Songs That Tell Stories

Dag, a fine posting. I forgot how succinct Lennon&McCartney really were.

Harris and the Mare
Stan Rogers

Harris, my old friend, good to see your face again
More welcome, though, yon trap and that old mare
For the wife is in a swoon, and I am all alone
Harris, fetch thy mare and take us home

The wife and I came out for a quiet glass of stout
And a word or two with neighbors in the room
But young Clary, he came in, as drunk and wild as sin
And swore the wife would leave the place with him

But the wife as quick as thought said, "No, I'll bloody not"
Then struck the brute a blow about the head
He raised his ugly paw, and he lashed her on the jaw
And she fell onto the floor like she were dead

Now Harris, well you know, I've never struck an angry blow
Nor would I keep a friend who raised his hand
I was a conscie in the war, cryin' what the hell's this for?
But I had to see his blood to be a man

I grabbed him by his coat, spun him 'round and took his throat
And beat his head upon the parlor door
He dragged out an awful knife, and he roared "I'll have your life"
And he stuck me and I fell onto the floor

Now blood I was from neck to thigh, bloody murder in his eye
As he shouted out "I'll finish you for sure"
But as the knife came down, I lashed out from the ground
And the knife was in his breast and he rolled o'er

Now with the wife as cold as clay I carried her away
No hand was raised to help us through the door
And I've brought her half a mile, but I've had to rest a while
And none of them I'll call a friend no more

For when the knife came down, I was helpless on the ground
No neighbor stayed his hand, I was alone
By God, I was a man, but now I cannot stand
Please, Harris, fetch thy mare, take us home

Oh, Harris, fetch thy mare, and take us out of here
In my nine and fifty years I've never known
That to call myself a man, for my loved one I must stand
Now Harris, fetch thy mare take us home

Cav, I spent two days in the sea shanty postings. Don't do that to me again.

Okay panzade, come back to the sea when she calls ya'.

Never heard "Harris and the Mare", but those
lyrics are powerful.

George, Stan Rogers was a songwriting god on the folk circuit here in Canada, and all over, really. I'll post another tune, and as manly as you wanna be, if this doesn't bring you to reach for the hanky box, you just have no heart (another powerful song with stories):

First Christmas

This day, a year ago, he was rolling in the snow
With a younger brother in his father's yard.
Christmas break - a time for touching home
The heart of all he'd known, and leaving was so hard -
Three thousand miles away, now he's working Christmas Day
Making double time for "the minding of the store"...
Well, he'd always said he'd make it on his own
He's spending Christmas Eve alone.
First Christmas away from home.

She's standing by the train station, panhandling for change
Four more dollars buys a decent meal and a room.
Looks like the Sally Ann place after all,
In a crowded sleeping hall that echoes like a tomb
But it's warm and clean and free and there are worse places to be,
And at least it means no beating from her Dad
And if she cries because it's Christmas Day
She hopes that it won't show...
First Christmas away from home.

In the apartment stands a tree, and it looks so small and bare
Not like it was meant to be
The Golden Angel on the top, it's not that same old silver star
You wanted for your own
First Christmas away from home.

In the morning, they get prayers, then it's Crafts and tea downstairs
Then another meal back in his little room
Hoping maybe that "the boys" will think to phone before the day is gone
Well, it's best they do it soon.
When the "old girl" passed away, he fell more apart each day
Each had always kept the other pretty well
But the kids all said the nursing home was best
'Cause he couldn't live alone...
First Christmas away from home.

In the Common Room they've got the biggest tree
And it's huge and cold and lifeless,
Not like it ought to be
And the lit-up flashing Santa Claus on top
It's not that same old silver star you once made for your own
First Christmas away from home.

D@mn, Cav, now ya done it.

Bwaaaaaa (Manly man crying)

How many popular songs do you know that don't have a single rhyme?

Here's one: Moonlight in Vermont

by Blackburn/Suessdorf




Pennies in a stream
Falling leaves a sycamore
Moonlight in Vermont

Gentle finger waves
Ski trails down a mountain side
Snowlight in Vermont

Telegraph cables, how they sing down the highway
As they travel each bend in the road
And when people meet, in this romantic setting
They're so hypnotized by the lovely...

