Songs that tell stories
November 8, 2022 7:55 AM   Subscribe

I'm looking for songs that tell a story. For instance, "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan, "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot and “Viva la Vida” – Coldplay. I'm searching for lesser known songs and they can be either fiction or non-fiction.
posted by Coffeetyme to Media & Arts (87 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
I feel like 90%+ of The Decemberists songs are like this.
posted by sevenless at 7:58 AM on November 8, 2022 [14 favorites]


Josh Ritter has some good ones like this, my favorites are "The Curse" and "Another New World."
posted by yasaman at 7:59 AM on November 8, 2022 [7 favorites]


Cold Missouri Waters (and the Cry Cry Cry cover, which is great).
posted by Alterscape at 8:06 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


Another Bob Dylan classic: Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
posted by freya_lamb at 8:07 AM on November 8, 2022 [4 favorites]


There are several songs like this on the Murder Ballads album by Nick Cave.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 8:08 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


Laying Down to Perish, by Alan Doyle. It's from a true story of a shipwreck, told from the perspective of one of the lost, told here (click on "next page" at the bottom for the rest of the story).
posted by ceejaytee at 8:11 AM on November 8, 2022


Best answer: Old school country musician Tom T. Hall is often considered one of the masters of the story song. Nearly everything he ever wrote is a story song and they are, at turns, hilarious, heartbreaking, poignant, and sharply satirical.

You probably know his song Harper Valley PTA though likely by the hit version by Jeannie C. Riley. It's about a young single mom/widow standing up against small town hypocrisy.
Well, Mr. Harper couldn't be here
'Cause he stayed too long at Kelly's Bar again
And if you smell Shirley Thompson's breath
You'll find she's had a little nip of gin
And then you have the nerve to tell me
You think that as the mother I'm not fit
Well, this is just a little Peyton Place
And you're all Harper Valley hypocrites
Mama, Bake a Pie (Daddy Kill a Chicken) is one of my favorites. It's a funny, but deeply sad song about a soldier who returns from Vietnam disabled and find that his service isn't done yet, as reassuring the people around him while he suffers in silence turns out to be a full-time job.
Thank you sir, and yes sir,
It was worth it for the ol' red, white and blue
And since, I won't be walking
I suppose I'll save some money buying shoes
Also check out: Heck, just look him up on YouTube or any streaming music service and click on anything.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:14 AM on November 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


Wrecks n' murders:

The Wreck of the Old 97 (of which there are many versions)

Duncan and Brady

Metafilter's own Paul Slade maintains a blog (and has written a book) covering the history of and stories behind a number of murder ballads.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:18 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Mason Jennings, Jackson Square. I think this one is fiction. cw: suicide.

Gabriel Kahane, Empire Liquor Mart (9127 S. Figueroa St). Non-fiction, although it's sung from the perspective of a ghost. cw: racist murder, including murder of a child.
posted by eirias at 8:19 AM on November 8, 2022




Alterscape, I was going to come to recommend "Cold Missouri Waters".

Dar Williams's "I Had No Right" (retelling of Daniel Berrigan's story) and "The Buzzer" (a retelling of the Milgram experiment).

The Mountain Goats's "This Year".

Vienna Teng's "Whatever You Want" which, if I recall correctly, retells the story of the film "Office Space", and "Landsailor" which tells the story of human civilization.
posted by brainwane at 8:21 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


"Weird Al" Yankovic, Albuquerque
"Weird Al" Yankovic, The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota
Primus, John The Fisherman
Ice-T, 6 in the Mornin' (CW: 1980s sexist Ice-T lyrics)
Phish, Punch You In The Eye
Phish, The Lizards
posted by bondcliff at 8:23 AM on November 8, 2022


One of my favorite variations on the form is Ben Folds' Jesusland, which is second-person.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:23 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


The Roches have several.

