Random Musings: Songs That Tell a Story

Steve Earle sings:

Sing me a song about a cowboy with an achin’ heart
Ridin’ along the lonesome prairie ’bout to fall apart
Every time those doggies moan
He doesn’t feel so all alone
That’s the kind of song that I like – the kind that breaks your heart*

I like that kind of song too, but what I really find myself drawn to of late is songs that tell a story. Songs like Billie and Bonnie and The Week of Living Dangerously by the aforementioned Mr. Earle.

Perhaps it goes back to my childhood; some of my earliest memories of “favorite songs” are:

• Bad, Bad Leroy Brown (Jim Croce)
• The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (Gordon Lightfoot)
• The Night Chicago Died (Paper Lace)
• One Piece at a Time by Johnny Cash

The late, great, Warren Zevon was a master of this genre; owning several spots on my list of favorites, including:

• Boom Boom Mancini
• Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner
• Frank and Jesse James
• Jeannie Needs a Shooter
• Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)

So, if you’re like me (Heaven forbid!) and you also like songs that have a tale to tell, give any of these a spin. You can thank me later.

*The Kind from his fantastic CD Jerusalem.