Songs that tell a story
Discussion
Pretty much anything by Sabaton : perhaps cheesy when you first discover their premise, but I've come to admire them for keeping alive old stories that we'd all do well to remember.
ETA the above was a bit vague. Sabaton songs exclusively cover war, but in a respectful rememberance, non-political way. They're superbly educational in telling stories of human heroism. I've been intrigued to learn of people and actions I wasn't aware of. Much of the inspiration behind their songs qualifies for the Interesting Wikipedia thread. It has also spawned a very well done 'Sabaton History' YouTube channel.
A a taster, you could try
82nd All the Way
Night Witches
The Last Stand.
ETA the above was a bit vague. Sabaton songs exclusively cover war, but in a respectful rememberance, non-political way. They're superbly educational in telling stories of human heroism. I've been intrigued to learn of people and actions I wasn't aware of. Much of the inspiration behind their songs qualifies for the Interesting Wikipedia thread. It has also spawned a very well done 'Sabaton History' YouTube channel.
A a taster, you could try
82nd All the Way
Night Witches
The Last Stand.
Edited by DWDarkWheels on Saturday 3rd October 20:29
Rock and Roll, I Gave You the Best Years of My Life - Kevin Johnson
"...71 in Soho when I saw Suzanne
I was trying to go it solo with someone else's band
And she came up to me ladylike took me by the hand
And I told her all my troubles and she seemed to understand
And she followed me through London to a hundred hotel rooms
To a hundred record companies who didn't like my tunes.
And she followed me when finally I sold my old guitar
And she tried to help me understand
That I'll never be a star..."
I've got something in my eye.
"...71 in Soho when I saw Suzanne
I was trying to go it solo with someone else's band
And she came up to me ladylike took me by the hand
And I told her all my troubles and she seemed to understand
And she followed me through London to a hundred hotel rooms
To a hundred record companies who didn't like my tunes.
And she followed me when finally I sold my old guitar
And she tried to help me understand
That I'll never be a star..."
I've got something in my eye.
irocfan said:
2112, The Necromancer, By Tor and The Snow Dog - actually you could throw a dart at a list of Rush's songs and get a story (decent one too)
100% - Red Barchetta is a particular 'story' favourite. For those who have not heard it, it's about an illegal morning drive in a sportscar in a dystopian future... or it could be based on real events during lockdown, who knows, these days.Chris Hinds said:
Pick a Springsteen album - almost all of them have a story song, some of the albums are a whole story in themselves. For me though the standout songs that tell a story are
Particularly love The River, Racing In The Street, Atlantic City (from 'Nebraska' - a man struggling with "debts no honest man can pay" turns to crime, mirrored by the bankrupt city allowing shady casinos in to pay it's own debts) and Hometown. Springsteen is a genius.- Born to Run - Meeting Across the Rive, Jungleland
- Darkness on the Edge of Town - Racing in the Street, Darkness on the Edge of Town
- The River - The River, The Price you Pay
- Nebraska - Most of the songs are stories but the album and I never gelled well
- Born in the USA - I'm on Fire, My Hometown
- Tunnel of Love - It's all one big story
- The Rising - The Rising, The Nothing Man
- Working on a Dream - Outlaw Pete, Queen of the Supermarket
- High Hopes - Harry's place
Edited to add: Great video for 'Atlantic City'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eu1gW-bQ8
Edited by MikeT66 on Friday 2nd October 05:06
MikeT66 said:
Particularly love The River, Racing In The Street, Atlantic City (from 'Nebraska' - a man struggling with "debts no honest man can pay" turns to crime, mirrored by the bankrupt city allowing shady casinos in to pay it's own debts) and Hometown. Springsteen is a genius.
Stolen CarMikeT66 said:
100% - Red Barchetta is a particular 'story' favourite. For those who have not heard it, it's about an illegal morning drive in a sportscar in a dystopian future... or it could be based on real events during lockdown, who knows, these days.
And here is the story in its entirety for those who have never heard it, a spine tingling petrolhead song if ever there was one.My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about.
