Songs That Tell Stories

When Johnny comes marching home again,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give him a hearty welcome then
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout
The ladies they will all turn out
And we'll all feel gay,
When Johnny comes marching home.

The old church bell will peal with joy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
To welcome home our darling boy
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The village lads and lassies say
With roses they will strew the way,
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

Get ready for the Jubilee,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
We'll give the hero three times three,
Hurrah! Hurrah!
The laurel wreath is ready now
To place upon his loyal brow
And we'll all feel gay
When Johnny comes marching home.

Blue Rodeo
5 Days in May

They met in a hurricane
Standing in the shelter out of the rain
She tucked a note into his hand
Later on they took his car
Drove on down where the beaches are
He wrote her name in the sand
Never even let go of her hand

Somehow they stayed that way
For those 5 days in May
Made all the stars around them shine
Funny how you can look in vain
Living on nerves and such sweet pain
The loneliness that cuts so fine
To find the face you've seen a thousand times

Sometimes the world begins
To set you up on your feet again
It wipes the tears from your eyes
How will you ever know
The way that circumstances go
Always going to hit you by surprise
I know my past
You were there
In everything I've done
You are the one

Looking back it's hard to tell
Why they stood while others fell
Spend your life working it out
All I know is one cloudy day
They both just ran away
Rain on the windshield heading South
She loved the lines around his mouth

Sometimes the world begins
To set you up on your feet again
It wipes the tears from your eyes
How will you ever know
The way that circumstances go
Always going to hit you by surprise
I know my past
You were there
In everything I've done
You are the one

joeblow
I like that.

Me, too, Edgar.

I'm a big fan of Blue Rodeo, especially Jim Cuddy.

Sweet Baby James - James Taylor


There is a young cowboy he lives on the range
His horse and his cattle are his only companions
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons
Waiting for summer, his pastures to change

And as the moon rises he sits by his fire
Thinking about women and glasses of beer
And closing his eyes as the doggies retire
He sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
As if maybe someone could hear

(chorus)
Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rockabye sweet baby james
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rockabye sweet baby james

Now the first of december was covered with snow
And so was the turnpike from stockbridge to boston
Lord, the berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frosting
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go

There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway
A song that they sing when they take to the sea
A song that they sing of their home in the sky
Maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep
But singing works just fine for me

(chorus)

Move It (An Aparthied protest song)


The storm clouds have gathered
The young lions prowl
Prowl outside your precious metal wall
The children of your sheep
Have begun to growl
And your diamond barricade is soon to fall

We see our babies starving at the edges
of your feast
But still you're holding fast to all your lies
A new rage is rising that your torture cannot kill
And now the time has passed for compromise

You killed the truth at Sharpville
You crushed the voice of peace
Now everyday a bitter anger grows
The young gangs prepare for war their fear burned in the flame
You Lilly white will soon be blood red rose

The liberation funerals, the terror in the streets
The wounds that you refuse to let us heal
The madness of your method
Has brought a white hot heat
Your fire of hate is forging hearts of steel

Homeless in our homelands
Aliens in our own lands
Hungry men with gold dust on our shoes
Our patience and our sanity
Has now turned into rage
The rage of souls with nothing left to lose

Move it
Move it
Move it

@joeblow - I just began taking an interest in Blue Rodeo - thanks for the lyrics - I'm checking out this tune right now!

jas - so many good ones...try the Lost Together disc...if not the title track (which I liked initially, I confess, but burned out on by the overplay).

Thanks, Joe! - going to search that one out today!

Blue Rodeo
Fools Like You

So good at doing
what you don't do
just trying to protect yourself
and other fools like you
So well practised
in your deceit
behind the high walls of stupidity
your endless conceit
behind the locked door
the sleeping dog you beat
I hope I see the day
she satisfies her teeth
Give back to the native
their treaty land
what you preach you preach for others
why don't you practise that first hand
I just don't understand
this world of mine
I must be out of touch
or out of my mind
and will the profits of destruction
forever make your eyes blind
do you bow to the corporations
cause they pay their bills on time
God bless Elijah
with the feather in his hand
stop stealing the Indian land
stop stealing the Indian land
stop stealing the Indian land

dj, love that.

Here's one more:

Blue Rodeo
Is it you

Is it you
I wonder
And still it makes me laugh
Is it you
That I'm looking for
Don't turn away so fast
And while you were talking
Wide-eyed I fell asleep
Hoping tomorrow would be
As sweet

Is it you
Who whispered
Into my hazy soul
Is it you
Who makes the flowers bloom
On the tenement windowsill
In a hotel room
A TV glows
And songs are exchanged
Drunkenly chasing the ghost
Of eternity

There's a drunk on the sidewalk
Trying to look unconcerned
And the dead eyed motel blondes
Wait in line for their turn

Is it you
Who laughs
When all the other dogs snarl
Is it you
Just because you listened for a while
And with this buzz of electricity
Still ringing in my ears
I wonder
Is it you
I wonder
Is it you

Frank Sinatra
Summer Wind

The summer wind, came blowin' in - from across the sea
It lingered there, so warm and fair - to walk with me
All summer long, we sang a song - and strolled on golden sand
Two sweethearts, and the summer wind

Like painted kites, those days and nights - went flyin' by
The world was new, beneath a blue - umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man - one day it called to you
And I lost you, to the summer wind

The autumn wind, and the winter wind - have come and gone
And still the days, those lonely days - go on and on
And guess who sighs his lullabies - through nights that never end
My fickle friend, the summer wind

one of my fav Sinatra tunes, joe!


