Songs that tell a story....

[lost-in-nj]

of course Leader of the pack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWu830dGCxU&mode=related&search=

A REALLY cheesy video to Buffy the Vampire Slayer
BUT it has XANDER in it...... nuff said


angel and spike are missed

but this is Xander.....

lost
so whats your song that tells a story???



:hi: :hi:

[krispos42]

1. "Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota"

One of Weird Al's best.

[lost-in-nj]

4. OK I'll look it up

thanks

:hi:


lost

[lizziegrace]

2. Taxi

Harry Chapin

He was the best at storytelling. :)

[lost-in-nj]

5. Yes this is a given

it has my name in it and an old boyfriends name

it has a little meaning to it

:toast:

lost

[lizziegrace]

8. It does have

"our" name in it...

:P

[bridgit]

3. Charlie On The MTA: New Version...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujufZnN_uho&mode=related&search=

[lost-in-nj]

6. Cool!!

Thanks for this


:hi:

lost

[bridgit]

15. forgot to put in there: The Kingston Trio...

:hi:

[taterguy]

7. I like story songs where you don't know exactly what happened or why

Ben Folds Five Missing the War

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mWWNEEc12fY

The Lemonheads It's A Shame About Ray

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kAW-zGeffAo

[lost-in-nj]

10. WOW

Thanks

love them both!!!!



:hi:

lost

[NMDemDist2]

9. Lyin Eyes by the Eagles is a good one n/t

[lost-in-nj]

26. This song is awesome

I do have a personal problem with it though.....
can't say, if anyone I know looks they would know who I am

thanks


lost

[Omphaloskepsis]

11. The guy from The Streets stole a microphone during a interview on the BBC..

A mix up of a Bloc Party song and also about the theft and the return of the microphone.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WQGOEXwutDY

[ghostsofgiants]

16. Mike Skinner's lyrics usually tell stories.

That's great though.

[Omphaloskepsis]

19. Ahh, so you are probably where I discovered The Streets from..

I want to get a t-shirt (they are subtle and well designed). But, they are 30 USD. That is a little steep.

[ghostsofgiants]

20. Possibly, I love The Streets.

"A Grand Don't Come For Free" is one of my favourite hip-hop-esque albums ever, haha. I've never seen their shirts, link me.

[Omphaloskepsis]

25. Linkage..

http://www.bandmad.com/store/page4.asp?suptype=1&t=17&sub_type=269&prod_id=1765&col=30¤cy=4

That is from a link from official site and not a knock off. Considering that I got all of the albums from torrents I really should buy one and send some cash his way.

[ghostsofgiants]

27. That is nice.

[SPKrazy]

12. Oh Valencia

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Ad7XFStuB8
The Decemberists: "O Valencia"

[triguy46]

13. "Ruby, don't take your love to town"

"And if I could move I'd get my gun
And put her in the ground"

[ghostsofgiants]

14. "Children's Story" by Slick Rick seems like an obvious choice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRC4ziQpb5I

[Omphaloskepsis]

22. Two hip-hop songs in a single thread...

Hold on tight.. This could be a shitstorm.

And Slick Rick is awesome.. When you skate do you notice a difference depending on what you are listening to? When I listen to punk I am more aggressive and try bigger tricks that lack finesse. With hip-hop I find that I am more technical. I try to do clean tricks that are small with lots of horizontal rotation.

[ghostsofgiants]

24. I definitely notice that.

Which is why I prefer to skate to hip-hop. I'm more relaxed and tend to hit tricks more consistently.

[SPKrazy]

17. Love at the five and dime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwevqcForgM
Nanci Griffith - Love at the Five and Dime

Love at the Five and Dime
Rita was sixteen years
Hazel eyes and chestnut hair
She made the Woolworth counter shine
And Eddie was a sweet romancer
And a darn good dancer
And they waltzed the aisles of the five and dime
CHORUS:
And they'd sing
Dance a little closer to me
Hey, dance a little closer now
Dance a little closer tonight
Dance a little closer to me
Hey, it's closing time
And love's on sale
Tonight at this five and dime
verse:
Eddie played the steel guitar
And his mama cried 'cause he played in the bars
And he kept young Rita out late at night
Soon they married up in Abelene
Lost a child in Tennessee
But still that love survived
CHORUS
One of the boys in Eddie's band
Took a shine to Rita's hand
So , Eddie ran off with the bass man's wife
Oh, but he was back by June
Singin' a different tune
Sporting Miss Rita back by his side
CHORUS
Eddie played in the barroom band
'Til arthritis took his hands
Now he sells insurance on the side
And Rita's got her house to keep
She sells dime store novels with a love so sweet
And they dance to the radio late at night and still sing
CHORUS

[lost-in-nj]

18. Wow

I love this song


thanks

:hug:

lost

[SPKrazy]

21. I'm glad...

you like it...