Pretty and High

The Death of Suzzy Roche

Also The Ploughboy and the Cockney by Tim Hart and Maddy Prior
posted by FencingGal at 8:24 AM on November 8, 2022


So much of Townes Van Zandt -- for example, Tecumseh Valley, my favorite
or
Pancho and Lefty
or
Waiting Around to Die
posted by ojocaliente at 8:26 AM on November 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


Dessa, Talking Business. Love this one.
posted by restless_nomad at 8:28 AM on November 8, 2022


Shakey Dog by Ghostface Killah
Good Morning, Captain by Slint
posted by saladin at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2022


Look up Robert Earl Keen: half his songs would make solid short stories, filled with fleshed-out characters:

Shades of Grey actually tells 3 simultaneous stories.

Gringo Honeymoon
Jesse with the Long Hair

Turnpike Troubadours also have a collection of songs about a small number of characters, each kind of telling a chapter of a book:

The Mercury
The Funeral
Good Lord Lorrie
The Housefire
The Bird Hunters

Hayes Carll - KMAG Yoyo
this song tells two different stories, including a dream, before a rough return to reality.

Belle & Sebastian have a number of songs that tell the story of characters Belle and Sebastian, but this story is about a young girl making hard choices about her future:
Lazy Line Painter Jane

Max Stalling - Fantasy Dinner it's about a bet between Einstein and Santa about the speed of light interrupted by Elvis.

Need them to rock a little harder?
Material Issue -Ballad of a Lonely Man

Ted Leo - Ballad of the Sin Eater
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:34 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Robyn Hitchcock, Lady Waters and the Hooded One
posted by babelfish at 8:35 AM on November 8, 2022


Story songs, previously on the site
posted by Iris Gambol at 8:35 AM on November 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


Richard Thompson: 1952 Vincent Black Lightning

A whole lot of John Prine's songs, including:

Sam Stone

Spanish Pipe Dream

Jesus: The Missing Years
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:36 AM on November 8, 2022 [6 favorites]


I love this kind of song!

Warren Zevon-Frank and Jesse James

Stan Rogers-The Mary Ellen Carter

The Drive-By Truckers are absolute masters of this genre. Try The Living Bubba, My Sweet Annette, and Go-Go Boots as starting points, but you could do a deep dive into their catalog and find many more.

John Prine (RIP) is another master storyteller; see Angel From Montgomery, Paradise, and Sam Stone.

The Chicks-Goodbye Earl

Carrie Underwood-Before He Cheats

Brandy Clark-Get High

Bruce Springsteen has many possibilities, but my favorite for this purpose is Glory Days.

Dolly Parton-Coat of Many Colors
posted by ActionPopulated at 8:38 AM on November 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


Frank Black - Billy Radcliffe
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:40 AM on November 8, 2022


Deep Purple, Smoke on the Water
posted by bondcliff at 8:41 AM on November 8, 2022


So many. Two traditionals:...and a little more recent:
posted by Rash at 8:43 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Red Army Blues by the Waterboys about a young Russian soldier going to war and being sent to the Gulag by Stalin upon his return.
posted by perhapses at 8:45 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: The song "Kilkelly" is one side of a real years-long correspondence from a family in Ireland to their son who came to America in the late 1800's. Oh my goodness. The first time I heard it I was driving and I had to sit in the parking lot to hear it to the end. *sobs quietly*
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:49 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


Stephen Malkmus - Jenny & the Ess-Dog
posted by rabbitsnake at 8:57 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


One of my favorite shipwreck songs: Robert Mackenzie, from the Due South soundtrack (Paul Gross)
posted by invincible summer at 8:58 AM on November 8, 2022


Ooh, forgot a good one: Emerald by Thin Lizzy. They've got a number of storytelling songs but this one is my favorite.
posted by saladin at 9:02 AM on November 8, 2022


Speaking of ships...

Stan Rogers' Barrett's Privateers tells a story about some casual piracy gone awry.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:04 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]




The Scotsman
The Unicorn
posted by SPrintF at 9:12 AM on November 8, 2022


A Tribe Called Quest: I Left My Wallet in El Segundo
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:33 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Corb Lund - Washed Up Rock Star Factory Blues about a musician who has to go back to a day job -with a happy ending for the narrator! Filled with decent musician jokes too.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:34 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Older Genesis and their related members are a good source for this. Peter Gabriel's Family Snapshot is (mostly) about the assassination attempt on George Wallace, told from the assassin's point of view. His song Biko is about the murder of the South African activist Stephen Biko.