He says it used to be a farm,
Before the Motor Law.
And on Sundays I elude the Eyes,
And hop the Turbine Freight
To far outside the Wire,
Where my white-haired uncle waits.
Jump to the ground
As the Turbo slows to cross the Borderline.
Run like the wind,
As excitement shivers up and down my spine.
Down in his barn,
My uncle preserved for me an old machine,
For fifty-odd years.
To keep it as new has been his dearest dream.
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car.
A brilliant red Barchetta
>From a better, vanished time.
I fire up the willing engine,
Responding with a roar.
Tires spitting gravel,
I commit my weekly crime...
Wind-
In my hair-
Shifting and drifting-
Mechanical music-
Adrenalin surge...
Well-weathered leather,
Hot metal and oil,
The scented country air.
Sunlight on chrome,
The blur of the landscape,
Every nerve aware.
Suddenly ahead of me,
Across the mountainside,
A gleaming alloy air-car
Shoots towards me, two lanes wide.
I spin around with shrieking tires,
To run the deadly race,
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase.
Drive like the wind,
Straining the limits of machine and man.
Laughing out loud
With fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan.
At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded at the riverside.
Race back to the farm, to dream with my uncle at the fireside.
Interesting read about it here..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barchetta
Pastor Of Muppets said:
MikeT66 said:
100% - Red Barchetta is a particular 'story' favourite. For those who have not heard it, it's about an illegal morning drive in a sportscar in a dystopian future... or it could be based on real events during lockdown, who knows, these days.
And here is the story in its entirety for those who have never heard it, a spine tingling petrolhead song if ever there was one.My uncle has a country place
That no one knows about.
He says it used to be a farm,
Before the Motor Law.
And on Sundays I elude the Eyes,
And hop the Turbine Freight
To far outside the Wire,
Where my white-haired uncle waits.
Jump to the ground
As the Turbo slows to cross the Borderline.
Run like the wind,
As excitement shivers up and down my spine.
Down in his barn,
My uncle preserved for me an old machine,
For fifty-odd years.
To keep it as new has been his dearest dream.
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car.
A brilliant red Barchetta
>From a better, vanished time.
I fire up the willing engine,
Responding with a roar.
Tires spitting gravel,
I commit my weekly crime...
Wind-
In my hair-
Shifting and drifting-
Mechanical music-
Adrenalin surge...
Well-weathered leather,
Hot metal and oil,
The scented country air.
Sunlight on chrome,
The blur of the landscape,
Every nerve aware.
Suddenly ahead of me,
Across the mountainside,
A gleaming alloy air-car
Shoots towards me, two lanes wide.
I spin around with shrieking tires,
To run the deadly race,
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase.
Drive like the wind,
Straining the limits of machine and man.
Laughing out loud
With fear and hope, I've got a desperate plan.
At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded at the riverside.
Race back to the farm, to dream with my uncle at the fireside.
Interesting read about it here..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Barchetta
thanks 
The Killers - A Dustland Fairytale
Tells the story of Brandon Flowers' mother who lost her battle with brain cancer and died aged 64. Some of the lyrics are very close to the mark and bearing in mind what he would have been going through at the time he wrote it......
Also a brilliant live version on the Letterman show where he almost loses it through the emotion of singing it...(part of the lyrics reproduced below)
Saw Cinderella in a party dress but
She was looking for a night gown
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands
He's getting ready for the show down
I saw the ending where they turned the page
I took my money and I ran away
Straight to the Valley of the great divide
And where the dreams roll high
And where the wind don't blow
Out here the good girls die
And the sky won't snow
Out here the bird don't sing
Out here the field don't grow
Out here the bell don't ring
Out here the bell don't ring
Out here the good girls die
Now Cinderella don't you go to sleep
It's such a bitter form of refuge
Ah don't you know the kingdoms under siege
And everybody needs you
Is there still magic in the midnight sun
Or did you leave it back in sixty-one
In the of the cadence in the young mans eyes
And where the dreams roll high
Tells the story of Brandon Flowers' mother who lost her battle with brain cancer and died aged 64. Some of the lyrics are very close to the mark and bearing in mind what he would have been going through at the time he wrote it......