:hug:

[idgiehkt]

23. Ain't life a brook - Ferron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgf4aW9Vqcg (fanvid)

about a break-up...

it was harder to find a story song than I thought. :hi:

[lost-in-nj]

28. Another one

but could not find a decent youtube


Teen angel, teen angel, teen angel, ooh, ooh

That fateful night the car was stalled
upon the railroad track
I pulled you out and we were safe
but you went running back

Teen angel, can you hear me
Teen angel, can you see me
Are you somewhere up above
And I am still your own true love

What was it you were looking for
that took your life that night
They said they found my high school ring
clutched in your fingers tight

Teen angel, can you hear me
Teen angel, can you see me
Are you somewhere up above
And I am still your own true love

Just sweet sixteen, and now you're gone
They've taken you away.
I'll never kiss your lips again
They buried you today

Teen angel, can you hear me
Teen angel, can you see me
Are you somewhere up above
And I am still your own true love
Teen angel, teen angel, answer me, please



lost

[SoCalDem]

29. Almost every "Dead Teenager" song of the 50's & 60's

my personal favorite is "30K pounds of Bananas on the PA Turnpike"

It was just after dark when the truck started down
the hill that leads into Scranton Pennsylvania.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds (hit it Big John) of bananas.

He was a young driver,
just out on his second job.
And he was carrying the next day's pasty fruits
for everyone in that coal-scarred city
where children play without despair
in backyard slag-piles and folks manage to eat each day
about thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, just about thirty thousand pounds (scream it again, John) .

He passed a sign that he should have seen,
saying "shift to low gear, a fifty dollar fine my friend."
He was thinking perhaps about the warm-breathed woman
who was waiting at the journey's end.
He started down the two mile drop,
the curving road that wound from the top of the hill.
He was pushing on through the shortening miles that ran down to the depot.
Just a few more miles to go,
then he'd go home and have her ease his long, cramped day away.
and the smell of thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes the smell of thirty thousand pounds of bananas.

He was picking speed as the city spread its twinkling lights below him.
But he paid no heed as the shivering thoughts of the nights
delights went through him.
His foot nudged the brakes to slow him down.
But the pedal floored easy without a sound.
He said "Christ!"
It was funny how he had named the only man who could save him now.
He was trapped inside a dead-end hellslide,
riding on his fear-hunched back
was every one of those yellow green
I'm telling you thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of bananas.

He barely made the sweeping curve that led into the steepest grade.
And he missed the thankful passing bus at ninety miles an hour.
And he said "God, make it a dream!"
as he rode his last ride down.
And he said "God, make it a dream!"
as he rode his last ride down.
And he sideswiped nineteen neat parked cars,
clipped off thirteen telephone poles,
hit two houses, bruised eight trees,
and Blue-Crossed seven people.
it was then he lost his head,
not to mention an arm or two before he stopped.
And he slid for four hundred yards
along the hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania.
All those thirty thousand pounds of bananas.

You know the man who told me about it on the bus,
as it went up the hill out of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
he shrugged his shoulders, he shook his head,
and he said (and this is exactly what he said)
"Boy that sure must've been something.
Just imagine thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of mashed bananas.
Of bananas. Just bananas. Thirty thousand pounds.
of Bananas. not no driver now. Just bananas!"

[lost-in-nj]

32. They made a movie

about the "dead teenager"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089265/


lost

[Joe Fields]

30. A Boy Named Sue, by Johnny Cash

[KinkyDem]

79. nope ...

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

[opiate69]

31. Otherwise known as a "ballad"..

Yes, contrary to popular usage, "ballad" does not mean "annoying, slow, overly sentimental love song". B-)
So, here's a Viking Ballad by the band Tyr:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=97lxvrKC-nI

[lost-in-nj]

33. OMG

beautiful


THANK YOU!!!!
This is why I LOVE music threads on du
the diversity


wow


lost

[opiate69]

35. Yeah.. that video takes bad-assery to a whole new level, no?

[HuskerDU]

34. Stagger Lee

Just heard that one on random play.

