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Songs with a decent storyline


Norm

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blondejamtart

Following the Squeeze "Up the Junction" mentions, I'd just like to point out that Labelled with Love is another good storyline song from them.

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the voice from above
The Libertines - Cant stand me Now

 

the song tells everything that has to be said about the break up of Carl and Pete...

 

Cant disagree with that choice.

 

As everyone has been offering all the old school stuff try a little bit of Scroobius Pip for some stories. 'A Letter From God to Man' or 'Angles' are pretty good stories.

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I don’t think you can have a thread about musical story tellers and not include Harry Chapin. Not the best known over here, but penned some fantastic songs in the 70s before a car crash cut his life short. Probably his most famous song "Cat's in the Cradle" has since been used in The Simpsons, Family Guy, and also Shrek The Third. :cool:

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tommythejambo

The one by Larrikan Love, about the guy who found a dead body. Suprisingly upbeat song.

 

Can't remeber the name of it though.

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siouxsie and the banshees

Poppy Day

 

(2 minutes silence)

...In Flanders fields

The poppies grow

Between the crosses

Row on row

That mark out place

We are the dead...

.....................................................................

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Waiting for my real life to begin by Colin Hay

 

Any minute now, my ship is coming in

I'll keep checking the horizon

I'll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing

Come crashing down down down, on me

 

And you say, be still my love

Open up your heart

Let the light shine in

But don't you understand

I already have a plan

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

 

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened

But in my dreams, I slew the dragon

And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane

I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again

And you say, just be here now

Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin

Let me throw one more dice

I know that I can win

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

 

Any minute now, my ship is coming in

I’ll keep checking the horizon

And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call

It's gonna happen soon, soon, soon

It's just that times are lean

 

And you say, be still my love

Open up your heart, let the light shine in

Don't you understand

I already have a plan

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

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Captain Canada

The Pogues - And the band played Waltzing Matilda

 

When I was a young man I carried my pack

And I lived the free life of a rover

From the murrays green basin to the dusty outback

I waltzed my matilda all over

Then in nineteen fifteen my country said son

Its time to stop rambling cause theres work to be

Done

So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun

And they sent me away to the war

And the band played waltzing matilda

As we sailed away from the quay

And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the

Cheers

We sailed off to gallipoli

 

How well I remember that terrible day

the blood stained the sand and the water

And how in that hell that they called suvla bay

We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter

Johnny turk he was ready, he primed himself well

He us with bullets, he rained us with

Shells

And in five minutes flat hed blown us all to hell

Nearly blew us right back to australia

But the band played waltzing matilda

As we stopped to bury our slain

And we buried ours and the turks buried theirs

Then started all over again

 

Now those

In mad world of blood, death and fire

And for weeks I kept myself alive

Then a big turkish shell knocked me arse over tit

And when I woke up in my hospital bed

And saw what it had done, I wished I was

Dead

Never knew there were worse things than dying

no more Ill go waltzing matilda

the green far and near

For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs

No more waltzing matilda for me

 

So they collected the cripples, the wounded

Maimed

And they shipped us back home to australia

, the blind insane

Those proud wounded heroes of suvla

And as our ship pulled into circular quay

I looked at the place where legs used to be

And thank christ there was nobody waiting for me

To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the band played waltzing matilda

As they carried us down the gangway

But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared

turned all their faces away

 

And now every april I sit on my porch

And I watch the parade pass before me

my old comrades, how proudly they march

Reliving dreams of past glory

The forgotten heroes a forgotten war

And the young people ask , what are they

Marching for?

And I ask myself the same question

And the band plays waltzing matilda

And the old men answer to the call

But year after year their numbers get fewer

Some day no one will march there at all

 

Waltzing matilda, waltzing matilda

Wholl a-waltzing matilda with me?

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Waiting for my real life to begin by Colin Hay

 

Any minute now, my ship is coming in

I'll keep checking the horizon

I'll stand on the bow, feel the waves come crashing

Come crashing down down down, on me

 

And you say, be still my love

Open up your heart

Let the light shine in

But don't you understand

I already have a plan

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

 

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened

But in my dreams, I slew the dragon

And down this beaten path, and up this cobbled lane

I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again

And you say, just be here now

Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin

Let me throw one more dice

I know that I can win

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

 

Any minute now, my ship is coming in

I?ll keep checking the horizon

And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call

It's gonna happen soon, soon, soon

It's just that times are lean

 

And you say, be still my love

Open up your heart, let the light shine in

Don't you understand

I already have a plan

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

:thumb:

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Tracy Chapman - fast Car.

 

Ballad Of Tom Jones - Cerys Matthews & Space

 

Space Oddity - David Bowie

 

Cats in the Cradle - Ugly Kid Joe

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Another couple from The Glimmer Twins.With a little help from M. Faithfull on Sister Morphine.Then they go and get Ry Cooder to put in a brilliant Slide Guitar to make Sister Morphine one of the great songs of all time.

 

NO EXPECTATIONS

 

Take me to the station

And put me on a train

I've got no expectations

To pass through here again

 

Once I was a rich man and

Now I am so poor

But never in my sweet short life

Have I felt like this before

 

You heart is like a diamond

You throw your pearls at swine

And as I watch you leaving me

You pack my peace of mind

 

Our love was like the water

That splashes on a stone

Our love is like our music

Its here, and then its gone

 

So take me to the airport

And put me on a plane

I got no expectations

To pass through here again

 

*******************************************************

SISTER MORPHINE

 

Here I lie in my hospital bed

Tell me, Sister Morphine, when are you coming round again?

