• monny
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Topic: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Does anyone know any good songs that also tell a good story?  My favourites are;


<b>Spanish Train</b> by Chris De Burgh

about god and the devil playing poker to win the souls of the dead on a train.


<b>Camouflage</b> by Stan Ridgeway

a great song about a marine caught in a ambush in Vietnam and is helped to safety by the ghost of a dead marine.  Very easy to play too.


<b><b>Paddy and the Bricks by Noel Murphy</b></b>

A very funny Irish song.  The story of an Irish man who is writing a sick note to his boss after he injures himself on a building site.  Very funny song.


Know any more?


<img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy"> monny says keep strummin <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

  • Registered: 2006-04-21
  • Posts: 47

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

the corries also do this,, brilliant,, its called            the sick note,,, hoists and barrels and stuff  ,, hilarious <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">

  • Registered: 2006-06-27
  • Posts: 2

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

It's corny, but Build God Then We'll Talk by Panic! at the Disco

  • upyerkilt
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

bonkers I know this song, I am a corries fan but I know it as "the bricklayers song"



another song with a good story is " the final cut" by pink floyd, or the entire wall album, tells a very big story, or the who's tommy album.


creadance clearwater revival, LODI.


or JOhn Prine.  "Sam Stone" about amn american vietnam veteran that spends his money on heroine, sells his house to get his drug, A very sad and deep song, the chorus is:

there's a whole in daddy's arm, where all the money goes. jesus christ died for nothing I suppose.

etc etc etfc.. and I am not religious but not a religious song although that chorus would suggest otherwise.


yeah, John Prine's  Sam stone would be my favourite one just now.



Ken

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending
  • monny
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

thanks for the replies.  i downloaded sam stone and a few of john prine's others.  it is a great song - the hole in the arm lyric is brilliant - and - the gold ran through his veins while the kids ran around in other people's clothes.  the tune reminds me of p floyd's post war dream  at the beginning and he sounds a bit like bob dylan. 

i like the others mentioned too, i just hadn't heard of john prine before so thanks ken.

  Another song i heard recently is an old one by christy moore called the lonesome death of hattie carroll.  bob dylan wrote it when he read the true story of a 51 year old black maid and mother of 10  who was killed by a wealthy man called william zantzinger after he hit her with a cane. the song has some powerful lyrics and is mainly about the injustice as zantzinger was only given a 6 month sentence.

  the lyrics are really good but i think christy moore's version is better.


any more suggestions would be appreciated <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_razz.gif" border=0 alt="Razz">

           thanks again,   

               monny.

  • Registered: 2006-06-30
  • Posts: 1

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Hi everyone <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy"> I have just registered now and so far I think this will be the best way to reach my goals and be the best I want to be.I am teaching myself music and playing a guitar,it is all going ok but the only problem is I dont have enough to learn from.I have been strugling to change from one chord to another plus it is very painfull.Each time I try I just feel like I am loosing my love for guitar and its stressing as I have always wanted to be a guitar player.I am a proffesional singer although I have never been to music school and I work for one of the best disney musical,in germany called The Lion King and I am from South Africa.I promised myself that when I get to germany I will do my best to learn music and guitar,so far its getting hard,if anyone has a english grade one guitar book,please help because I have tried to get some and every thing was in german.P.s mahlompho<font color="deeppink"></font> <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

although i dont like them, greendays new album american idiot is a story isnt it? and then theres johnny cashes song..wahts it called....erm..somthing like folsom prison blues.


adam

  • Registered: 2006-04-05
  • Posts: 72

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

falson prison blues is an awesome song. you can really image what's happening with it all. a guy going to spend the rest of his life in prison for shooting a guy. woah!

  • Registered: 2006-04-05
  • Posts: 72

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

I quite like 'hey joe' by jimi hendrix. it seems to be about a guy called joe who's off to shoot his girl friend/wife for cheating on him

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 27

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

oh i love hey joe <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile"> such a good song...fact now i think about it..about 40% of all songs are storys arnt they?

heres a good one - noweagan wood (this bird has flown) by the beatles.

  • Registered: 2006-04-05
  • Posts: 72

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

ah yes!

and i think you're right!

i know a lot of the songs i write are about stuff going on in my life.

the last one i wrote 'gladstone incident' was about my nan dying, not too long ago.

and i called it 'gladstone incident' because gladstone was the name of the ward she was on where she died.


ooooh, house of the rising sun is a great song! about a brothel in new orleans

  • Registered: 2006-03-04
  • Posts: 27

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

ooh sorry to hear about your nan. the last song i wrote had a story, about me and my ex breaking up:( scored alot of points with her and her friends <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_razz.gif" border=0 alt="Razz"> all praise the power of a guitar!

  • Registered: 2006-07-01
  • Posts: 4

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Most of the songs that I play tell a story.

I don't know the style of music you like, but here are a few suggestions that I like to play:


Most of the songs that Harry Chapin did were stories.  Taxi; W.O.L.D.; A better place to be; 30,000 pounds of bananas, to name a few.


Kris Kristoferson sings some good stories,  To beat the Devil; Sunday mornin' comin' down; Bobby Mcgee; Best of all possable worlds, lot more.


John Denver sang a lot of stories; My sweet lady; It's good to be back home again; Poems, prayers and promises, etc.


Jim Croce sang a lot of stories.

Operator;  I'll have to say I love you in a song; New York's not my home; Workin' at the car wash blues; Rapid Roy(that stock car boy) many more.


If you like funny songs, Pinkerd and Bouden (hope I spelled Bouden right) do a lot of them.  I don't know if you have heard of them or not, but, they are a hoot.  Help me make it through the yard; Don't pet the dog; Blue hairs drivin' in my lane, etc.


