Your favorite song that tells a story (narrative ballad) (1 Viewer)

[V Chip]

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

lus-un2:

Adding another one, and kinda surprised it wasn't mentioned unless I missed it. Maybe it's not a very long narrative...

Louisiana 1927, Randy Newman

 

[TheDeparted]

When I saw the thread title, I immediately though "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

Since it's already been metioned several times I tried to think of another. Although it tells a story, I'm not sure this will really qualify as a "ballad" but Lynard Skynard's "Gimme 3 steps" is among my favorite songs of all time.

I was cutting a rug down at a place called the jug
With a girl named Linda Lou
When in walked a man with a gun in his hand and he was look' for you-know-who
He said hey there fellow with the hair colored yellow
What you tryin' to prove
Say that's-a my woman there and I'm a man who cares
And this might be all for you
I said Excuse me..

I was scared and fearin' for my life
I was shakin' like a leaf on a tree
Cause he was lean and mean and big and bad Lord, a-pointin' that gun at me
Oh wait a minute mister I didn't even kiss her
Don't want no trouble with you
And I know you don't owe me but I wish you'd let me ask one favor from you

CHORUS:
Won't you gimme 3 steps
Gimme 3 steps mister
Gimme 3 steps towards the door
Gimme 3 steps
Gimme 3 steps mister
And you'll never see a-me no more

SOLO

Well the crowd drew away and I began to pray and water fell on the floor
And I'm a-tellin' you son, well it ain't no fun starin' straight down a .44
Well he turned and screamed at Linda Lou that's the break I was lookin' for
And you could hear me screamin' a mile away as I was headed out towards the door

CHORUS

After that I have to say "Lucky Man" by Emerson, Lake and Palmer

He had white horses and ladies by the score
All dressed in satin and waiting by the door

{Refrain}
Oooh, what a lucky man he was
Oooh, what a lucky man he was

White lace and feathers, they made up his bed
A gold covered mattress on which he was laid

{Refrain}

He went to fight wars for his country and his king
Of his honor and his glory the people would sing

{Refrain}

A bullet had found him, his blood ran as he cried
No money could save him, so he laid down and he died

{Refrain}

 

[Saint Mike]

Rupert Holmes - "Escape" (Pina Colada Song)

I was tired of my lady
We'd been together too long
Like a worn-out recording
Of a favorite song
So while she lay there sleeping
I read the paper in bed
And in the personal columns
There was this letter I read

"If you like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
If you're not into yoga
If you have half a brain
If you'd like making love at midnight
In the dunes on the Cape
Then I'm the love that you've looked for
Write to me and escape."

I didn't think about my lady
I know that sounds kind of mean
But me and my old lady
Have fallen into the same old dull routine
So I wrote to the paper
Took out a personal ad
And though I'm nobody's poet
I thought it wasn't half bad

"Yes I like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
I'm not much into health food
I am into champagne
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon
And cut through all this red-tape
At a bar called O'Malley's
Where we'll plan our escape."

So I waited with high hopes
And she walked in the place
I knew her smile in an instant
I knew the curve of her face
It was my own lovely lady
And she said, "Oh it's you."
Then we laughed for a moment
And I said, "I never knew."

That you like Pina Coladas
Getting caught in the rain
And the feel of the ocean
And the taste of champagne
If you'd like making love at midnight
In the dunes of the Cape
You're the lady I've looked for
Come with me and escape

 

[Tapxe]

Arlo Guthrie: Alice's Restaurant


This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and the
restaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant,
that's just the name of the song, and that's why I called the song Alice's
Restaurant.

You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant
Walk right in it's around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant

Now it all started two Thanksgivings ago, was on - two years ago on
Thanksgiving, when my friend and I went up to visit Alice at the
restaurant, but Alice doesn't live in the restaurant, she lives in the
church nearby the restaurant, in the bell-tower, with her husband Ray and
Fasha the dog. And livin' in the bell tower like that, they got a lot of
room downstairs where the pews used to be in. Havin' all that room,
seein' as how they took out all the pews, they decided that they didn't
have to take out their garbage for a long time.

http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/alices.shtml


</pre>

 

[Thorin]

I voted for Operator.

I'll add one that I might get laughed at for, but oh well.

Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobodys been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in gods name, hoping good luck it brings.

And the ship sails on, back to the north
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what hes done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north til all is calm.

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on at sea
And the curse goes on and on for them and me.

day after day, day after day,
We stuck nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
All the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.

There calls the mariner
There comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.