Also a brilliant live version on the Letterman show where he almost loses it through the emotion of singing it...(part of the lyrics reproduced below)
Saw Cinderella in a party dress but
She was looking for a night gown
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands
He's getting ready for the show down
I saw the ending where they turned the page
I took my money and I ran away
Straight to the Valley of the great divide
And where the dreams roll high
And where the wind don't blow
Out here the good girls die
And the sky won't snow
Out here the bird don't sing
Out here the field don't grow
Out here the bell don't ring
Out here the bell don't ring
Out here the good girls die
Now Cinderella don't you go to sleep
It's such a bitter form of refuge
Ah don't you know the kingdoms under siege
And everybody needs you
Is there still magic in the midnight sun
Or did you leave it back in sixty-one
In the of the cadence in the young mans eyes
And where the dreams roll high
Two from the 70's with massive production ... Must have cost a fortune !
"Little Does She Know" - Kursall Flyers.. You just don't get songs like that now !
"Geneve" = John Otway - Beautiful .. the least John Otway song ever .. apart from "Jerusalem" which he did a pretty lovely rendition of. Be sure to listen to the slightly extended version with the great guitar solo.
"Little Does She Know" - Kursall Flyers.. You just don't get songs like that now !
"Geneve" = John Otway - Beautiful .. the least John Otway song ever .. apart from "Jerusalem" which he did a pretty lovely rendition of. Be sure to listen to the slightly extended version with the great guitar solo.
REALIST123 said:
kowalski655 said:
Harry Chapin's"Taxi",& it's sequel..."Sequel"!
IIRC there was to be a third song but he died tragically young
Many of Harry’s song told stories, that was his great strength. IIRC there was to be a third song but he died tragically young
Corey's coming, There only was one choice, Sniper, the list goes on and on.
One of my favourites is ‘The Stranger with the Melodies’.
Pothole said:
Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water. As Ian Gillan explains on Made In Japan "This is uh a song that´s also from the last album. It tells the story of how we recorded it and what went wrong when we did it. It happened in Switzerland, the song´s a thing called Smoke On The Water..."
My first thought too. In the unedited version I have Gillan adds 'break a leg Frank' near the end, that being Frank Zappa, who did. O/T, Lazy from the same album was about BL car workers.Most if not all of Chuck Berry.
Sticks. said:
My first thought too. In the unedited version I have Gillan adds 'break a leg Frank' near the end, that being Frank Zappa, who did. O/T, Lazy from the same album was about BL car workers.
Most if not all of Chuck Berry.
An audience member let off a distress flair at a Deep Purple gig in Montreaux causing a fire. Hence the smoke.Most if not all of Chuck Berry.
Edited by nonsequitur on Sunday 4th October 12:29
P5BNij said:
Sympathy For The Devil - The Stones (sort of)
Lady Came From Baltimore -Scott WalkerTIM HARDIN
Seventh Seal - Scott Walker
FTFY. It was Hardin's story FFS.Lady Came From Baltimore -
Seventh Seal - Scott Walker
And for those who posted
The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald
and
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
..... excellent choices.
nonsequitur said:
Sticks. said:
My first thought too. In the unedited version I have Gillan adds 'break a leg Frank' near the end, that being Frank Zappa, who did. O/T, Lazy from the same album was about BL car workers.
Most if not all of Chuck Berry.
An audience member let off a distress flair at a Deep Purple gig in Montreaux causing a fire. Hence the smoke.Most if not all of Chuck Berry.
Edited by nonsequitur on Sunday 4th October 12:29
CanAm said:
P5BNij said:
Sympathy For The Devil - The Stones (sort of)
Lady Came From Baltimore -Scott WalkerTIM HARDIN
Seventh Seal - Scott Walker
FTFY. It was Hardin's story FFS.Lady Came From Baltimore -
Seventh Seal - Scott Walker
And for those who posted
The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald
and
And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda
..... excellent choices.
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