logo Sign In

Songs That Tell a Story — Page 2

Author
Time

I second Captainsolo's suggestion of The Who's rock operas.  While Quadrophenia tells a story, it's pretty hard to follow, whereas "A Quick One, While He's Away" and Tommy are a bit more straightforward.

I'll also throw in two moe. songs, "Mexico" (from the album Headseed) and "Kyle's Song" (from Wormwood).

"Mexico" tells the (mostly true, partly embellished) story of one of the band members getting arrested while in Mexico, and "Kyle's Song" tells the story of a friend of the band getting hit by a car after one of their gigs.

Also, Fleet Foxes' "He Doesn't Know Why" (from their self-titled LP), which tells the story of one of the band members' brothers, who descended into drugs and hasn't been heard from since.

Finally, Grandaddy's "Jed the Humanoid" (from The Sophtware Slump), which tells the story of an android falling into a deep depression and drinking itself to death due to its makers forgetting it when newer technologies render it obsolete.

That's all I can think of at the moment, from three of my current-favorite bands.

moe.
"Mexico"
Can't find a studio or non-crappy live version of "Kyle's Song" on Youtube.

Fleet Foxes
"He Doesn't Know Why"

Grandaddy
"Jed the Humanoid"

Author
Time

Gordon Is A Moron by Jilted John.

Gordon Is A Moron

I've been going out with a girl,

Her name is Julie,

But last night she said to me when we were watching telly (this is what she said),

She said listen John I love you,  

But there's this bloke I fancy,

I don't want to two time you So its the end for you and me,  

Who's this bloke I asked her,

Gordon she replied

Not That puff?

I said in dismay,  

Yes but he's no puff she cried - he's more a man than you'll ever be,  

(Here we go, two three four)

I was so upset that I cried all the way to the chip shop,  

When I came out there was Gordon standing at the bus stop,  

And guess who was with him Yeah Julie- and they were both laughing at me oh,

She is cruel and heartless to pack me for Gordon,

Just cos he's better looking than me just cos he's cool and trendy,  

but I know he's a moron,

Gordon is a moron,

Gordon is a moron,

Gordon is a moron, 

(Here we go, two three four)

Oh she's a slag,

And he's a creep,

She's a tart,

He's very cheap,

She is a slut,

He thinks he's tough,

She is a bitch,

He is a puff,

Yeah yeah, it's not fair Yeah yeah, it's not fair (I'm so upset),

I'm so upset, I'm so upset, yeah yeah,

(I ought to smash his face in.)

(Yeah, but he's bigger than me. In't he?)

(I know, I'll get my mate Barry to hit him. He'd flatten him)

(Yeah but Barry's a mate of Gordon's in'e?)

(Oh well, I don't care)

I don't care,

I don't care,

Cause she's a slag,

And he's a creep,

she's a tart,

he's very cheap,

she is a slut,

he thinks he's tough...... 

Author
Time

Band: The Dead Milkmen
Album: Beelzebubba

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000003BHO.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Song: Stuart

Any song that is unafraid to discuss the underground homosexual population of Des Moines, Iowa in relation to landing strips for gay Martians is ok with me.

Author
Time

"She's leaving home"

by The Beatles

Wednesday morning at five o'clock 
as the day begins 
Silently closing her bedroom door 
Leaving the note that she hoped would say more 
She goes downstairs to the kitchen 
clutching her handkerchief 
Quietly turning the back door key 
Stepping outside she is free 

She (we gave her most of our lives) 
is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives) 
home (we gave her everything money could buy) 
She's leaving home after living alone for 
so many years (bye bye) 

Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown 
Picks up the letter that's lying there 
Standing alone at the top of the stairs 
She breaks down and cries to her husband 
Daddy our baby's gone 
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly 
How could she do this to me 

She (We never thought of ourselves) 
is leaving (never a thought for ourselves) 
home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by) 
She's leaving home after living alone for 
so many years (bye bye) 

Friday morning at nine o'clock she is far away 
Waiting to keep the appointment she made 
Meeting a man from the motor trade 

She (what did we do that was wrong) 
is having (we didn't know it was wrong) 
fun (fun is the one thing that money can't buy) 
Something inside that was always denied for 
so many years (bye bye) 
She's leaving home (bye bye) 

I fuckin' love this song.

