Narrative songs

[RobertaTheGreat]

They played 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' by the Charlie Daniels band on the radio the other day, which obviously got me furiously playing my air fiddle, and also got me thinking about other narrative songs, and how songs that tell a story don't seem to be such a thing anymore. They were quite popular back in the day but I can't think of many modern ones. So what are your favourites/least favourites? That's chart songs, not songs from musicals.

Another one I thought of, that became an ear worm yesterday, is the Pina Colada song - which provides a lesson for us all 😄

Sara by Bob Dylan - just beautiful!

I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.
Sara, Sara,
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara,
So easy to look at, so hard to define.
I can still see them playin' with their pails in the sand,
They run to the water their buckets to fill.
I can still see the shells fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.
Sara, Sara,
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life,
Sara, Sara,
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.
Sleepin' in the woods by a fire in the night,
Drinkin' white rum in a Portugal bar,
Them playin' leapfrog and hearin' about Snow White,
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.
Sara, Sara,
It's all so clear, I could never forget,
Sara, Sara,
Lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret.
I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.
Sara, Sara,
Wherever we travel we're never apart.
Sara, oh Sara,
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.
How did I meet you? I don't know.
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm.
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.
Sara, oh Sara,
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress,
Sara, Sara,
You must forgive me my unworthiness.
Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore.
You always responded when I needed your help,
You gimme a map and a key to your door.
Sara, oh Sara,
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow,
Sara, oh Sara,
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go.

Itinerant Child by Ian Dury

I took out all the seats and away I went
It's a right old banger and the chassis bent
It's got a great big peace sign across the back
And most of the windows have been painted black
The windshield's cracked, it's a bugger to drive
It starts making smoke over thirty five
It's a psychedelic nightmare with a million leaks
It's home sweet home to some sweet arse freaks

Slow down itinerant child, the road is full of danger
Slow down itinerant child, there's no more welcome stranger
Soon I was rumbling through the morning fog
With my long-haired children and my one-eyed dog
With the trucks and the buses and the trailer vans
My long throw horns playing Steely Dan
We straggled out for miles along the Beggar's Hill
And the word came down that we'd lost Old Bill

You can bet your boots I'm coming when the times are hard
That's why they keep my dossier at Scotland Yard
Slow down itinerant child, you're still accelerating
Slow down itinerant child, the boys in blue are waiting
Itinerant child, don't do what you're doing
Itinerant child, you'd better slow down
We drove into Happy Valley seeking peace and love
With a lone helicopter hanging up above
We didn't realise until we hit the field
There were four hundred cozzers holding riot shields
They terrorised our babies and they broke our heads
It's a stone f*cking miracle there's no one dead
They turned my ramshackle home into a burning wreck
My one-eyed dog got a broken neck
Slow down itinerant child, the road is full of danger
Slow down itinerant child, there's no more welcome stranger
Slow down itinerant child, you're still accelerating
Slow down itinerant child, the boys in blue are waiting

Love this thread!

Anyone remember a song called "nobody's child" about a bling orphan?

My mam used to sing it to me when I was little and I used to sob!

Lots of my favourites have been mentioned but a few more:

Blanket on the ground by billy jo spears
DIVORCE Tammy Wynette
Coward of the county

Haven't RTFT but has anyone mentioned Skater Boi?

He was a boy, she was a girl, could I make it any more obvious?
He was a punk, she did ballet, what more can I say...

Or Teenage Dirtbag. Very plot driven!

I know he can't be talked about but

"Two little boys" is very moving and would always make me cry

@woodhill

I know he can't be talked about but

"Two little boys" is very moving and would always make me cry

Yes I get what you mean.

Reeling' in the Years by Steely Dan