Song For Adam - Jackson Browne

Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him well
He was alone into his distance
He was deep into his well
I could guess what he was laughing at, but I couldn't really tell
Now the story's told that Adam jumped, but I've been thinking that he fell

Together we went traveling, as we received the call
His destination India, and I had none at all
Well, I still remember laughing with our backs against the wall
So free of fear, we never thought that one of us might fall

I sit before my only candle, but it's so little light to find my way
Now this story unfolds before my candle
Which is shorter every hour as it reaches for the day
But I feel just like a candle in the way
I guess I'll get there, but I wouldn't say for sure

When we parted we were laughing still, as our goodbyes were said
And I never heard from him again as each our lives we led
Except for once in someone else's letter that I read
Until I heard the sudden word that a friend of mine was dead

I sit before my only candle, like a pilgrim sits beside the way
Now this journey appears before my candle
As a song that's growing fainter the harder that I play
But I fear before I end I'll fade away
But I guess I'll get there, though I wouldn't say for sure

Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him long
And when I stood myself beside him, I never thought I was as strong
Still it seems he stopped his singing in the middle of his song
Well I'm not the one to say I know, but I'm hoping he was wrong

I'm holding out my only candle, though it's so little light to find my way
Now this story's been laid beneath my candle
And it's shorter every hour as it reaches for the day
Yes, I feel just like a candle in the way
I hope I'll get there, but I never pray

Jackson Browne and Sintatra - Now we're back in my territory.

MacArthur Park
Jimmy Webb

Spring was never waiting for us girl.
It ran one step ahead, as we followed in a dance.
Between the parted pages
They were pressed in loves hot fever arm like a striped pair of pants.

MacArthur Park is melting in the dark.
All the sweet cream icing flowing down.
Someone left the cake out in the rain.
I don't think that I can take it.
Cause it took so long to bake it.
And I'll never have the recipe again.
Oh no.

I still see the yellow cotton dress, foaming like a wave on the ground around your knees.
The birds, like tender babies
On your hand.
And the old men playing checkers by the trees.

There will be another song for me
And I will sing it.
There will be another dream for me.
Someone will bring it.
I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me
Looking at the sun.
And after all the loves of my life,
After all the loves of my life,
You'll still be the one.

I will take my life into my hands
And I will use it .
I will win the worship of their eyes
And I will use it.

I will have the things that I desire
And my passions flow like rivers to the sky.
And after all the loves of my life.
After all the loves of my life.
I'll be thinking of you and wondering why.

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobody's been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings.

And the ship sails on, back to the North
Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what he's done
BUt when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on at sea
And the curse goes on and on for them and me.

'Day after day, day after day,
we stuck nor breath nor motion
as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink.'

There calls the mariner
There comes a ship over the line
BUt how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.

See...onward she comes
Onward she nears out of the sun
See, she has no crew
She has no life, wait but here's two.

Death and she Life in Death,
They throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
Then...crew one by one
they drop down dead, two hundred men
She...she, Life in Death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.

'One after one by the star dogged moon,
too quick for groan or sigh
each turned his facce with a ghastly pang
and cursed me with his eye
four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
they dropped down one by one.'

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner wished he'd die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.

and by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
God's creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain.

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak and they're lifelesss in their eyes

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
spirits go fromhe long dead bodies
Form their own light and the mariner's left alone.

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,
Penance of life will fall onto him.

And the ship sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.

The mariner's bound to tell of his story
To tell this tale wherever he goes
To teach God's word by his own example
That we must love all things thaat God made.

And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on.

I bet someone's already posted it, but here it comes:

Bob Dylan - Hurricane

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously.
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand.
I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night.

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around.
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda **** was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that.
In Paterson that's just the way things go.
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops.
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head.
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.

Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in,
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs.
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame,
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame.
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow.
You'll be doin' society a favor.
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver.
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.