Evening summer breeze
Sweet warblings of the meadowlark
Moonlight in Vermont

I don't know about popular, but you can always count on Tom Waits for a non-rhyming musical narrative:

9th & Hennepin

Well it's Ninth and Hennepin
All the doughnuts have names that sound like prostitutes
And the moon's teeth marks are on the sky
Like a tarp thrown all over this
And the broken umbrellas like dead birds
And the steam comes out of the grill
Like the whole goddamn town's ready to blow...
And the bricks are all scarred with jailhouse tattoos
And everyone is behaving like dogs
And the horses are coming down Violin Road
And Dutch is dead on his feet
And all the rooms they smell like diesel
And you take on the dreams of the ones who have slept here
And I'm lost in the window, and I hide in the stairway
And I hang in the curtain, and I sleep in your hat...
And no one brings anything small into a bar around here
They all started out with bad directions
And the girl behind the counter has a tattooed tear
"One for every year he's away", she said
Such a crumbling beauty, ah
There's nothing wrong with her that a hundred dollars won't fix
She has that razor sadness that only gets worse
With the clang and the thunder of the Southern Pacific going by
And the clock ticks out like a dripping faucet
'til you're full of rag water and bitters and blue ruin
And you spill out over the side to anyone who will listen...
And I've seen it all, I've seen it all
Through the yellow windows of the evening train...

There was a man of double deed
Who sowed his garden full of seed
And when the seed began to grow
'Twas like a garden full of snow
And when the snow began to fall
'Twas like some birds upon a wall
And when the birds began to fly
'Twas like a shipwreck in the sky
And when the sky began to crack
'Twas like a stick across my back
And when my back began to bleed
Then i was dead, and dead indeed


traditional Irish children's street song

That reminds me(I never heard that childrens rhyme...thanks)

I was fascinated to learn the history of another childrens's rhyme: Ring Around The Rosie. I'm sure a lot of you know this but if not:

This rhyme dates from the 11th century I believe, the time of the great plague

Ring around the rosie- plague victims would display a red ring around
the pustulence

Pocket full of posies- People believed a bouquet of flowers would ward
off the Black Death

Ashes Ashes- In French, achoo achoo, sneezing..

We all fall down-self explanatory

Anybody wanna correct or debunk? Come on with you' bad self.

Children are both frightened by and fascinated by death. Such children's songs are quite common.

Betty and Dupree

Gather 'round people let me tell you 'bout Dupree
Gather 'round people let me tell you 'bout Dupree
And his woman back in 1903
Betty was her name said she wanted a diamond ring
Betty was her name said she wanted a diamond ring
Dupree told Betty you can have most anything
Just lay down pretty Betty see what tomorrow brings
Said lay down pretty Betty see what tomorrow brings
May bring sunshine it may bring your diamond ring

Dupree went down-town a '44 in his hand
Dupree went down-town a '44 in his hand
Went for the jewelry but he shot that jewelry man
Dupree said Betty here's your diamond ring
Dupree said Betty here's your diamond ring
Just to please you pretty Betty I've done done a wicked thing

Dupree told Betty I'm bound for Tennessee
Dupree told Betty I'm bound for Tennessee
I'm sorry pretty Betty but that sheriff is a haunting me
They caught poor Dupree and put him into the jail
Caught poor Dupree put him in the jail
Atlanta prison is where Betty took Dupree his mail
Dupree said judge I ain't been here before
Dupree said judge I ain't been here before
Judge told Dupree I'm gonna see that you don't come back no more

They took him to the scaffold a black cap upon his face
Took him to the scaffold a black cap upon his face
Now the cold cold ground is for Dupree's resting place
Betty went to the graveyard singing near oh my god to thee
Betty went to the graveyard singing near oh my God to thee
Oh mister hangman look what you done done to Dupree
She told the hack-driver to drive his wagon slow
Told the hack-driver drive your dead wagon slow
When you bury my Dupree I ain't gonna see him no more

Sail on Dupree sail on, sail on Dupree sail on
Don't mind you sailing but you be gone so long
So long Dupree poor boy so long, Dupree poor boy
Don't mind you sailing you'll be gone so long, sail on
Dupree sail on

Setanta, I didn't realize my childrens song example was so common. I'm dying to hear about some others.