[Orrex]

45. Which version?

There've been hundreds!

[HuskerDU]

49. Lloyd Price

[mcscajun]

36. 30,000 Pounds Of Bananas

Harry Chapin

I see the lyrics were already posted. The tune is best on the "Greatest Stories Live" album, with the "L.A. Memorial Choir" and his brothers on stage.

Bizarre that Chapin met his end on the Long Island Expressway. :(

[opiate69]

37. Another Ballad from the band Tyr.. the Irish standard "Wild Rover"

Yes, a band from the Faroe Islands, playing the Irish drinking song.. go figure..

http://youtube.com/watch?v=leVxwYdteJs
(no video though.. just a blank screen..)

[GenDem]

38. John Prine's Sam Stone -- makes me cry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OwEyXFhZ9g
Sam Stone
©John Prine

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.

Chorus:
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

Repeat Chorus:

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.


and this one about aging--
Hello in There
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_7rKltSy4g
We had an apartment in the city,
Me and Loretta liked living there.
Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown,
A life of their own left us alone.
John and Linda live in Omaha,
And Joe is somewhere on the road.
We lost Davy in the Korean war,
And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore.

Chorus:
Ya' know that old trees just grow stronger,
And old rivers grow wilder ev'ry day.
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello."

Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more,
She sits and stares through the back door screen.
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen.
Someday I'll go and call up Rudy,
We worked together at the factory.
But what could I say if asks "What's new?"
"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do."

Repeat Chorus:

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes,
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare
As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello."

I always think of Prine as the consumate story teller.
Can anyone listen to these two songs and NOT get choked up?

[HuskerDU]

39. Uneasy Rider

The tale of a hippie driving through the south in the late 60s. By Charlie Daniels!

[hippywife]

40. Three, no four, come to mind right off.

Dave Alvin "King of California"
Tom Russell "Navajo Rug"
John Prine "Lake Marie"
Joe Ely "The Road Goes on Forever" (yes, I know it's REK's song, I like Joe's live version better!)

Okay, five...

Slaid Cleaves "Breakfast in Hell"

All incredibly great songs by incredibly talented musicians.

[Arugula Latte]

41. Out in the West Texas town of El Paso ...

I fell in love with a Mexican girl ...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8jaIw2DekMs

[Faygo Kid]

42. Ode to Billie Joe

What the hell did they throw off the Tallahatchee Bridge, anyway? I'm guessing it was. . .

[Esra Star]

50. You read my mind. What did they throw off that bridge? nt

[last_texas_dem]

74. The song's author, Bobbie Gentry, has refused to answer

She said the main point of the song was to illustrate how most of the family (the exception being the daughter) is sitting around the table very casually discussing the guy's death and it having very little effect on them emotionally. But, kind of like "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon, she has always refused to reveal the answer to the main question about the song that most people are curious about. And, she's essentially retired from the industry altogher almost thirty years ago, so that may make it more unlikely she'll ever say.

I did see most of the movie that they made about it back in the mid-seventies. In the movie, the girl and Billie Joe throw a rag doll off of the bridge, and he jumps off of the bridge later because he can't come to terms with being gay.

[Democrats_win]

43. The Wild Wood Flower

Enjoy this funny story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKym33vK1cs

[lost-in-nj]

64. Great story

I have one that ties into it a little

Late Jan of this year I needed to buy a calender. So I went to the kiosk in the mall and they were
actually packing them up... I looked around and the pickings were slim, fish, trucks, some breed of dog I didn't likethen I found one that said Big Buds... look at the pictures on the back and thought they were
exotic flowers.....
My friend came over for dinner and noticed the picture that was up and he said "lost is that a pot calender?" I said no its exotic flowers, well he started ROFLHAO and said NNOOOOOO its a pot calender.....

so I started reading the little explanation and damn if its not a pot calender

its hanging on my wall, it actually is a pretty cool plant....
I have pictures of all the stages :P :P


lost

[ThoughtCriminal]

44. Uneasy Rider

Charlie Daniels

.
.
.
Now the last thing I wanted was to get into a fight
In Jackson Mississippi on a Saturday night
Especially when there was three of them and only one of me

I was almost to the door when the biggest one
Said, "You tip your hat to this lady, son!"
And when I did, all that hair fell out from underneath

They all started laughin and I felt kinda sick
And I knew I better think of something pretty quick
So I just reached out and kicked old green teeth right in the knee

Now he let out a yell that'd curl yer hair
But before he could move I grabbed me a chair
And said "Now watch him Folks cause he's a fairly dangerous man!"