Oh, I don't think I can wait that long

Oh, you see that I'm not that strong

 

The scream of the ambulance is sounding in my ears

Tell me, Sister Morphine, how long have I been lying here?

What am I doing in this place?

Why does the doctor have no face?

Oh, I can't crawl across the floor

Ah, can't you see, Sister Morphine, I'm trying to score

 

Well it just goes to show

Things are not what they seem

Please, Sister Morphine, turn my nightmares into dreams

Oh, can't you see I'm fading fast?

And that this shot will be my last

 

Sweet Cousin Cocaine, lay your cool cool hand on my head

Ah, come on, Sister Morphine, you better make up my bed

'Cause you know and I know in the morning I'll be dead

Yeah, and you can sit around, yeah and you can watch all the

Clean white sheets stained red.

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The Greatest Discovery - Elton John

 

Peering out of tiny eyes

The grubby hands that gripped the rail

Wiped the window clean of frost

As the morning air laid on the latch

A whistle awakened someone there

Next door to the nursery just down the hall

A strange new sound you never heard before

A strange new sound that makes boys explore

Tread neat so small those little feet

Amid the morning his small heart beats

So much excitement yesterday

That must be rewarded, must be displayed

 

Large hands lift him through the air

Excited eyes contain him there

The eyes of those he loves and knows

But what's this extra bed just here

His puzzled head tipped to one side

Amazement swims in those bright green eyes

Glancing down upon this thing

That makes strange sounds, strange sounds that sing

In those silent happy seconds

That surround the sound of this event

A parent smile is made in moments

They have made for you a friend

And all you ever learned from them

Until you grew much older

Did not compare with when they said

This is your brand new brother

 

 

The finest lyrics Bernie Taupin has ever written!

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Nick Cave does loads of story songs.

 

John Finn's Wife

As I Sat Sadly By Her Side

Pap Won't Leave You, Henry

Where The Wild Roses Grow

Henry Lee

 

I could go on.

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Nick Cave does loads of story songs.

 

John Finn's Wife

As I Sat Sadly By Her Side

Pap Won't Leave You, Henry

Where The Wild Roses Grow

Henry Lee

 

I could go on.

 

Not to mention his take on Staggerlee from the Murder Ballads album.

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This is a bit of a weird one but I really Like Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne.

 

It's a teenage romance story told to the boys ex girlfriend by his new girl. A real "Get it up you" kind of song.

 

I really like the wee guitar lick - it really compliments the lyrics. When you hear it you think of a young girl sticking her tongue out and going Na Na Na Na Na.

 

He was a boy

She was a girl

Can I make it any more obvious

He was a punk

She did ballet

What more can I say

He wanted her

She'd never tell, but secretly she wanted him as well

But all of her friends

Stuck up there nose

And they had a problem with his baggy clothes

 

He was a sk8er boi

She said see you later boy

He wasn't good enough for her

She had a pretty face

But her head was up in space

She need to come back down to earth

 

5 years from now

She sits at home

Feeding the baby she's all alone

She turns on TV

And guess who she sees

Sk8er boi rocking on MTV

She calls up her friends they already know

They all got tickets to see his show

She tags along

Stands in the crowd

Looks up at the man that she turned down

 

He was a sk8er boi

She said see you later boy

He wasn't good enough for her

Now he's a super star

Slamming on his guitar

Does your pretty face see what he's worth?

 

He was a sk8er boi

She said see you later boy

He wasn't good enough for her

Now he's a super star

Slamming on his guitar

Does your pretty face see what he's worth?

 

Sorry girl but you missed out

Well tough luck that boy's mine now

We are more than just good friends

This is how the story ends

Too bad that you couldn't see,

See the man that boy could be

There is more then meets the eye

I see the soul that is inside

 

He's just a boy

And Im just a girl

Can I make it any more obvious

We are in love

Haven't you heard

How we rock each others world

 

I'm with the sk8er boy

I said see ya later boy

I'll be backstage after the show

I'll be at his studio

Singing the song we wrote

About a girl ya used to know

 

I with the sk8er boy

I said see ya later boy

I'll be backstage after the show

I'll be at the studio

Singing the song we wrote

About a girl ya used to know

 

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Calum Anderson

Eric Bogle as well as doing The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, wrote a song called The Flowers of the Forest which was once acclaimed by Tony Blair as the finest anti-war protest song ever written. How a man could know the words and sentiments of that song yet still send an army to a futile, unjust war beats the hell out of me and if he ever comes near me I hope to have the opportunity to repay the favour.

 

Eric Bogle didn't write "Flowers of the Forest", it's a much older song.

 

He did write "No Man's Land" which is what I think you (and TB) meant.

 

Anyhoo, songs that actually tell a story? The Charlie Daniels Band and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" ;)

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I P Knightley
Eric Bogle didn't write "Flowers of the Forest", it's a much older song.

 

He did write "No Man's Land" which is what I think you (and TB) meant.

 

Anyhoo, songs that actually tell a story? The Charlie Daniels Band and "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" ;)

 

I knew that; I knew it; I did know it; of course I knew it. I just...Gaahhhh!

 

Country and Western songs are all story songs. Billy Connolly (when he used to be funny) wrote a spoof one which, if not for the performer, would have been quite convincing.

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