Favorite "story ballads" - story telling set to music

Vanity | 2/26/2005 | HairOfTheDog

[HairOfTheDog]

These songs are the ones that when I hear them, I'll stop whatever I am doing for a minute and let the songwriter take me away. There are others, there are many good songs. Many songs by Jimmy Buffet (A Pirate Looks at Forty) and James Taylor (Gaia) and Crosby Stills and Nash (Southern Cross).

But these are the lyrics that stand out for me as 'great story ballards' if that is even a real category. They are great snapshots of Americana. Anyone else have some?

[HairOfTheDog]

Pinging some others who I think are music fans, for a Saturday muse...

Got music?

[tiamat]

Great Minds think alike!

I was going to go find "Edmund Fitzgerald" but saw you already had it.

Try this instead:

HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN

(Price)

There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

My mother was a tailor
She sewed my new bluejeans
My father was a gamblin' man
Down in New Orleans

Now the only thing a gambler needs
Is a suitcase and trunk
And the only time he's satisfied
Is when he's on a drunk

------ organ solo ------

Oh mother tell your children
Not to do what I have done
Spend your lives in sin and misery
In the House of the Rising Sun

Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on the train
I'm goin' back to New Orleans
To wear that ball and chain

Well, there is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God I know I'm one

[HairOfTheDog]

That ~IS~ a good one!

I've actually sung that one in Karaoke, for good or ill ;~D

[HairOfTheDog]

Too cold for playing with horses and hubby is watchin' a ball game ;~D

[tiamat]

"House of the Rising Sun" is very traditional in some ways.

( and you are braver than i am to do kareoke!i can't carry a tune with haandles!)

Queen is good for that sort of thing, too.


You must like the Sea.

[rintense]

What about American Pie by Don McClean?

[Overtaxed]

ust sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
a tale of a fateful trip.
That started from this tropic port,
aboard this tiny ship.
The mate was a mighty sailin' man,
the skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day,
for a three hour tour, a three hour tour………
The weather started getting rough,
the tiny ship was tossed.
If not for the courage of the fearless crew,
the Minnow would be lost; the Minnow would be lost.
The ship took ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle,
with Gilligan, the Skipper too,
the Millionaire, and his Wife,
the Movie Star, the Professor and Mary Ann,
here on Gilligan's Isle

[tiamat]

You're right. It qualifies.

[JenB]

Not sure it's quite what you mean - but this song paints for me an amazingly detailed portrait of a man's life. It's called "Alaska or Bust", by my favorite singer/songwriter, Andrew Peterson. It's a lot of fun to sing, too.



Margie, won't you listen to an old man's wish
They say it's mighty pretty in Alaska
My daddy used to talk about those deep sea fish
So there's something, darling, that I wanna ask you
So don't you turn me down

In the morning we would listen to the cattle calling
Lowing in the land of Okeechobee
Where it's flatter than the cardboard on the carport floor
And the cattails seem to wave just like they know me

Ah, but Enoch in the tackle shop
Goes on about the salmon caught
The time he and his brother sailed to Juneau

So get in, I'll do the driving
The bag's already packed and in the truck
Margie, get in, put down those dishes
The town will see us go if we're in luck
So come on, it's Alaska or bust

I've been holding down this farm that daddy left me, darling
The kids have married off and moved away
And the doctor says I'm healthy for an old man dying
Well enough to seize another day

So get in, I'll do the driving
Your bag's already packed and in the truck
Margie get it, these bones are dry
I've been running, but the cancer's catching up
So come on, it's Alaska or bust

There were days when I imagined that the clouds were mountains
Towering above the rolling ocean
And I was sailing on my tractor, turning hay out in the pasture
Catching salmon of my own while I was mowing

So get in, I'll do the driving
Your bag's already packed and in the truck
Margie get in, there's not much time
I've been running, but the cancer's catching up
The town will see us go if we're in luck

So come on, it's Alaska or bust

[HairOfTheDog]

I did grow up boating... there is a definate sailor trend in my favorites, isn't there?

[tiamat]

Aye, Matey!

Okay.

We got sailors, ladies of ill-repute, and gamblers.

Here's one about truckers. I suppose after this, we need one aabout cowboys! LOL!


Convoy Lyrics



(C.W. McCall, B. Fries, C. Davis)

[On the CB]
Ah, breaker one-nine, this here's the Rubber Duck. You gotta copy on me, Pig Pen, c'mon? Ah, yeah, 10-4, Pig Pen, fer shure, fer shure. By golly, it's clean clear to Flag Town, c'mon. Yeah, that's a big 10-4 there, Pig Pen, yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddy. Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy...

Was the dark of the moon on the sixth of June
In a Kenworth pullin' logs
Cab-over Pete with a reefer on
And a Jimmy haulin' hogs
We is headin' for bear on I-one-oh
'Bout a mile outta Shaky Town
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"And I'm about to put the hammer down."

[Chorus]
'Cause we got a little convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a little convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.
Convoy!