As for Genesis: Home By The Sea is about a burglar who breaks into an abandoned house, only to find that the house is haunted and the ghosts trap him there so they can tell him their life stories. Driving The Last Spike is about the construction of the railway in Britain. And All In A Mouse's Night is a story from the point of view of a mouse, who creeps out at night to explore in a house, narrowly escaping getting caught by both the humans and the cat who live there.

And there's a bunch by the Beatles: off the top of my head, "Norwegian Wood" is about a one-night stand John had, "She's Leaving Home" is about a teenage girl running away from her parents, "Eleanor Rigby" is about lonely people in London, "The Ballad Of John And Yoko" is about the legal and other hoops John and Yoko had to go through to get married, and "Oh-bla-Di, Oh-bla-dah" is a fluffy love song about a couple of shopkeepers named Desmond and Molly.

And a few one-offs:

The B-52's Is That You, Mo-Dean? is a story of alien abduction.

Harry Chapin's Cats In The Cradle is about a boy growing up with a father who's a bit distracted. His song Taxi is about two former lovers who reconnect by chance. And for another take on that topic, Dan Fogelberg's Same Old Lang Syne is also about a pair of old lovers who re-meet by chance, on New Year's Eve.

....And then there's Billy Joel's Scenes From An Italian Restaurant.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:34 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


Hip hop is full of story rhymes but the reigning champ is still, after 34 years, Slick Rick's Children's Story.

Runner ups in my book would include De La Soul's Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa, Public Enemy's Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos, Kendrick Lamar's The Art Of Peer Pressure, Ice T's 6 'N the Mornin' (and IMO the superior prequel Midnight) and Eminem's Stan.
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 9:35 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


I'm searching for lesser known songs and they can be either fiction or non-fiction.

More well-known, non-fiction: Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant

Less-well-known, fiction: King Missile - Detachable Penis
posted by Mchelly at 9:38 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Can't forget Up the Junction by Squeeze
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:38 AM on November 8, 2022 [7 favorites]


I can never not cry when I hear Up the Junction…
posted by Windopaene at 9:42 AM on November 8, 2022


Steve Earle: Tom Ames' Prayer
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:47 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


I can never not cry when I hear Up the Junction…

For me that's Vicky Verky.

Are all Squeeze songs stories?
posted by Mchelly at 9:52 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Are all Squeeze songs stories?

I'm pretty sure Tempted is, at least (although that one's a bit opaque about it).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:22 AM on November 8, 2022


Oh, so many "story raps," of which "Children's Story" by Slick Rick is probably the classic among classics, and "9MM Goes Bang" by BDP is another classic from that era. Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" comes right out of the gate with, "I got a letter from the government the other day . . . "

Later on, Ice Cube does a lot of this, with "My Summer Vacation" being a good example. A lot of what Ghostface Killa does is this, I think "Maxine" is the best example because it has a kind of Brothers Grimm revenge fantasy vibe. The Coup song "Me and Jesus the Pimp in a '79 Granada Last Night" is incredible.

These days, Kendrick Lamar does a lot of this.

Some of these are not as under the radar than you are asking for, but if you google "best story raps" you'll find a million more.
posted by kensington314 at 10:25 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


XTC's The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
posted by cakelite at 10:30 AM on November 8, 2022


Ludo, Lake Pontchartrain
posted by Pallas Athena at 10:44 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Harry Chapin was known for these. His best-known work is probably either Taxi or 30,000 pounds of Bananas.