Author
Time

 

Thela Hun Ginjeet

 

Well, first of all
I couldn't even see his face.
I couldn't see his face.
He was holding a gun in his hand.
Umm... I was thinking...
This is a dangerous place..
This is a dangerous place..

I said
I'm nervous as hell from this stuff. I thought those guys were going to kill me for sure. They ganged up on me like that. I couldn't believe it.

Look, I'm still shakin'. Weird. There out in the streets like that. It's a dangerous place. It's a dangerous place.

So
Suddenly
These two guys appear in front of me.
They stopped.
Real aggressive.
Start at me
You know.
What's that?
What's that on that tape?
What do you got there?"
I said
Huh?
They said
What are you talking into that for?
I said
It's just a tape, you know
Well play it for me
I said "oh no"
I put it off as long as I could.
And finally they turned it on
You know
They grabbed it from me.
Took it away from me.
Turned it on.
And it said
He held a gun in his hand. This is a dangerous place.
They said
What dangerous place?
What gun?
You're a policeman!
And the deeper I talked
The worse I got into it.
I talked
I told him... I said

Look man, I'm not talkin'....
It went on forever.
Anyway
I finally unbuttoned my shirt
And said

Look, look... I'm in this band, you know, I'm in this band you know,and we're makin' a recording, you know. It's about New York City, it's about crime in the streets...
The explanation was going nowhere
But

Finally
They just kinda let me go.
I don't know why.
So I walk around the corner

And I'm like shakin' like a leaf
And I thought
This is a dangerous place.
Who should appear
But two policeman.

Forum Moderator
Author
Time

TV's Frink said:

Band: The Dead Milkmen
Album: Beelzebubba

 

Song: Stuart

Any song that is unafraid to discuss the underground homosexual population of Des Moines, Iowa in relation to landing strips for gay Martians is ok with me.

 My friend Stuart hates that song.

4 reel life.

IT'S MY TRILOGY, AND I WANT IT NOW!

"[George Lucas] rebooted the franchise in 1997 without telling anyone." -skyjedi2005

"Yeah, well, George says a lot of things..." a young 1997 xhonzi on RASSM

"They're my movies." -George Lucas. 19 people won oscars for their work on Star Wars (1977) and George Lucas wasn't one of them.

Rewrite the Prequels!

 

Author
Time
 (Edited)

El Paso by Marty Robbins

Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl.
Night-time would find me in Rosa's cantina;
Music would play and Felina would whirl.

Blacker than night were the eyes of Felina,
Wicked and evil while casting a spell.
My love was deep for this Mexican maiden;
I was in love but in vain, I could tell.

One night a wild young cowboy came in,
Wild as the West Texas wind.
Dashing and daring, A drink he was sharing
With wicked Felina, the girl that I loved.

So in anger I challenged his right for the love of this maiden.
Down went his hand for the gun that he wore.
My challenge was answered in less than a heart-beat;
The handsome young stranger lay dead on the floor.

Just for a moment I stood there in silence,
Shocked by the FOUL EVIL deed I had done.
Many thoughts raced through my mind as I stood there;
I had but one chance and that was to run.

Out through the back door of Rosa's I ran,
Out where the horses were tied.
I caught a good one, it looked like it could run.
Up on its back and away I did ride,

Just as fast as I could from the West Texas town of El Paso
Out to the bad-lands of New Mexico.

Back in El Paso my life would be worthless.
Everything's gone in life; nothing is left.
It's been so long since I've seen the young maiden
My love is stronger than my fear of death.

I saddled up and away I did go,
Riding alone in the dark.
Maybe tomorrow a bullet may find me.
Tonight nothing's worse than this pain in my heart.

And at last here I am on the hill overlooking El Paso;
I can see Rosa's cantina below.
My love is strong and it pushes me onward.
Down off the hill to Felina I go.

Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys;
Off to my left ride a dozen or more.
Shouting and shooting I can't let them catch me.
I have to make it to Rosa's back door.

Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel
A deep burning pain in my side.
Though I am trying to stay in the saddle,
I'm getting weary, unable to ride.

But my love for Felina is strong and I rise where I've fallen,
Though I am weary I can't stop to rest.
I see the white puff of smoke from the rifle.
I feel the bullet go deep in my chest.

From out of nowhere Felina has found me,
Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side.
Cradled by two loving arms that I'll die for,
One little kiss and Felina, good-bye.

Author
Time

Long Black Veil by Lefty Frizzell

Ten years ago, on a cold dark night,
Someone was killed 'neath the town hall light.
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed
That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me.

CHORUS:
She walks these hills in a long, black veil.
She visits my grave when the night winds wail.
Nobody knows, nobody sees, nobody knows but me.

The judge said, "Son, what is your alibi?
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die."
I spoke not a word, although it meant my life,
For I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife.

The scaffold was high and eternity near,
She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear.
But sometimes at night when the cold wind moans,
In a long black veil, she cries o'er my bones.

Author
Time

Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton

In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

[Chorus:]
We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.

We looked down the river and we see'd the British come.
And there must have been a hundred of'em beatin' on the drum.
They stepped so high and they made the bugles ring.
We stood by our cotton bales and didn't say a thing.

[Chorus]

Old Hickory said we could take 'em by surprise
If we didn't fire our muskets 'til we looked 'em in the eye
We held our fire 'til we see'd their faces well.
Then we opened up with squirrel guns and really gave 'em ... well

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.
So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.
We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind
And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

[Chorus]

Yeah, they ran through the briars and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go.
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.**

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's an extremely elaborate "music video" from the late 50's with actors behind a singing Johnny Horton acting out the song. It was from a live television broadcast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRK3DNoa_Q

 

Author
Time
 (Edited)

One from Noel Coward more recently covered by the Divine Comedy :

You know, quite for no reason,

I'm here for the season,

And high as a kite,

Living in error with Maud at Cap Ferret (which couldn't be right)... 

Everyone's here, and frightfully gay,

Nobody cares what people say,

Though the Riviera

Seems really much queerer

than Rome at its height!

On Wednesday night.

I went to a marvelous party, 

With Noonoo, and Nada, and Nell,

It was in the fresh air,

And we went as we were,

And we stayed as we were, (which was hell),

Poor Grace started singing at midnight,

And she didn't stop singing 'til four,

We knew the excitement was bound to begin,

When Laura got blind on Dubonnet and gin,

And scratched her veneer with a Cartier pin!

I couldn't have liked it more!

I've been to a marvelous party,

We played a wonderful game,

Maureen disappeared,

And came back in a beard,

And we all had to guess at her name...

Cecil arrived wearing armour,

Some shells and a black feather boa,

Poor Millicent wore a surrealist comb,

Made of bits of mosaic from St. Peter's in Rome,

But the weight was so great that she had to go home!

And i couldn't have liked it more!

I've been to a marvelous party,

I must say the fun was intense,

We all had to do,

What the people we knew,

Might be doing a hundred years hence...

We talked about growing old gracefully,

And Elsie who's 74 said, "a) it's a question of being sincere,

 And b) if you're supple you've got nothing to fear",

Then she swung upside-down from a chandelier!

And i couldn't have liked it more!

It was the most fabulous excitement,

I've never seen such a carry-on!

Obviously, it couldn't happen anywhere nearer but on the Riviera...

It was most peculiar You know,

People's behaviour

away from Belgravia,

Would make you aghast!

So much variety,

Watching society,

Scampering past...

You know, if you have any mind at all,

Gibbon's divine "Decline And Fall",

Well, it sounds pretty flimsy No more than a whimsy...

By way of contrast,

On Wednesday last

I went to a marvelous party,

We didn't sit down 'til ten,

You know, young Bobby Carr,

Did a stunt at the bar,

With a lot of extraordinary men!

And then Freda arrived with a turtle,

(which shattered us all to the core)

And then the Duchess passed out at a quarter to three

And suddenly Cyril cried "fiddle-de-dee!",

Then he ripped off his trousers And jumped in the sea!

