Storytelling is an ace in any songwriter’s hand, though it’s not always the easiest to pull off. Not just any writer can tell a fully fleshed-out story in three minutes or less. It takes a true lyrical maven to craft a storytelling song. The five artists below have that gift.
Videos by American Songwriter
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1. “Take The Money And Run” (Steve Miller Band)
Steve Miller sets the scene for a tale of two lovers on the run in this 1976 track: This here’s a story ’bout Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue. “Take The Money And Run” is a storytelling song in the traditional sense. The lyrics are in chronological order. In the opening verse, Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue get themselves into a robbery gone wrong. With a dead body in the wake, the pair skip town and try and outrun a detective.
It’s a riveting tale from start to finish. The cliffhanger at the end of the track adds an air of mystery to the track and gives it endless replay value.
2. “Space Oddity” (David Bowie)
David Bowie knew a thing or two about painting a portrait. His entire career was characterized by intense character-building. One of his most famous works, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, is an album’s worth of storytelling excellence.
Another one of his finest efforts in that department, “Space Oddity,” is known the world over. The opening refrain–Ground Control to Major Tom–can be recited even by those who don’t know Bowie’s career intimately. It showcases the power of a great story. It can be told over and over again with no fear of tiring the listener out.
3. “Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
We can’t make a list about storytelling in classic rock without mentioning Queen‘s operatic epic, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Freddie Mercury crafted an exceptionally complex story in the space of just a few minutes. Granted, the song’s runtime is longer than many hits, but the amount of detail he carved out is still impressive.
The meaning behind the iconic work is up to interpretation. The band themselves have been notoriously shady about what the song means to them. While the lack of a definitive answer can be a little frustrating, it allows the allusions to cosmic scales and the afterlife to be endlessly applicable.
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4. “Doolin’ Dalton” (Eagles)
Eagles Desperado is their most conceptual album. Each track helps to flesh out a larger western-themed story. The iconic rockers introduce the pseudo main character for the work in “Doolin’ Dalton.” The titular character is a gunslinger of Wild West proportions. The group uses his inclination toward a deathly showdown as a commentary on life choices. Go down, Bill Doolin, don’t you wonder why / Sooner or later, we all have to die?
5. “Cat’s In The Cradle” (Harry Chapin)
Harry Chapin details a fractured relationship between a father and a son in this 1974 track. He immediately gets down to brass tacks, singing from the perspective of an absent father. My child arrived just the other day / He came to the world in the usual way / But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay / He learned to walk while I was away.
At the end of the song, Chapin delivers a hard truth. The refrain that has positive connotations at the beginning of the song–I’m gonna be like you, dad–gets turned on its head. I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind / He said, I’d love to, dad, if I can find the time…He’d grown up just like me / My boy was just like me.
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Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
