzyfen chazzyfen
 
February 28, 2009 08:00 PM
The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
I couldn't find the song, but I've got the lyrics.
Source(s):
http://home.pacbell.net/chabpyne/lyrics.html


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