Favorite songs that tell a story

[Rutlefan]

I'll get the Rush out of the way with Xanadu and Red Barchetta. My first favorite, after those, is Queen's '39, a Brian May-penned tune (also sings) that tells the story of a space travelers who leave their home in search of another only to find, upon their return 100 years later (or 200?, regardless, only one has passed for them because of time dilation) that the loved ones of their generation are now dead (expected but still sorrowful).

 

Even before I understood what the song was about when I was a young kid of 10 listening to his older brother's records, I loved the song for its guitar and harmonies; it's always been my favorite Queen song. As I came to understand what it was really about (not a sea voyage) I loved it all the more.

 

In the year of '39 assembled here the volunteers

In the days when the lands were few

Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn

The sweetest sight ever seen

And the night followed day

And the story tellers say

That the score brave souls inside

For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas

Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried

 

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away

Don't you hear me calling you

Write your letters in the sand

For the day I take your hand

In the land that our grandchildren knew

 

In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue

The Volunteers came home that day

And they bring good news of a world so newly born

Though their hearts so heavily weigh

For the earth is old and grey, little darlin' we'll away

But my love this cannot be

For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year

Your mother's eyes from your eyes cry to me

 

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away

Don't you hear me calling you

Write your letters in the sand

For the day I take your hand

In the land that our grandchildren knew

 

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away

Don't you hear me calling you

All your letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand

 

For my life

Still ahead

Pity me

Edited April 18, 2019 by Rutlefan

[Entre_Perpetuo]

I'll get the Rush out of the way with Xanadu and Red Barchetta. My first favorite, after those, is Queen's '39, a Brian May-penned tune (also sings) that tells the story of a space travelers who leave their home in search of another only to find, upon their return 100 years later (or 200?, regardless, only one has passed for them because of time dilation) that the loved ones of their generation are now dead (expected but still sorrowful).

 

Even before I understood what the song was about when I was a young kid of 10 listening to his older brother's records, I loved the song for its guitar and harmonies; it's always been my favorite Queen song. As I came to understand what it was really about (not a sea voyage) I loved it all the more.

 

In the year of '39 assembled here the volunteers

In the days when the lands were few

Here the ship sailed out into the blue and sunny morn

The sweetest sight ever seen

And the night followed day

And the story tellers say

That the score brave souls inside

For many a lonely day sailed across the milky seas

Ne'er looked back, never feared, never cried

 

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away

Don't you hear me calling you

Write your letters in the sand

For the day I take your hand

In the land that our grandchildren knew

 

In the year of '39 came a ship in from the blue

The Volunteers came home that day

And they bring good news of a world so newly born

Though their hearts so heavily weigh

For the earth is old and grey, little darlin' we'll away

But my love this cannot be

For so many years have gone though I'm older but a year

Your mother's eyes from your eyes cry to me

 

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away

Don't you hear me calling you

Write your letters in the sand

For the day I take your hand

In the land that our grandchildren knew

 

Don't you hear my call though you're many years away

Don't you hear me calling you

All your letters in the sand cannot heal me like your hand

 

For my life

Still ahead

Pity me

 

‘39 is definitely on my list as well! :)

[Relayer2112]

When I think of the perfect union between lyric and music, where both contribute equally to tell a story, I always think of Red Barchetta.

 

When I think of an imperfect union between lyric and music, where the lyric tells the story and the music just happens to be there is Wakeman's "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Although I love the album, I don't think the music goes along with the narration all that well.

[blueschica]

I love '39. It was interesting to find out later that Brian May was an astrophysicist and knew about such things (in theory, any way!) Such a pretty melody and chorus.

[goose]

Telegraph Road, by Dire Straits.

 

A long time ago came a man on a track

Walking thirty miles with a sack on his back

And he put down his load where he thought it was the best

Made a home in the wilderness

 

He built a cabin and a winter store

And he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore

And the other travellers came walking down the track

And they never went further, no, they never went back

 

Then came the churches, then came the schools

Then came the lawyers, then came the rules

Then came the trains and the trucks with their load

And the dirty old track was the Telegraph Road

 

Then came the mines, then came the ore

Then there was the hard times, then there was a war

Telegraph sang a song about the world outside

Telegraph Road got so deep and so wide

Like a rolling river

 

And my radio says tonight it's gonna freeze

People driving home from the factories

There's six lanes of traffic

Three lanes moving slow

 

I used to like to go to work but they shut it down

I've got a right to go to work but there's no work here to be found

Yes, and they say we're gonna have to pay what's owed

We're gonna have to reap from some seed that's been sowed

 

And the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles

They can always fly away from this rain and this cold

You can hear them singing out their telegraph code

All the way down the Telegraph Road

 

Well, I'd sooner forget, but I remember those nights

Yeah, life was just a bet on a race between the lights

You had your hand on my shoulder, you had your hand in my hair

Now you act a little colder like you don't seem to care

 

But just believe in me baby and I'll take you away

From out of this darkness and into the day

From these rivers of headlights, these rivers of rain

From the anger that lives on the streets with these names

'Cause I've run every red light on memory lane

I've seen desperation explode into flames

And I don't wanna see it again

From all of these signs saying "sorry but we're closed"

All the way down the Telegraph Road

[goose]

Also by Knopfler, as a solo act: Sailing to Philadelphia

 

 

I am Jeremiah Dixon

I am a Geordie boy

A glass of wine with you, sir

And the ladies I'll enjoy

All Durham and Northumberland

Is measured up by my own hand

It was my fate from birth

To make my mark upon the earth

 

He calls me Charlie Mason

A stargazer am I

It seems that I was born

To chart the evening sky

They'd cut me out for baking bread

But I had other dreams instead

This baker's boy from the west country

Would join the Royal Society

 