Jukebox Hero
Foreigner

Standing in the rain, with his head hung low
Couldn't get a ticket, it was a sold out show
Hear the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene
Put his ear to the wall, then like a distant scream

He heard one guitar, just blew him away
Saw stars in his eyes, and the very next day

Bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store
Didn't know how to play it, but he knew for sure

That one guitar, felt good in his hands
Didn't take long, to understand
Just one guitar, slung way down low
Was a one way ticket, only one way to go
So he started rockin' ain't never gonna stop
Gotta keep on rockin'
Someday he's gonna make it to the top

And be a JUKE BOX HERO got stars in his eyes
He's a JUKE BOX HERO
He took one guitar stars in his eyes
JUKE BOX HERO he'll come alive tonight

In a town without a name, in a heavy downpour
Thought he passed his own shadow, by the backstage door
Like a trip through the past, to that day in the rain'
And that one guitar made his whole life change

Now he needs to keep rockin' he just can't stop
Gotta keep on rockin' that boy has got to stay on top

And be a JUKE BOX HERO got stars in his eyes
He's a JUKE BOX HERO stars in his eyes
Yeah JUKE BOX HERO got stars in his eyes

WITH THAT ONE GUITAR he'll come alive
Come alive tonight

Bryan Adams
Summer Of '69

I got my first real six string
Bought it at the five and dime
Played it til my fingers bled
Was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit and Jody got married
I shoulda known we'd never get far
oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Ya - I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life

Ain't no use in complainin'
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenin's down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you - ya

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me that you'd wait forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life
Back in the summer of '69

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' can last forever - forever, no...

And now the times are changin'
Look at everything that's come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six string
I think about ya'n wonder what went wrong

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me it would last forever
Oh the way you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Back in the summer of '69

Bad Company
Shooting Star

Johnny was a schoolboy
When he heard his first Beatles song
Love Me Do, I think it was
And from then it didn't take him long
Got himself a guitar
Used to play every night
Now he's in a rock 'n' roll outfit
And everything's alright
Don't you know?

Johnny told his Mama,
"Hey, Mama, I'm goin' away
Gonna hit the big time
Gonna be a big star someday"
Mama came to the door
With a teardrop in her eye
Johnny said, "Don't cry, Mama
Smile and wave goodbye"
Don't you know?

Yeah......

(Chorus)
Don't you know that you are a shooting star
Don't you know
Don't you know
Don't you know that you are a shooting star
And all the world will love you just as long
As long as you are

Johnny made a record
Went straight up to number one
Suddenly everyone loved
To hear him sing the song
Watchin' the world go by
Surprisin' it goes so fast
Johnny looked around him and said,
"Well, I made the big-time at last"
Don't you know?
Don't you know?

(Chorus)
A shooting star

Don't you know that You are a shooting star
Don't you know?
Don't you know that You are a shooting star
And all the world will love you just as long
as long as you are

Johnny died one night, died in his bed
Bottle of whisky, sleeping tablets by his head
Johnny life passed him by like a warm summer day
If you listen to the wind you can still hear him play

(chorus)
Don't you know that You are a shooting star
Don't you know?
Don't you know that you are a shooting star
Dont you dont you dont you dont you dont you know
Don't you know that you are a shooting star

The Great Dust Storm - Woodie Guthrie

On the 14th day of April of 1935,
There struck the worst of dust storms that ever filled the sky.
You could see that dust storm comin', the cloud looked deathlike black,
And through our mighty nation, it left a dreadful track.
From Oklahoma City to the Arizona line,
Dakota and Nebraska to the lazy Rio Grande,
It fell across our city like a curtain of black rolled down,
We thought it was our judgement, we thought it was our doom.