And i couldn't have liked it more!

I've been to a marvelous party Elyse made an entrance with May

You'd never have guessed,

 From her fisherman's vest,

That her bust had been whittled away...

Poor Lulu got fried on Chianti,

And talked about esprit de corps,

Louise made a couple of passes at Gus,

And Freddie (who hates any kind of a fuss),

did half the Big apple and twisted his truss, 

I couldn't have liked it more!  

Author
Time

Best.

Song.

Ever.

Practically.

 

Author
Time

A couple of other Noel Coward songs recently covered by popular artists with an autobiographical air :

Rehab (recently covered by Miss Amy Winehouse).

Firestarter (more recently covered by that popular music combo The Prodigy).

Author
Time

"Hurricane" by Bob Dylan (whether you believe his interpretation of the story or not isn't relevant for what we're talking about).

Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy wrote:

Pistols shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out "My God they killed them all"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Three bodies lying there does Patty see
And another man named Bello moving around mysteriously
"I didn't do it" he says and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbing the register I hope you understand
I saw them leaving" he says and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops"
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashing
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are driving around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Patterson that's just the way things go
If you're black you might as well not shown up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the corps
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowling around
He said "I saw two men running out they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates"
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said "Wait a minute boys this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the morning and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dying eye
Says "Wha'd you bring him in here for ? He ain't the guy !"
Yes here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For something that he never done
Put in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Four months later the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America fighting for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are putting the screws to him looking for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar ?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law ?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter you saw running that night ?"
"Don't forget that you are white".

Arthur Dexter Bradley said "I'm really not sure"
Cops said "A boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talking to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail be a nice fellow
You'll be doing society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and getting braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim".

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It's my work he'd say and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The DA said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder 'one' guess who testified
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand ?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That's the story of the Hurricane
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put him in a prison cell but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

Pike & Tin'o Tuna Chopper

I was layin`in the front yard yesterday

I thought I heard a noise coming my way

I turned and looked and much to my surprise

There he stood with a chopper by his side

Ooh the man and the chopper

A king and queen seater

It had a sissy bar with a scorpion on the back

He said they call me it and that`s what I am

I`ve been ridin`for a week and tired I am

Food and drink would really be kind of nice

But some down home lovin`would be just outta sight

Ohh the man with the chopper

A king and queen seater

It had a sissy bar with scorpion on the back

I said come here cause I dug him at first sight

I said you`re just the kind of guest I need tonight

He ate and drank to heart's delight,

And acted like he`d been there all his life

He took me in his arms so gently

Kissed my face all over from cheek to cheek

Oooh the man and the chopper

A king and queen seater

It had a sissy bar with a scorpion on the back

He made cold chills run up and down my spine

I did what I could to try to make the chopper mine

But I woke up the next morning in the time to see

The chopper pullin` out and leavin` me

Oooh it was the man and the chopper

A king and queen seater

It had a sissy bar with a scorpion on the back.

Author
Time

http://notimefortrivia.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/get-to-the-choppa.jpg

 

Nice bump, btw.  I forgot about this thread.

Author
Time

Space Oddity - David Bowie

Space Oddity said:

Ground control to major Tom

Ground control to major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
(Ten) Ground control (Nine) to major Tom (Eight)
(Seven, six) Commencing countdown (Five), engines on (Four)
(Three, two) Check ignition (One) and may gods (Blastoff) love be with you

This is ground control to major Tom, you've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare

This is major Tom to ground control, I'm stepping through the door
And I'm floating in a most peculiar way
And the stars look very different today
Here am I floatin' 'round my tin can far above the world
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do

Though I'm past one hundred thousand miles, I'm feeling very still
And I think my spaceship knows which way to go
Tell my wife I love her very much, she knows
Ground control to major Tom, your circuits dead, there's something wrong
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you hear me, major Tom?
Can you...
Here am I sitting in my tin can far above the Moon
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do
Author
Time

^ A bit obvious though.

Repetition for example is Bowie telling a very everyday story and capturing the full banal horror of it.