All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
That's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

I don't recall, but it's one of my all time favorites, so, what the hey?

some canadian tales from a great canadian
stompin' tom connors

Gumboot Clogeroo

Oh we sailed away at the break of day to pull traps in oilskin trousers-
On the "Susie Jack" but tonite we're back wit a tousand pounds a lobsters-
Oh Shanty town we're gonna tear ya down we got the money comin out a me stockins
Tonite I'm due to bushwack Sue-and take'er to the gumboot clogeroo
And We'll do a little gumboot cloggin-do a little gumboot cloggin-do a little gumboot
cloggin-
There's fishin brews and a Cold Hog stew and a boeee-owl of Clam Chowder-
Just see me reach for dat Newfie Screech when they diddle up the fiddle jig louder-
Hear the French girls sing and da geetars ring and the squeeze box squeetity squawkin-
Me and my Sue gonna Whoop de do take er to da Gumboot Clogeroo
And we'll do a little gumboot cloggin-do a little gumboot cloggin
There's Boots Benard and the rock richard's and the girls from way down Crackidee!
How many Blue Noser's and Herring Chokers we just don't know exactly-
Pack em all in tight and we'll dance all night get the old barn floor just a rockin
Buy a ring dang do for PEI Sue & take 'er to the gumboot Clogeroo
And we'll do a little gumboot cloggin-do a little gumboot cloggin...
Oh We sailed away at the break of day to pull traps in oilskin trousers
On the Susie Jack , but tonight Were back wit a tousand pounds o' lobsters-
Oh shanty town we're gonna tear ya down We got the money comin outa me stockins
Tonite I'm due to bushwack Sue and take er to the gumboot cloggeroo
And We'll do a little gumboot cloggin-
There's fishin brew and a coldhog stew and a boweeeol o clam chowder...
Just see me reach for that Newfie Screech and we'll diddle up the fiddle jig louder-
Hear the French girls sing and the guitars ring and the squeezebox squeetity squackin
Me and my sue gonna whoop de do-take er to a gumboot cloggeroo
Gonna do a little gumboot cloggin-do a little gumboot Cloggin -repeat, end


The Man In The Moon Is A Newfie

You might think its goofie, but the man in the moon is a Newfie
And he's sailin on to glory, away in the golden dory....x2
Codfish Dan from Newfoundland he dreamt that he had tree wishes
And he took mars and all the stars and he turned them into big fishes
He said the sky was much too dry and he made a wavy motion
And the moon like a boat began to float upon the starry ocean
Chorus:
And you might think its goofy...
One night he strayed to the milky way to cast his nets upon it
He spied the tail of a great big whale and he harpooned Haleys comet
He never had a pot for the fish that he caught so he had to use the big dipper
And the sun by jove was a very good stove for cookin up smelts and kippers
Chorus:
Now the northern lights that seem so bright like nothin could be grander
Well they're just waves that the moon-boat made by the Newfoundland Commander!
And don't you sigh and say oh my "What gross exagerration!"
Cause he'll tell you the dream was true when Codfish Dan awakens
Chorus:
And you might think its goofy but the man in the moon is a Newfie....
Twice and then end...


The Hockey Song

Hello out there we're on the air it's hockey night tonite
Tension grows the whistle blows-& the puck goes down the ice.
The goalie jumps and the players bump and the fans all go insane
Someone roars "Bobby scores!" at the good ole hockey game
Chorus:
Oh the good ole hockey game is the best game you can name
And the best game you can name is the good ole hockey game
2nd period:
Where players dash with skates aflash the home team trails behind
But they grab the puck and go bursting up and they're down across the line
They storm the crease like bumble bees they travel like a burning flame
We see them slide the puck inside -It's a "1-1" hockey game!
Chorus:
3rd period: last game in the playoffs, too...
Oh take me where the hockey players face off down the rink-
And the Stanley Cup is all filled up for the chaps who win the drink-
Now the final flick of the hockey stick and a one gigantic scream-
The puck is in! The home team wins! The good ole hockey game!
Chorus:
repeat
3 times
He shoots he scores...


Tillsonburg

While away down in southern Ontario,
I never had a nickel or a dime to show,
A fellow beeped up in an automobile,
He said, "Yawanna work in the tobacco fields of...

Chorus:
Tillsonburg (Tillsonburg), Tillsonburg (Tillsonburg),
My back still aches when I hear that word.

He said, "I'll only give ya seven bucks a day,
And if you're any goodyou'll get a raise in pay,
Your bed's already on the bunkhouse floor,
If it gets a little chilly you can close the door.

Chorus

I was feelin' in the morning anything but fine,
The farmer said, "I'm gonna teach you how to 'prime'."
He said, "You gotta don a pair of oilskin pants,
If you wanna work in the tobacco plants of...

Chorus

We landed in a field that was long and wide,
With one old horse and five more guys,
I asked him where to find the cigarette trees,
When he said, "Bend over," I was ready to leave...

Chorus

He said to pick just the bottom leaves,
And don't start crawlin' on your hands and knees,
Prime your row 'cause you'll get no pay,
For standin' there pickin' at your nose all day 'round...

Chorus

With a broken back bendin' over there,
I was wet right through to the underwear,
And it was stuck to my skin like glue,
From the nicotine tar and the morning dew of...

Chorus

Now, the nearest river was two miles from,
The place they were waitin' for the boat to come,
When I heard some talk about makin' the kill,
I was down the highway and over the hill from

Chorus

Now there's one thing you can always bet,
If I never smoke another cigarette,
I might get taken in a lot of deals,
But I won't go work in the tobacco fields of...

Chorus (repeat last line to fade)