"You may not know it but this man is a spy.
He's a undercover agent for the FBI
And he's been sent down here to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan!"
.
.
.

[bikebloke]

46. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

I'm familiar with the Pogues version. A story about the futility of war. Though it refers to the Great War, it can be applied to all.

[mitchum]

47. "The Kids" Lou Reed

[Catchawave]

48. Cat's in the Cradle

Not only a great story, but predicts the future, trust me :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLzMw5hKoVk

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

51. "The Highwayman" by Loreena McKennitt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVQF_RXHlX0

[hibbing]

52. Bob Dylan

Shelter from the storm

Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues - Funny one

Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts - Strange one
Motopsycho Nightmare - Anothe funny one
Romance in Durango - Mucho Excellente
Boots of Spanish Leather - Fantastic
Drifter's Escape - Short and sweet story..while everyone knelt down to pray, the drifter did escape!
Eternal Circle - A real story song, I presume from a real life event.
Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - True story
Arthur McBride - cover

And to throw in a non Dylan song..
Mary Caughlan - Country Fair Dance...live version is hilarious!

Enough to get you started..

Peace

[LibraLiz1973]

53. How about Pearl Jam, Jeremy?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7uc-p8fbyEM


At home
Drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
Dead lay in pools of maroon below
Daddy didn't give attention
To the fact that mommy didn't care
King Jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Clearly I remember
Pickin' on the boy
Seemed a harmless little fuck
But we unleashed a lion
Gnashed his teeth
And bit the recessed lady's breast
How could i forget
He hit me with a surprise left
My jaw left hurtin
Dropped wide open
Just like the day
Like the day i heard
Daddy didn't give affection
And the boy was something mommy wouldn't wear
King jeremy the wicked
Ruled his world
Jeremy spoke in class today
Jeremy spoke in class today
Try to forget this...
Try to erase this...
From the blackboard.

[stuntcat]

54. 'The Tigers Have Spoken' by Neko Case

I can't tell the story without crying though :cry:

[rug]

55. Society's Child

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW_rYLoIR08

[LibraLiz1973]

56. Looking Glass classic- Brandy

http://youtube.com/watch?v=oR0oHQxlzGs


There's a port on a western bay
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes

And there's a girl, in this harbor town
And she works, laying whiskey down
They say "Brandy, fetch another round"
She serves them whiskey and wine

The sailors say "Brandy, you're a fine girl
What a good wife you would be
Yeah your eyes could steal a sailor
From the sea."

Brandy, wears a braided chain
Made of finest silver from the north of Spain
A locket, that bears the name
Of a man that Brandy loved

He came, on a summer's day
Bringing gifts, from far away
But he made it clear, he couldn't stay
No harbor was his home

The sailors said "Brandy, you're a fine girl
What a good wife you would be
But my life, my lover, my lady
Is the sea."

Yeah Brandy used to watch his eyes when he told his sailor's story
She could feel the ocean fall and rise, she saw it's raging glory
But he had always told the truth, Lord he was an honest man
And Brandy does her best to understand

At night, when the bars close down
Brandy walks through a silent town
And loves a man, who's not around
She still can hear him say, she hears him say

"Brandy, you're a fine girl
What a good wife you would be
But my life, my lover, my lady
Is the sea"

"Brandy, you're a fine girl
What a good wife you would be
But my life, my lover, my lady
Is the sea"

[LibraLiz1973]

57. Grandmaster Flash- White Lines

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yGFn-Q_FN44


Ooh White, White
Ooh White, White
Ooh White, White

(Ooh White Lines) Vision dreams of passion
(Blowin’ through my mind) and all the while I think of you
(High price) a very strange reaction
(For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
(Something like a phenomenon) Baby!
(Tellin your body to come along, but white lines blow away)
(Blow! Rock it! Blow!)

Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell all your friends, they can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound costs more than gold
The longer you stay, the more you pay
My white lines go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothin to gain except killin’ your brain

(Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock!)
(Blow!)

(Ahhh) Higher, baby
(Ahhh) Get higher, baby!
(Ahhh) Get higher, baby!
And don't ever come down! (Freebase!)

Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
Rang dang diggedy dang di-dang
Diggedy dang di-dang diggedy dang di-dang

(Pipeline) pure as the driven snow
(Connected to my mind) and now I'm havin’ fun, baby!
(High price) it's getting kinda low
(Cause it makes you feel so nice) I need some one-on-one, baby!
(Don't let it blow your mind away) Baby!
(And go into your little hideaway ‘cause white lines blow away)
(Blow! )

A million magic crystals, painted pure and white
A multi-million dollars almost overnight
Twice as sweet as sugar, twice as bitter as salt
And if you get hooked, baby, it's nobody else's fault, so don't do it!

(Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock!)
Raah! (Blow!)

(Ahhh) Higher, baby
(Ahhh) Get higher, baby!
(Ahhh) Get higher, baby!
And don't ever come down! (Freebase!)

(Don’t you get too high) don’t you get too high baby!
(Turns you on) you really turn me on and on
(When you gonna come down) my temperature is risin’
(When the thrill is gone) no, I don’t want you to go

A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time
He got out three years from now just to commit more crime
A businessman is caught with 24 kilos
He’s out on bail and out of jail
And that’s the way it goes
Raah!

(Kane! Sugar! Kane! Sugar! Kane!)

Athletes rejected, governors corrected
Gangsters, thugs and smugglers are thoroughly respected
The money gets divided
The women get excited
Now I’m broke and it’s no joke
It’s hard as hell to fight it, don’t buy it!

(Freeze! Haha ha ha! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock!)
Raah! (Blow!)

(Ahhh) Get higher, baby
(Ahhh) Get higher, girl!
(Ahhh) Get higher, baby!
C’mon!
Raah!

(White Lines) Vision dreams of passion
(Blowin’ through my mind) and all the while I think of you
(High price) a very strange reaction
(For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
(Something like a phenomenon) Baby!
(Tellin your body to come along, but white lines blow away)

Little Jack Horner sitting on the corner
With no shoes and clothes
This aint funny, but he took his money
And sniffed it up his nose

(Hey man, you wanna cop some blow?)
(Sure, what you got, dust, flakes or rocks?)
(I got China White, Mother of Pearl, Ivory Flake, What you need?)
(Well yeah, well let me check it out man, just let me get a freeze)
(Go ahead man, stuff I got should kill ya!)
(Yeah man th-that’s that’s raw, wuh)

(Freeze! Haha ha ha! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock!
Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock! Freeze! Rock!)

[BurtWorm]

58. I was just listening to Cocaine Blues

by Johnny Cash.

:patriot:



Early one mornin' while makin' the rounds
I took a shot of cocaine and I shot my woman down
I went right home and I went to bed
I stuck that lovin' .44 beneath my head

Got up next mornin' and I grabbed that gun
Took a shot of cocaine and away I run
Made a good run but I ran too slow
They overtook me down in Juarez, Mexico

Late in the hot joints takin' the pills
In walked the sheriff from Jericho Hill
He said Willy Lee your name is not Jack Brown
You're the dirty heck that shot your woman down

Said yes, oh yes my name is Willy Lee
If you've got the warrant just a-read it to me
Shot her down because she made me sore
I thought I was her daddy but she had five more

When I was arrested I was dressed in black
They put me on a train and they took me back
Had no friend for to go my bail
They slapped my dried up carcass in that county jail

Early next mornin' bout a half past nine
I spied the sheriff coming down the line
Ah, and he coughed as he cleared his throat
He said come on you dirty heck into that district court

Into the courtroom my trial began
Where I was handled by twelve honest men
Just before the jury started out
I saw the little judge commence to look about

In about five minutes in walked the man
Holding the verdict in his right hand
The verdict read murder in the first degree
I hollered Lawdy Lawdy, have a mercy on me

The judge he smiled as he picked up his pen
99 years in the Folsom pen
99 years underneath that ground
I can't forget the day I shot that bad bitch down

Come on you've gotta listen unto me
Lay off that whiskey and let that cocaine be

[jgraz]

59. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[Faygo Kid]

62. That is a great choice. Visit the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

Heading back to northern Michigan for a vacation in a week, and I'm sure the song will run through my mind. I remember visiting the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in the U.P. 20 years ago, and while it was a terrific place and I want to go back, I remember they played the song over and over again. I would bet that those who worked there then don't like that song much anymore.

The Mariners' Church on Jefferson in Detroit still tolls the bell 29 times each anniversary of the wreck.

