[Clemenza]

Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie

[jedward]

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
David Bryant
Les Misérables Highlights

Drink With Me
Anthony Crivello
Les Misérables Highlights

I Dreamed a Dream
Randy Graff
Les Misérables Highlights

[barker]

How about Wine Into Water by T Graham Brown. A great voice in country music wrote this song about his own personal battle. When he sang it at some of his shows people begged him to record it because they could relate to it. Themselves, a friend, a family member, someone they knew had this problem. My father had it.

Wine Into Water

You’ve heard a multitude of prayers on my behalf
I pray one more is not too much to ask
I’ve tried to fight this battle by myself
But its a war that I cant win without your help

Tonight I’m as low
As any man can go
I’m down and I can’t fall much farther
And once upon a time you turned the water into wine
Now on my knees I’m turning to you Father
Can you help me turn the wine back into water

So many times I’ve hurt the ones I love
I’ve pushed them to the edge of giving up
They’ve stood by me but how much can they stand
If I don’t put this bottle in your hand

Tonight I’m as low
As any man can go
I’m down and i cant fall much farther
And once upon a time you turned the water into wine
Now on my knees I’m turning to you Father
Could you help me turn the wine back into water

I shook my fists at heaven
For all the hell that I’ve been through
Now I’m begging for forgiveness
And a miracle from you

Cause tonight I’m as low
As any man can go
I’m down and I cant fall much farther
And once upon a time you turned the water into wine
Now on my knees I’m turning to you Father
Could you help me turn the wine back into water

Could you help me turn this wine back into water

[Jack Deth]

Hi, fatima:

I'd have to go back a few decades, but most of my selections would be on Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks"

Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD0V-MC1GUo

Tangled Up In Blue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxQIV74kEiE

And one that isn't. Kathy's Song, by Simon & Garfunkle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmgpF0syJ90


Jack.

[wardaddy]

most bizarre story....”Timothy”

[abigailsmybaby]

Big John by Jimmy Dean

Big John
Big John
Every morning at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six-foot-six and weighed two-forty-five
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
Everybody knew you didn’t give no lip to Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn’t say much, kinda quiet and shy
If ya spoke at all, ya just said hi to Big John

Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight o’er a cajun queen
And a crashin’ blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Lousianna fella to the promised land, Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin’
Miners were prayin’ and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought they’d breathed their last, ‘cept John

Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed the saggin’ timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree, just stood there alone, Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

And with all of his strength he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out, there’s a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave
now there’s only one left down there to save, Big John

With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
As smoke and gas belched outta the mine
Everybody knew it was the end of the line for Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Now, they never re-opened that worthless pit
They just placed a marble stand in front of it
These few words are written on that stand,

At the bottom of this mine lies one Hell of a man, Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

[spotbust1]

Morning fatima.

This is my favorite story song. (bring the kleenex)

http://us.video.aol.com/player/launcher?ar=us_en_audio_748x541_full&pmmsid=1263498&lg=1&referer=http%3A//music.aol.com/artist/rascal-flatts/429157/songs

[beachn4fun]

WELCOME TO

(where our troops, allies and their families can refresh themselves)

Good morning, Everyone. Good morning

Thank you, fatima, for preparing the Canteen for today's activities.

DC Metroland weather report ~ Today....Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 84F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. ~ Tonight.....Partly cloudy skies. Low 69F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Hmmm.....my mind is kind of sluggish this morning, so I can't think of my favorite.

But, it's Thursday and on top of that lookie what I got from that wonderful FReeper, sonora.

But, you stay right where you are. Don't touch that dial. Don't change that channel. Put down that remote. Don't leave the room. Keep your eyes on your monitor. Cause...............I'll be bock!

And, for the rest of you………..

Now remember, the Canteen is ALWAYS

So, come on in and sit for a while. There's always plenty of coffee, pancakes, conversation, silliness, and plain old BS

REMEMBER THEM ....

DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.

(many thanks to wonderful Sonora for the cute smiley woo hoos)

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Good morning Fatima.{{{HUGS}}}

Great thread.

All my favorite story songs have been named already.

[Non-Sequitur]

Just about anything from Bob Seger or Gordon Lightfoot.

[cyclotic]

Lot’s of folks mentioned Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant.” Nice choice, but “City of New Orleans is a far better ballad.

The Champion by Carman is pretty cool too. Focuses on the boxing match between good and evil between Jesus and Satan. Satan is dancing in the ring as Jesus dies...But then...

The legend of Wooly Swamp by Charlie Daniels is pretty cool too.

Convoy-CW McCall

Fatima, have you ever done one of these for good outlaw songs? There’s a ton of great ones.
Smokey and the Bandit
I fought the law
Beer for my Horses

[Non-Sequitur]

Anyone who's worked for a living can relate to this one by Seger.

I take my card and I stand in line
To make a buck I work overtime
Dear sir letters keep coming in the mail
I work my back till its racked with pain
The boss cant even recall my name
I show up late and Im docked
It never fails
I feel like just another
Spoke in a great big wheel
Like a tiny blade of grass
In a great big field
To workers Im just another drone
To ma bell Im just another phone
Im just another statistic on a sheet
To teachers Im just another child
To IRS Im just another file
Im just another consensus on the street
Gonna cruise out of this city
Head down to the sea
Gonna shout out at the ocean
Hey its me
And I feel like a number
Feel like a number
Feel like a stranger
A stranger in this land
I feel like a number
Im not a number
Im not a number
Dammit Im a man
I said Im a man

[GodBlessUSA]

Excellent thread ((((Fatima))))

[Charles Martel]

From the very beginning (Sultans of Swing), a good portion of the Mark Knopfler's work has been story songs, which tend to suit his unique not-quite-singing, not-quite-talking vocal style.