[On the CB]
Ah, breaker, Pig Pen, this here's the Duck. And, you wanna back off them hogs? Yeah, 10-4, 'bout five mile or so. Ten, roger. Them hogs is gettin' in-tense up here.

By the time we got into Tulsa Town,
We had eighty-five trucks in all.
But they's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf,
And them bears was wall-to-wall.
Yeah, them smokies is thick as bugs on a bumper;
They even had a bear in the air!
I says, "Callin' all trucks, this here's the Duck.
"We about to go a-huntin' bear."

[Chorus]
'Cause we got a great big convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a great big convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.
Convoy!


[On the CB]
Ah, you wanna give me a 10-9 on that, Pig Pen? Negatory, Pig Pen; you're still too close. Yeah, them hogs is startin' to close up my sinuses. Mercy sakes, you better back off another ten.

Well, we rolled up Interstate 44
Like a rocket sled on rails.
We tore up all of our swindle sheets,
And left 'em settin' on the scales.
By the time we hit that Chi-town,
Them bears was a-gettin' smart:
They'd brought up some reinforcements
From the Illinoise National Guard.
There's armored cars, and tanks, and jeeps,
And rigs of ev'ry size.
Yeah, them chicken coops was full'a bears
And choppers filled the skies.
Well, we shot the line and we went for broke
With a thousand screamin' trucks
An' eleven long-haired Friends a' Jesus
In a chartreuse micra-bus.


[On the CB]
Ah, Rubber Duck to Sodbuster, come over. Yeah, 10-4, Sodbuster? Lissen, you wanna put that micra-bus right behind that suicide jockey? Yeah, he's haulin' dynamite, and he needs all the help he can get.

Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey shore
And prepared to cross the line
I could see the bridge was lined with bears
But I didn't have a dog-goned dime.
I says, "Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck.
"We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."
So we crashed the gate doing ninety-eight
I says "Let them truckers roll, 10-4."

[Chorus]
'Cause we got a mighty convoy
Rockin' through the night.
Yeah, we got a mighty convoy,
Ain't she a beautiful sight?
Come on and join our convoy
Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way.
We gonna roll this truckin' convoy
'Cross the U-S-A.


Convoy! Ah, 10-4, Pig Pen, what's your twenty?
Convoy! OMAHA? Well, they oughta know what to do with them hogs out there fer shure. Well, mercy
Convoy! sakes, good buddy, we gonna back on outta here, so keep the bugs off your glass and the bears off your...
Convoy! tail. We'll catch you on the flip-flop. This here's the Rubber Duck on the side.
Convoy! We gone. 'Bye,'bye.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think that song is exactly like I mean, tells a story like a novel or a movie would, just in less time.

I'm not familiar with the artist, what's his style, folkish?

[HairOfTheDog]

Very good OT! ;~D

[JenB]

Slightly folky, as close to country as I get. He's just lumped into the generic "contemporary Christian" genre. Most of his songs are theological, or "slice of life"-y songs like that.

[Overtaxed]

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed.
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his fam'ly fed....

[HairOfTheDog]

Well any trucker song makes me remember this one! You know it?

Thirty Thousand Pounds of Bananas
by Harry Chapin

It was just after dark when the truck started down
the hill that leads into Scranton Pennsylvania.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Carrying thirty thousand pounds (hit it Big John) of bananas.

He was a young driver,
just out on his second job.
And he was carrying the next day's pasty fruits
for everyone in that coal-scarred city
where children play without despair
in backyard slag-piles and folks manage to eat each day
about thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, just about thirty thousand pounds (scream it again, John) .

He passed a sign that he should have seen,
saying "shift to low gear, a fifty dollar fine my friend."
He was thinking perhaps about the warm-breathed woman
who was waiting at the journey's end.
He started down the two mile drop,
the curving road that wound from the top of the hill.
He was pushing on through the shortening miles that ran down to the depot.
Just a few more miles to go,
then he'd go home and have her ease his long, cramped day away.
and the smell of thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes the smell of thirty thousand pounds of bananas.

He was picking speed as the city spread its twinkling lights below him.
But he paid no heed as the shivering thoughts of the nights
delights went through him.
His foot nudged the brakes to slow him down.
But the pedal floored easy without a sound.
He said "Christ!"
It was funny how he had named the only man who could save him now.
He was trapped inside a dead-end hellslide,
riding on his fear-hunched back
was every one of those yellow green
I'm telling you thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of bananas.

He barely made the sweeping curve that led into the steepest grade.
And he missed the thankful passing bus at ninety miles an hour.
And he said "God, make it a dream!"
as he rode his last ride down.
And he said "God, make it a dream!"
as he rode his last ride down.
And he sideswiped nineteen neat parked cars,
clipped off thirteen telephone poles,
hit two houses, bruised eight trees,
and Blue-Crossed seven people.
it was then he lost his head,
not to mention an arm or two before he stopped.
And he slid for four hundred yards
along the hill that leads into Scranton, Pennsylvania.
All those thirty thousand pounds of bananas.