See...onward she comes
Onward she nears out of the sun
See, she has no crew
She has no life, wait but heres two.

Death and she life in death,
They throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
Then...crew one by one
They drop down dead, two hundred men
She...she, life in death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.

one after one by the star dogged moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh
Each turned his facce with a ghastly pang
And cursed me with his eye
Four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner wished hed die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.

And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
Gods creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain.

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak and theyre lifelesss in their eyes

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
Spirits go from the long dead bodies
From their own light and the mariners left alone.

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilots boat, his son and the hermit,
Penance of life will fall onto him.

And the ship sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.

The mariners bound to tell of his story
To tell this tale wherever he goes
To teach gods word by his own example
That we must love all things thaat God made.

And the wedding guests a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on.

 

[CT Saints Fan]

Personally, ALL of my favorite songs tell a story. I prefer songwriters who are storytellers first, and "recording artists" second (or ever further down the list).

 

[efil4stnias]

no Edmund Fitzgerald? ( or something like that )

I actually was in about 2nd or 3rd grade when that song came out and vivdly remember NOT wanting to work on a ship. It also helped me with my Great Lakes Geography. ( I could always remember the lake from the song )

 

[Doobsdemons]

Rime of the Ancient Mariner--Iron Maiden

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[ra]

well everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! well everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! don't you know about the bird ? well everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! yeah! well everybody's heard, about the bird! na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na everybody's heard, about the bird! na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! don't you know about the bird? well everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! yeah! surfin' bird!!!! well everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! well everybody's heard, about the bird! yeah everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na don't you know about the bird? well everybody's heard, about the bird! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! bird bird bird, the bird is the word! go!! (claps) aaaaaaaaaaaggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the bird! everybody's heard, about the ... bird! yeah!!! everybody's heard, about the bird! every body's heard 'bout... bird!

 

[Thorin]

Rime of the Ancient Mariner--Iron Maiden

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:dunno:

 

[BOOBOO]

i didn't vote

they're all to good.

good call on the georgie song and the wreck of the edmond fitzgerald

but i can't believe no body mentioned my lifes song

Time
(Mason, Waters, Wright, Gilmour) 7:06

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.

 

[MSUSousaphone]

I think I've maybe heard of one or two on that list....maybe...

I'll have to go with something by Iron Maiden or Judas Priest.

 

[TheBigEasy99]

Rime of the Ancient Mariner--Iron Maiden

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If we're talking Iron Maiden songs, I'd have to go with "Hallowed Be Thy Name."

I'm waiting in my cold cell, when the bell begins to chime.
Reflecting on my past life and it doesn't have much time.
'Cause at 5 o'clock they take me to the Gallows Pole,
The sands of time for me are running low.

When the priest comes to read me the last rites,
I take a look through the bars at the last sights,
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me.

Can it be that there's some sort of error?
Hard to stop the surmounting terror.
Is this really the end, not some crazy dream?

Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming,
It's not easy to stop from screaming,
But words escape me when I try to speak.
Tears flow but why am I crying?
After all I'm not afraid of dying.
Don't I believe that there never is an end?

As the guards march me out to the courtyard,
Somebody cries from a cell "God be with you".
If there's a God then why does he let me go?

As I walk my life drifts before me.
Though the end is near I'm not sorry.
Catch my soul, it's willing to fly away.

Mark my words believe my soul lives on.
Don't worry now that I have gone.
I've gone beyond to see the truth.

When you know that your time is close at hand,
Maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion.

 

[kcirdor]

any Iron Maiden song will do. Rime of the Ancient Mariner is an actual poem. So I'll go with that one as my vote.

Others to mention: Aces High, Run to the Hills, The Trooper, Flight of Icarus, To Tame a Land(based on 'Dune'), Number of the Beast.

The Album Seventh Son of the Seventh Son is practially a whole album based off the novel Seventh Son.

I missed out on a bunch of Iron Maiden after this period. But did buy A Brave New World and "Best of the Beast" in 2000 for nostalgia purposes. Fear of the Dark was good as I missed the album it was on. The Wicker Man was also a good tune. I haven't kept up with any of the new stuff after that

So being the Metal God's of narrative music, Iron Maiden should be in the poll with at least one of the songs mentioned here. The song list is alot longer as the Band has been around for 30 years.

Best thing bout Iron Maiden is they promote reading....

Long Live(undead) EDDIE!

An Ozzy Song I'd also like to nominated is "Fire in the Sky"

 

[efil4stnias]

I formally withdraw my selection and add "cats in the cradle" to this list of non-list making songs...