The following is from one of his later solo recordings:

5:15 A.M.
- Mark Knopfler

*****

5.15 a.m.
Snow laying all around
a collier cycles home
from his night shift underground
Past the silent pub
primary school, workingmens club
on the road from the pithead
the churchyard packed
with mining dead

Then beneath the bridge
he comes to a giant car
a shroud of snow upon the roof
a Mark-Ten Jaguar
He thought the man was fast asleep
silent, still and deep
both dead and cold
shot through
with bullet holes

The one armed bandit man
came north to fill his boots
came up from Cockneyland
E-type Jags and flashy suits
Put your money in
pull the levers
watch them spin
Cash cows in all the pubs
but he preferred the new nightclubs

Nineteen sixty-seven
Bandit men in Birdcage heaven
La Dolce Vita, Sixty-Nine
all new to people of the Tyne

Who knows who did what
somebody made a call
they said his hands
were in the pot
that he’d been skimming hauls
He picks up the swag
they gaily gave away
drives his giant Jag
off to his big pay day

The bandit man
came north to fill his boots
came up from Cockneyland
E-type Jags and flashy suits
The bandit man
came up the great north road
up to Geordieland
to mine
the mother lode

Seams blew up or cracked
black diamonds came hard won
generations toiled and hacked
for a pittance and black lung
Crushed by tub or stone
together
and alone
how the young and old
paid the price of coal

Eighteen sixty-seven
my angel’s gone to heaven
he’ll be happy there
sunlight and sweet clean air

They gather round the glass
tough hewers and crutters
child trappers and putters
the little foals and half-marrows
who pushed
and pulled the barrows
the hod boys
and the rolleywaymen
5.15 a.m.

[Lloyd227]

Take the children and yourself and hide out in the cellar.
By now the fighting will be close at hand.
Don't believe the church and state and everything they tell you.
Believe in me, I'm with the high command.

There's a gun and ammunition just inside the doorway.
Use it only in emergancy.
Better you should pray to God, the father,
and the spirit will guide you and protect you from up hear.

Swear allegance to the flag. Whatever flag they offer.
Never hint at what you really feal.
Teach the children quietly for someday suns and daughters,
we'll rise and fight while we stood still.
 

[L.N. Smithee]

"Lyin' Eyes," Eagles
"Life In The Fast Lane," Eagles
"Taxi," Harry Chapin
"He Stopped Loving Her Today," George Jones (if this song doesn't bring you to tears, check your heart to see if it's still there)
"American Pie," Don McLean

Many more I can't think of at the moment. Just let me say for the record that although it doesn't fit the format of this thread, Hank Williams Jr's "A Country Boy Can Survive" may be the best song ever written.

[NRA1995]

Hello to all you Canteeners, Cubies, Newbies & Troops! Let’s see....my favorites have always been “Big Bad John” by Jimmy Dean and “Ahab The Arab” by Ray Stevens. Hoping we soon get some sunshine back here in the DC area. Have a great day, everyone! Gonna jump on my camel named Clyde and secretly meet up with Fatima of the Seven Veils!

[FLCowboy,]

Didn’t see Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger in the first 100 posts. Sorry if it has already been posted.

[Just another Joe]

Rush - 2112

Science fiction
Mankind is split by competing agendas. Progressives wanting freedom to explore mankinds limits and the Priests of Syrynx wanting to control everything mankind is allowed to do.

The progressives leave earth.

Later in time, an archeologist finds a guitar, learns to play it, and brings it before the Priests as something that would be good for mankind.
The priests deny him this and he returns to his residence where he sleeps and has a dream about the progressives that left earth long ago.
In his dream, which could be a telepathic sending, he's given a tour/history lesson of what the progressives have accomplished.

He awakes, is despondent, and starts to attemp suicide when, all of a sudden, the progressives arrive and defeat the Priests.

It's a great story, well told, and emotional, if you understand the story.

[sinclair]

Carry Me, Carrie
Artist(Band):Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
Lyrics and Music by: Shel Silverstein 1972

Second Street and Broadway
Sitting in a door way
Head held in his hands
Looked to all the world like he was praying

Foot wrapped in an old rag
Bottle in a brown bag
I saw him try to stand
Then I heard the words that he was saying

He said come on Carrie, carry me a little farther
Come on Carrie, carry me one more mile
I don't know where it's leading to
But I know I can make it if I lean on you
So come on Carrie, carry me a little
I carried you, now carry me a little
Come on Carrie, carry me a little while

Well he struggled to his feet
And staggered down the street
To the window of the five-and-dime
He stood and laughed a while at his reflection

And then I heard him shoutin'
Something about a mountain
He could surely climb, if she was only there to point the right direction
But she ain't no, no ain't no

He said come on Carrie, carry me a little farther
Come on Carrie, carry me one more mile
I don't know where it's leading to
But I know I can make it if I lean on you
So come on Carrie, carry me a little
I carried you, now carry me a little
Come on Carrie, carry me a little while......