Both are true stories.
posted by toxic at 10:45 AM on November 8, 2022 [3 favorites]


fun. The Gambler
Mika Billy Brown
posted by paradeofblimps at 11:03 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Two companions for the Edmund Fitzgerald:

The E-RI-E
Barrett's Privateers
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:11 AM on November 8, 2022


Best answer: A couple more ballads:

The Highwayman by Phil Ochs, from a poem by Alfred Noyes.
The Queen and the Soldier, Suzanne Vega
posted by Ishbadiddle at 11:12 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967 - John Mayer
posted by yawper at 11:17 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Tom Waits has written many songs that would fit this bill, especially Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis.
posted by jesourie at 11:26 AM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Canadian folk group Tiller's Folly has a bunch - mostly non-fiction, based on PNW History, these are some of my favorites:

Ghosts of Read Island
Electric Railway
Last of the Royal Engineers
McCulloch's Wonder

Grace Petrie - British Folk singer, again, just a couple:

The Last Man on Earth
Black Tie
posted by macfly at 11:27 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar, Jonathan Richman

Lodi Dodi, Snoop Dogg
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:32 AM on November 8, 2022


Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton, by the Mountain Goats
posted by OrangeDisk at 11:51 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


The Lighthouse Tale by Nickle Creek. A story told by a lighthouse.
posted by Thella at 11:54 AM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The Band, was also a hit for Joan Baez.

I love Baez’ version of Long Black Veil, but just learned there’s a version by the Chieftains. It’sa really good campfire song.
posted by theora55 at 12:10 PM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Tam Lin and Sir Patrick Spens by Fairport Convention (traditional)
posted by an opinicus at 12:35 PM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Then there's the Lin-Manuel Miranda/Decembrists song that never made it into Hamilton, about my favorite founding father, Ben Franklin. Miranda wrote the lyrics but couldn't find room in the show for Ben, so asked the Decembrists to write some music and record it for Hamildrops, the special songs Miranda released for the anniversary of the show.

It has just the attitude I always expected Franklin to have and I love the song so much. How many songs do you know that have Ben Franklin saying, "Early to bed, bitches, early to rise/May make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise"? Also he throws in a complimentary diss verse about John Adams.
posted by ceejaytee at 12:36 PM on November 8, 2022


Clem Snide's Mike Kalinsky tells the story of a kid who has debilitating asthma, and the way he grew up, and what he became as an adult.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:57 PM on November 8, 2022


How could we make it this far and not mention Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes?
posted by dforemsky at 1:14 PM on November 8, 2022 [5 favorites]


Geoff Berner: Maginot Line. You know how the story ends, probably.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:23 PM on November 8, 2022


Any of the various flavors of Hot Rod Lincoln.
posted by AzraelBrown at 1:25 PM on November 8, 2022


Jim and Jesse McReynolds: Thunder Road (not the Springsteen one - this one's about a bootlegger).

Speaking of bootlegging...

Rhiannon Giddens: Moonshiner's Daughter.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:27 PM on November 8, 2022


Taylor Swift: the last great american dynasty
Murder by Death: Hard World
posted by bluloo at 2:01 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Australian singer songwriter Paul Kelly is a master of story songs. Paul Kelly is a treasure. If you love Bob Dylan you will love Paul Kelly. He really is that good.
How to Make Gravy
To Her Door
Everything's Turning to White
When I First Met Your Ma
The Ballad of Queenie and Rover
Bradman
Every Fucking City

Robert Earl Keen The Road Goes on Forever and the Party Never Ends
posted by zzazazz at 2:38 PM on November 8, 2022 [2 favorites]


Jim and Jesse McReynolds: Thunder Road (not the Springsteen one - this one's about a bootlegger).

Wait, what? Who are these kids? Thunder Road is a 1958 Robert Mitchum film, for which he recorded his own version of the theme song (video illustrated with scenes from the movie, which he pitched to Elvis, but like for 'West Side Story' the Colonel nixed it, bad for his image; so Mitchum played the role himself).
posted by Rash at 2:54 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, many versions, the most viewed version linked here is by The Pogues. The video is a series of still photos of the WWI Gallipoli campaign, the setting for the song.
posted by JonJacky at 3:25 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Another Genesis example: A Trick of the Tail

Anaïs Mitchell is another artist with many songs that tell stories. A small selection: Old Fashioned Hat, Quecreek Flood, and Tam Lin (this one's an old folk song, but I like her version anyway!)