[In_The_Wind]

60. Beautiful Goodbye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2KscdxDxNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf1aSAJNtsM




Jennifer Hanson singing Beautiful Goodbye is awesome but youtube doesn't seem to have it her way ~



It's like the most amazing sunset you've ever seen
There's never another quite the same
It just falls into some deep eternal sea
Like the end of a movie that makes you cry
You're sad when it's over but you're glad you had
That moment that moved you deep inside

Beautiful goodbye,baby goodbye
I enjoyed the ride,we really had us a time
It's a strange kind of high
A beautiful goodbye

An standin' here watchin' you drive away
We were so grown up about it all
But how will it look in the light of day?
I miss you already but don't turn around
It's funny how you know when it just won't work
And how letting go can echo the sweetest sound

Beautiful goodbye,baby goodbye
I enjoyed the ride,we really had us a time
It's a strange kind of high
A beautiful goodbye

So ironic,an so confusing
To do the right thing and be losing
I'm always stuck with choosing
And ain't that just like life?
Hey yeah,hey yeah

Beautiful goodbye,baby goodbye
I enjoyed the ride,we really had us a time
It's a strange kind of high
A beautiful goodbye

[SPKrazy]

61. The Story....

done in a video for Grey's Anatomy

tells another story as well...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=U5KGX63ZANs
The story-- brandi carlile


:hi:

:hug: :hug:

[Bennyboy]

63. The Road Goes On Forever....

and the party never ends http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa2RhjKsdqE Johnny, Cash, Willie, Waylon and Kris by Robert Earl Keen.

[philosophie_en_rose]

65. The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

Just kidding.

I like Space Oddity best, especially Natalie Merchant's version.

[WinkyDink]

66. "Kisses Sweeter than Wine"---Jimmie Rodgers. Youtube:

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

[Lex]

67. "Up The Junction" by Squeeze.

Love that one.


:hi:

[speedoo]

69. John Brown by Bob Dylan.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z9ktamP2Dp8


John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore.
His mama sure was proud of him!
He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all.
His mama's face broke out all in a grin.

"Oh son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine,
You make me proud to know you hold a gun.
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get,
And we'll put them on the wall when you come home."

As that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout,
Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood:
"That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know."
She made well sure her neighbors understood.

She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile
As she showed them to the people from next door.
And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun,
And these things you called a good old-fashioned war.

Oh! Good old-fashioned war!

Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come.
They ceased to come for about ten months or more.
Then a letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train.
Your son's a-coming home from the war."

She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around
But she could not see her soldier son in sight.
But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last,
When she did she could hardly believe her eyes.

Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off
And he wore a metal brace around his waist.
He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know,
While she couldn't even recognize his face!

Oh! Lord! Not even recognize his face.

"Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done.
How is it you come to be this way?"
He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
And the mother had to turn her face away.

"Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
You thought it was the best thing I could do?
I was on the battleground, you were home . . . acting proud.
You wasn't there standing in my shoes."

"Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'.
But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
And I saw that his face looked just like mine."

Oh! Lord! Just like mine!

"And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink,
That I was just a puppet in a play.
And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke,
And a cannon ball blew my eyes away."

As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock
At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand.
But as he turned to go, he called his mother close
And he dropped his medals down into her hand.

[EstimatedProphet]

68. Grateful Dead - Jack Straw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHRRjt2lU_4

[ironflange]

70. "Big John," "Ringo"

And especially "Irving."

[jgraz]

71. "One Piece at a Time" by Johnny Cash

It's a 49, 50, 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 auto-mobile. :)

[jgraz]

72. "The Road Goes on Forever", Robert Earl Keen

[ldf]

73. "ode to billie joe"

bobbie gentry

edit to add that it had a very "haunting" mood about it...

[last_texas_dem]

75. Several from the early seventies that were big hits

"The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia", "Billy, Don't be a Hero", "The Night Chicago Died", "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves", "Half-Breed", "Indiana Wants Me", "Cat's in the Cradle", "You Don't Mess Around with Jim", "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown", "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)- which was already mentioned upthread... Some of these make a lot of people's all-time least favorites list, but I've always enjoyed the.

[Left Is Write]

76. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Warrant..."Fancy" by Bobbie Gentry.