We are sailing to Philadelphia

A world away from the coaly Tyne

Sailing to Philadelphia

To draw the line

A Mason-Dixon Line

 

 

Now you're a good surveyor, Dixon

But I swear you'll make me mad

The West will kill us both

You gullible Geordie lad

You talk of liberty

How can America be free

A Geordie and a baker's boy

In the forests of the Iroquois

 

Now hold your head up, Mason

See America lies there

The morning tide has raised

The capes of Delaware

Come up and feel the sun

A new morning has begun

Another day will make it clear

Why your stars should guide us here

 

We are sailing to Philadelphia

A world away from the coaly Tyne

Sailing to Philadelphia

To draw the line

A Mason-Dixon Line

[blueschica]

Come Dancing

The Kinks

 

 

They put a parking lot on a piece of land

When the supermarket used to stand

Before that they put up a bowling alley

On the site that used to be the local pally

That's where the big bands used to come and play

My sister went there on a Saturday

Come dancing

All her boyfriends used to come and call

Why not come dancing, it's only natural

Another Saturday, another date

She would be ready but she's always make him wait

In the hallway, in anticipation

He didn't know the night would end up in frustration

He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week

All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek

Come dancing

That's how they did it when I was just a kid

And when they said come dancing

My sister always did

My sister should have come in a midnight

And my mom would always sit up and wait

It always ended up in a big row

When my sister used to get home late

Out of my window I can see them in the moonlight

Two silhouettes saying goodnight by the garden gate

The day they knocked down the pally

My sister stood and cried

The day they knocked down the pally

Part of my childhood died, just died

Now I'm grown up and playing in a band

And there's a car park where the pally used to stand

My sister's married and she lives on an estate

Her daughters go out, now it's her turn to wait

She knows they get away with things she never could

But if I asked her I wonder if she would

Come dancing

Come on sister, have yourself a ball

Don't be afraid to come dancing

It's only natural

Come dancing

Just like the pally on a Saturday

And all her friends will come dancing

Where the big bands used to play

 

I always thought the lyrics were poignant although the melody is very upbeat. I heard Ray Davies in an interview one time say that he wrote the song very true to life; it was based on the memories he had of seeing his sisters go out on dates in the 1950's.

Edited April 19, 2019 by blueschica

[invisible airwave]

My favorite 90s song:

 

[blueschica]

My favorite 90s song:

 

 

I should know what it is but I don't?? What song is it?

[greyfriar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GV_5dRrWH4

[greyfriar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ssUKt76-c

[greyfriar]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ0Y2eMTkCc

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Oh, Supper’s Ready of course.

[Krystal]

http://youtu.be/AXjtUSaTjlI Edited April 20, 2019 by Krystal

[JohnnyBlaze]

Classic Bob Dylan. Pick one.

[invisible airwave]

My favorite 90s song:

 

 

I should know what it is but I don't?? What song is it?

 

The Way by Fastball

 

Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota and Albuquerque by Weird Al Yankovic

 

“I...HATE...SAUERKRAUT!”

[invisible airwave]

Classic Bob Dylan. Pick one.

 

Lily Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts and Joey

[driventotheedge]

Taxi - Harry Chapin (if you don't know this song, you tube it......you'll dig it even if it's only for the "wild man wizard" section)

 

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

Edited April 20, 2019 by driventotheedge

[Entre_Perpetuo]

Bohemian Rhapsody tells a story in an abstract way.

 

Smoke On The Water

The Musical Box

A Day In The Life

Cygnus X-1

Xanadu

2112

Hotel California

Octavarium

Jack And Diane

Jungleland

Beyond The Realms Of Death

Good Company - Queen

 

just to add some more

[tangy]

Taxi - Harry Chapin (if you don't know this song, you tube it......you'll dig it even if it's only for the "wild man wizard" section)

 

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot

 

Taxi is amazing.

 

That old school singer songwriter shit kills me......

[tangy]

Also by Knopfler, as a solo act: Sailing to Philadelphia

 

 

I am Jeremiah Dixon

I am a Geordie boy

A glass of wine with you, sir

And the ladies I'll enjoy

All Durham and Northumberland

Is measured up by my own hand

It was my fate from birth

To make my mark upon the earth

 

He calls me Charlie Mason

A stargazer am I

It seems that I was born

To chart the evening sky

They'd cut me out for baking bread

But I had other dreams instead

This baker's boy from the west country

Would join the Royal Society

 

We are sailing to Philadelphia

A world away from the coaly Tyne

Sailing to Philadelphia

To draw the line

A Mason-Dixon Line

 

 

Now you're a good surveyor, Dixon

But I swear you'll make me mad

The West will kill us both

You gullible Geordie lad

You talk of liberty

How can America be free

A Geordie and a baker's boy

In the forests of the Iroquois

 

Now hold your head up, Mason

See America lies there

The morning tide has raised

The capes of Delaware

Come up and feel the sun

A new morning has begun

Another day will make it clear

Why your stars should guide us here

 

We are sailing to Philadelphia

A world away from the coaly Tyne

Sailing to Philadelphia

To draw the line

A Mason-Dixon Line

 

He is a great storyteller. Still cranking it out. I am not much of a fan but have heard his latest and has still putting out quality material imo

[goose]

Billy Joel's Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

 

"Brenda and Eddie were the popular steadies and the king and the queen of the prom..."

[goose]

[Fordgalaxy]

"Operator" by Jim Croce.

[J2112YYZ]

Billy Joel's Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

 

"Brenda and Eddie were the popular steadies and the king and the queen of the prom..."

 

There's a lot from Billy Joel you could go with here.