You know the man who told me about it on the bus,
as it went up the hill out of Scranton, Pennsylvania,
he shrugged his shoulders, he shook his head,
and he said (and this is exactly what he said)
"Boy that sure must've been something.
Just imagine thirty thousand pounds of bananas.
Yes, there were thirty thousand pounds of mashed bananas.
Of bananas. Just bananas. Thirty thousand pounds.
of Bananas. not no driver now. Just bananas!"

From Greatest Stories Live: Ending #1

Yes, we have no bananas,
We have no bananas today
(Spoken: And if that wasn't enough)
Yes, we have no bananas,
Bananas in Scranton, P A

From Greatest Stories Live: Ending #2:

A woman walks into her room where her child lies sleeping,
and when she sees his eyes are closed,
she sits there, silently weeping,
and though she lives in Scranton, Pennsylvania
She never ever eats ... Bananas
Not one of thirty thousand pounds .... of bananas

[tiamat]

Oh yes.

My husband played that song to DEATH in college.

:-)

[Phsstpok]

Renaissance SONG OF SCHEHERAZADE lyrics

The Sultan

Sultan king cruel majesty
Ordered that his women die
A single night this for all his wives
Takes his pleasure then their lives
And so for many days with the dawn
The sultan had his way
Wives were put to death
His name on their dying breath
Then one day as the evening came
Sultan sends for him a wife
Choose her well charms I wish to see
Bring her, send her in to me
Then came Scheherazade to his side
And her beauty shone
Like a flower grown
Gentle as he'd ever known
Scheherazade bewitched him
With songs of jewelled keys
Princes and of heroes
And eastern fantasies
Told him tales of sultans
And talismans and rings
A thousand and one nights she sang
To entertain her king
She sings, Scheherazade, Scheherazade, etc
The Young Prince And The Young Princess As Told By Scheherazade
And you would cause the sun to see your light
And then be shamed
You cover darkness with a thousand secret flames
With your love, oh my love, oh my love, my love
And I would cause the winds to blow a hundred different days
And bring the perfumes of the gardens of the ways
Of your love, oh my love, oh my love, my love
Crystal and the clay, nights and the days
All on the prince's seal
Eagle of the sky, lion of the earth
This is what the seal is worth, what the seal is worth
Holds all of the dreams of a man
Tapestries, wishes of man, pictures and visions of man
The spirit of the soul of the man
And he would vow to love her for the rest of all his days
The Festival
Sheherazade this day is yours
The bearers of your gifts now all around you stand
The finest silk made in the land
Is waiting for your choice
It shimmers at your hand
Sheherazade your life is one
You have today the sultan's love
The people watch you step into the sun
Stalls and bars of every kind
Food piled high on woven leaves for all to eat
Drums and flutes at every turn
The music winding, twisting through the crowded streets
Caravans from far away bring people laughing
People come to see the sultan in Baghdad today
Scheherazade her name is known
Her tale is told
The sultan let her life be spared
The festival begins this day
To celebrate her fame
The people sing her praise
Stories sung, the crowds are dancing
To the music and the entertainment all the voices sing
The people call to see the king
The sultan smiles
His story just begun
The sultan and Sheherazade are one
Scheherazade, Scheherazade
She told him tales of sultans and talismans and rings
A thousand and one nights she sang to entertain her king
She sings, Scheherazade, Sheherazade, Scheherazade, etc.

And the woman who sang this, Annie Haslam, had a 5 octave range at her prime.

I love heroic music. Most of the best "story telling" music is also heroic. There are also some great heoric pieces without lyrics, but they still tell a story, just the same. Movie themes are a prime example, like Patton, or The Guns of Navarone.

And then there are movie themes that explicitely tell a story:

Do not forsake me, oh my darling from High Noon

Do not forsake me,
Oh my darling
On this, our wedding day
Do not forsake me,
Oh my darling
Wait,
Wait along

I do not know
What fate awaits me
I only know
I must be brave
And I must face a man
Who hates me
Or lie a coward,
A craven coward
Or lie a coward
In my grave

Oh, to be torn
'Tweenst love and duty
Suposing I lose
My fair-haired beauty
Look at that big hand move along
Nearing high noon

He made a vow
While in state prison
Vowed it would be
My life or his'n
I'm not afraid of death
But oh
What will I do
If you leave me?

Do not forsake me,
Oh my darlin'
You made that promise
As a bride
Do not forsake me,
Oh my darlin'
Although you're grieving,
Don't think of leaving
Now that I need you
By my side

Wait along, wait along,
Wait along, wait along,
Wait along, wait along,
Wait along, wait along,
Wait along.

Ned Washington - Dmitri Tiomkin

Now, for a challenge to those interested. Find the story of how this movie was almost shelved after initial screenings and how an editor and this song saved it to become one of the top 5 movies of all time.

[HairOfTheDog]

I've never heard the Sultan song...