[Left Is Write]

77. The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia

[pokerfan]

78. Warren Zevon

Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)


He was born in Big Beaver by the borderline
He started playing hockey by the time he was nine
His dad took the hose and froze the back yard
And Little Buddy dreamed he was Rocket Richard
He grew up big and he grew up tough
He saw himself scoring for the Wings or Canucks
But he wasn't that good with a puck

Buddy's real talent was beating people up
His heart wasn't in it but the crowd ate it up
Through pee-wee's and juniors, midgets and mites
He must have racked up more than three hundred fights
A scout from the flames came down from Saskatoon
Said, "There's always room on our team for a goon
Son, we've always got room for a goon"


chorus:
There were Swedes to the left of him
Russians to the right
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight
Brains over brawn--that might work for you
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do?
What else can a farm boy from Canada do?
But what's a Canadian farm boy to do?
What else can a farm boy from Canada do?

Hit somebody! was what the crowd roared
When Buddy the goon came over the boards
"Coach," he'd say, "I wanna score goals"
The coach said, "Buddy, remember your role,
The fast guys get paid, they shoot, and they score
Protect them, Buddy, that's what you're here for

Protection is what you're here for
Protection--it's the stars who score
Protection--go and kick somebody's ass
Protection--don't put the biscuit in the basket just
Hit some, Buddy! it rang in his ears
Blood on the ice ran down through the years
The king of the goons with a box for a throne
A thousand stitches and broken bones
He never lost a fight on his icy patrol
But deep inside, Buddy only dreamed of a goal
He just wanted one damn goal

(chorus)

In his final season, on his final night
Buddy and a Finn goon were pegged for a fight
Thirty seconds left, the puck took a roll
And suddenly Buddy had a shot on goal

The goalie committed, Buddy picked his spot
Twenty years of waiting went into that shot
The fans jumped up, the Finn jumped too
And cold-cocked Buddy on his followthrough
The big man crumbled but he felt all right
'Cause the last thing he saw
was the flashing red light
He saw that heavenly light

(chorus)

[mcscajun]

80. Double Play: Song that Tells a Story, and Has a Story of its own.

A hit when sung by Johnny Horton, the Battle of New Orleans was written as a teaching tool!

The melody has its roots in a well-known American fiddle tune The 8th of January, which was the date of the Battle of New Orleans. Jimmy Driftwood, a school principal in Arkansas with a passion for history, set a historical account of the battle to this music in an attempt to get students interested in learning history. It worked, and Driftwood became well known in the region for his historical songs. He was "discovered" in the late 1950s by Don Warden, and eventually signed to a recording contract by RCA, for whom he recorded 12 songs in 1958, including The Battle of New Orleans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_New_Orleans

I absolutely loved this song when it first came out, although Johnny Horton's version has a few less stanzas than the original, so some of the historical detail has been lost in it.

The Battle of New Orleans

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.

[Faygo Kid]

81. Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon

Did an 8 mm version with four dear friends in 1969 for a film class. Two gone, two disappeared. But can still remember. . .

Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota
There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon
And one day his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye Rocky didn't like that
He said I'm gonna get that boy
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon.

Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Rocky had come equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival it seems had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy.
Her name was Magil and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy.
Now she and her man who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoe down
Rocky burst in and grinning a grin
He said Danny boy this is a showdown
But Daniel was hot-he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner.

Now the doctor came in stinking of gin
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said Rocky you met your match
And Rocky said, Doc it's only a scratch
And I'll be better I'll be better doc as soon as I am able.

Now Rocky Raccoon he fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
A Gideon checked out and he left it no doubt
To help with good Rocky's revival

[WCGreen]

82. The Year of the Cat....

The Road to Moscow...

[BreweryYardRat]

83. Savatage's entire "Dead Winter Dead" album tells a cohesive story.

[Sanctified]

84. Pretty much any song from The Decemberists.

"O Valencia"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b2BzZySARo

"The Soldiering Life"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pd_nzOvgis

"Los Angeles, I'm yours"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e41ygKJ3ABk

And my personal favorite, "Sixteen Military Wives"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK3Ce9md96g

Another great song is by The Black Angels, simply it's the best anti Iraq war song ever.

First Vietnamese War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT3oe9U_L_E
"60,000 men Died, While you all Hid.
You came into our homes and you stole our kids.
You asked for more with this new war.
We said hell no, Vietnam War."

[SPKrazy]

85. don't forget the island

I agree the Decemberists are storytellers in their songs.

:woohoo:

:hi:

[Sanctified]

86. My Personal Favorite is The Crane Wife 1 through 3

I am a little biased though because this is one of the first Japanese stories I was taught and when the album came out and the story was on it I was blown away by how they captured the story in 3 songs.