The Unicorn by the Irish rovers is kind of a fun story.


Most of these songs are kind of old, but the people that I play for seem to like them.


Like someone else mentioned, probably about 40% of songs tell stories. 


Hope that helps you some.


Merlin

  • upyerkilt
  • upyerkilt
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

i would say more than 40%


and here are a few more


wild rover.....about coming home and going to a brothel

black velvet band.... about going to jail because a prostitute set you up

whisky in the jar...... about a woman betraying you


the artic monkey's album.... about going out at the weekend to get wrecked at the dancing.


effervessing elephant by syd barrett


the jack by ac dc. a very well wrote song about catching v.d., listen to the studio version then the live version.


too many too mention now.lol

ye get some that are cut out for the job and others just get by from pretending
  • colm
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Without a doubt, my favourite story in a song must be Rocky Racoon by the Beatles.


Second to that I'd say Dogs by Pink Floyd, it's a moral tale about the bad that can happen to you if you don't live a good life, Karma man!

  • monny
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

yeah, rocky raccoon is one of my favourites too. 

  you could argue that every song told a story - even music without words can have meaning.  the ones i'm looking for are songs that take you to a specific place and tell you a story from beginning to end with conflict and endings and description.  all the beatles' songs tell stories but rocky raccoon is different so is maxwell's silver hammer.

  johnny cash tells some great stories.  boy named sue, one piece at a time and the baron and billy joe are good examples too.  i think the difference is the songs leave you wanting to hear what happens next - and wondering what the outcome will be.

 

  cows with guns is another example - it's quite silly and it's funny too but it tells you a story.  so does dark lady by cher and space oddity by david bowie.



  thanks for the replies and suggestions - they are appreciated. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

  • Registered: 2006-07-01
  • Posts: 4

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Hi Monny & everyone,

Did you happen to check out those Harry Chapin songs that I mentioned?  He definitely knew how to sing a story.

By the way I listened to that bricklayer's song and laughed so hard I just about fell out of my chair.  I think I'm going to learn it. Thanks.

  • monny
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

hi merlin.  I haven't yet but I will try and get some now.  Glad you liked the bricklayer song  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

There's a funny one by Derek and Clive you might like but it's quite rude.  It's called 'horse racing' I think, and it's a guy commentating on a race but the horses have rude names - it's funny though.

  Or Richie Kavanagh's (not sure of the spelling) Knickers Shop is a funny song.  They sell sheep dog bras to point them all in the one direction and jcb bras which make mountains out of mole hills.

  Going to try Harry Chapin now.

        Take care all

  • Registered: 2006-07-04
  • Posts: 1

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Hi All,


One of the best song storytellers is (was) Jake Thackray.  There is a website dedicated to him, listing lyrics to all his songs - <a href="http://www.jakethackray.com/content/category/3/66/26/" target="_blank">http://www.jakethackray.com/content/category/3/66/26/</a>


His more famous ones are 'on again', 'Sister Josephine' and @The Castleford Ladies Magic Circle' to name but a few.

  • Registered: 2006-07-24
  • Posts: 5

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

best story in a song.....try best story in an album


Dream theater's scenes from a memory tells the tale of a man named nicolas who is having regression therapy because he is having reoccuring dreams of a girl named victoria, its then turns out that he was victoria in a past life and he is trying to find out why she was killed and eventually finds out and is killed by the person who killed her




also, Octane by Spock's beard (another album story)

this on is about a car crash and al lthe songs are his life flashing before his eyes (if you buy is get the special edition version)


cheers

  • Registered: 2006-07-25
  • Posts: 3

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Hi all,


I'm new here but I love story songs. Check out Tweeter and the Monkey Man by Bob Dylan as part of the Travelling Wilburies.


Most of Tom Waits, but especially Gun Street Girl, Tom Traubert's Blues, Postcard from a Hooker in Minneapolis, Kentucky Avenue.


There is a Canadian singer-songwriter famous for his story songs. His name was Stan Rogers (he died on an Air Canada jet that caught fire on the ground in Cincinatti).


The ones to check are: Barrett's Privateers (the unofficial anthem of Nova Scotia, Canada) and Northwest Passage.


Give him a listen, his rich baritone and great harmonies are really worth it.

  • Registered: 2006-08-01
  • Posts: 12

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

I think that 3 Doors Down's whole album Seventeen Days is a story about how fame can be a really hard thing. It states all of the difficult things about being famous like being away on tour for a year and things like that. Plus they have a great lead singer and amazing guitar!  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">  I LOVE 3 DOORS DOWN!!!!!!  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

  • From: Starkville, Mississippi USA
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Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

great story songs:

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle - war history in verse.

"Green Fields of France" also by Eric Bogle - more war history in verse.


"Far From Me" by John Prine - haunting imagery, simple yet deep like a hiaku.

"Spanish Pipedream" by John Prine - aka 'Blow up the TV', exquisite silliness.

"Grandpa Was a Carpenter" by John Prine - a whole lifetime in just a few words.


"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band - more war history in verse.

"Acadian Driftwood" also by the Band - yet more war history in verse.


"Tangled Up In Blue" by Bob Dylan - practically a novel in verse.

"Shelter From the Storm" also by Bob Dylan - another novel in verse.

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

James McCormick's Website

  • Registered: 2006-10-09
  • Posts: 8

Re: FAVOURITE STORY IN A SONG

Im into every type of music.........maby not country. i love lightning crashes by live and dont hold it against me but scarlet ribbons sung by sinade o'connor is great. it gave me shivers.