The radio reported, we listened with alarm,
The wild and windy actions of this great mysterious storm;
From Albuquerque and Clovis, and all New Mexico,
They said it was the blackest that ever they had saw.

From old Dodge City, Kansas, the dust had rung their knell,
And a few more comrades sleeping on top of old Boot Hill.
From Denver, Colorado, they said it blew so strong,
They thought that they could hold out, but they didn't know how long.

Our relatives were huddled into their oil boom shacks,
And the children they was cryin' as it whistled through the cracks.
And the family it was crowded into their little room,
They thought the world had ended, and they thought it was their doom.

The storm took place at sundown, it lasted through the night,
When we looked out next morning, we saw a terrible sight.
We saw outside our window where wheat fields they had grown
Was now a rippling ocean of dust the wind had blown.

It covered up our fences, it covered up our barns,
It covered up our tractors in this wild and dusty storm.
We loaded our jalopies and piled our families in,
We rattled down that highway to never come back again.

Tom Joad (The Grapes of Wrath) - Woodie Guthrie

Tom Joad got out of the old McAlester Pen
There he got his parole
After four long years on a man killing charge
Tom Joad come a walking down the road, poor boy
Tom Joad come a walking down the road

Tom Joad he met a truck driving man
There he caught him a ride He said: "I just got loose from
McAlester's Pen On a charge called Homicide, A charge called
Homicide."

That truck rolled away in a cloud of dust,
Tommy turned his face toward home,
He met Preacher Casey and they had a little drink,
But they found that his family they was gone,
He found that his family they was gone.
He found his mother's old fashion shoe
Found his daddy's hat.
And he found little Muley and Muley said:
"They've been tractored out by the cats,
They've been tractored out by the cats."

Tom Joad walked down to the neighbors farm
Found his family.
They took Preacher Casey and loaded in a car
And his mother said "We got to git away."
His mother said 'We got to get away."

Now the twelve of the Joads made a mighty heavy load
But Grandpa Joad did cry.
He picked up a handful of land in his hand
Said: "I'm stayin' with the farm till I die.
Yes, I'm stayin' with my farm till I die."

They fed him short ribs and coffee and soothing syrup
And Grandpa Joad did die.
They buried Grandpa Joad by the side of the road,
Buried Grandma on the California side,
They buried Grandma on the California side.

They stood on a Mountain and they looked to the West And it
looked like the promised land. That bright green valley with a
river running through, There was work for every single hand, they
thought, There was work for every single hand.
The Joads rolled away to a Jungle Camp, There they cooked a stew.
And the hungry little kids of the Jungle Camp Said: "We'd like to
have some too." Said: "We'd like to have some too."

Now a Deputy Sheriff fired loose at a man
Shot a woman in the back.
Before he could take his aim again
Preacher Casey dropped him in his track.
Preacher Casey dropped him in his track.

They handcuffed Casey and they took him to Jail
And then he got away.
And he met Tom Joad on the old river bridge,
And these few words he did say, poor boy,
These few words he did say.

"I preached for the Lord a mighty long time
Preached about the rich and the poor.
Us workin' folks should all get together,
Cause we ain't got a chance anymore.
We ain't got a chance anymore."

The Deputies come and Tom and Casey run
To the bridge where the water run down.
But the vigilante thug hit Casey with a club,
They laid Preacher Casey on the ground, poor boy,
They laid Preacher Casey on the ground.

Tom Joad he grabbed that Deputy's club
Hit him over the head.
Tom Joad took flight in the dark rainy night
A Deputy and a Preacher lying dead, two men,
A Deputy and a Preacher lying dead.

Tom run back where his mother was asleep
He woke her up out of bed.
Then he kissed goodbye to the mother that he loved
Said what Preacher Casey said, Tom Joad,
He said what Preacher Casey said.

"Ever'body might be just one big soul
Well it looks that a way to me.
Everywhere that you look in the day or night
That's where I'm a gonna be, Ma,
That's where I'm a gonna be.

Wherever little children are hungry and cry
Wherever people ain't free.
Wherever men are fightin' for their rights
That's where I'm gonna be, Ma.
That's where I'm a gonna be