Coheed and Cambria's albums comprise a sci-fi story very explicitly, with specific named characters, planets, and story elements.
posted by catabananza at 4:33 PM on November 8, 2022


"Church Bells by Carrie Underwood.
And while we're at it: Black Cadillacs also by Carrie Underwood.

"If Trouble Comes a Lookin'" by Emily Scott Robinson (many thanks to the Mefite who suggested this awesome artist some months ago!)
posted by annieb at 4:43 PM on November 8, 2022


Where You've Been by Kathy Mattea.

"Love, Me" by Colin Raye.

Try listening to either and not get emotional. I sure can't.
posted by annieb at 5:13 PM on November 8, 2022


The Mariner's Revenge, The Decemberists
The Devil Went Down to Georgia, The Charlie Daniels Band
He Had a Long Chain On, Jimmie Driftwood
Shia LaBeouf, Rob Cantor
Jesse James, The Pogues
The Saga Begins, Weird Al
Ode to a Superhero, Weird Al
Eleanor Rigby, The Beatles
Shelter from the Storm, Bob Dylan
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 6:02 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon: Hamlet Chicken Plant Disaster - true story.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:33 PM on November 8, 2022 [1 favorite]


"Does He Love You? by Rilo Kiley is a great one, it even has a twist ending.

It's absolutely not lesser-known but Taylor Swift's "No Body No Crime." (very much in the vein of a murder ballad, which reminded me of "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" by Bob Dylan)
posted by lunasol at 7:01 PM on November 8, 2022


Atlantic City by Springsteen
Wild Bill Jones, traditional, I like the version by The Lonesome Sisters
Frankie's Gun by the Felice Brothers
Rake's Song by the Decemberists

Love this question!
posted by ajarbaday at 7:23 PM on November 8, 2022


The song "From 24C" by my favorite band, The Matches, always feels like a short story to me
posted by radioamy at 8:22 PM on November 8, 2022


The very early Pink Floyd, Arnold Layne. A few more I'd suggest are among the many listed on Wikipedia's Teenage tragedy song page.
posted by Rash at 5:59 PM on November 9, 2022 [1 favorite]


Lawn Dart Ed’s Redeeming Qualities.
posted by bendy at 11:33 PM on November 9, 2022


My Name is Lisa Kalvelege Ani DiFranco.
posted by bendy at 11:36 PM on November 9, 2022


A New England Billy Bragg
posted by bendy at 11:43 PM on November 9, 2022


Two epic Australian war story songs.

I was only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green) by Redgum. Songwriter, John Schumann, drew on his brother-in-law's experiences in Vietnam. Memorable lyric: "And Frankie kicked a mine the day that mankind kicked the moon. God help me, he was going home in June."

The Dust of Uruzgan by Fred Smith. He was there in Afghanistan. A report becomes a song. This version is sung with Lee Kernaghan.
posted by Thella at 11:59 PM on November 9, 2022


One more Vienna Teng: No Gringo.
posted by Alterscape at 5:09 AM on November 10, 2022


Zzazazz beat me to it, but each song in Paul Kelly's back catalogue is a character filled story
posted by pipstar at 6:00 AM on November 10, 2022


Baltimore by Gabriel Kahane just showed up on my YouTube algorithm and now I’m ugly crying. I assume it’s fiction, but who knows.
posted by eirias at 10:17 AM on November 10, 2022


Oh my God I just remembered one: the insane, maudlin, anti-integration ballad "The School Bus" by T. Tommy Cutrer. This is a bad song with a bad message but holy shit the "story" it tells is a doozy.
posted by saladin at 1:15 PM on November 12, 2022


a ton of Steve Earle songs fit this bill, Copperhead Road being probably the most famous, Tom Ames' Prayer mentioned upthread, but my vote would probably be the lesser known and blood chilling Taneytown
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 7:32 PM on November 14, 2022


Coming in way late but no love for "The Night Chicago Died" & "Billy, Don't Be a Hero" by Paper Lace? (Bad songs but good stories.)
posted by Wylie Kyoto at 12:48 PM on December 19, 2022


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