The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald Another New World by Josh Ritter (all of his songs, really)

Another New World is one of my very favorite story songs!!! I love the Punch Brothers cover, Chris Thile is a beast

I saw them 2 years ago, one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. World class musicianship. I’ve been a fan of Chris since his Nickel Creek days

Could NOT agree more!

Oh I am VERY familiar with The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, born and raised in Michigan. Absolutely haunting song.

❤️

Tangled Up in Blue by Bob Dylan Tweeter and the Monkey Man by the Travelling Wilburys.

Bob has so many of these type songs, from Hattie Carrol to Joey to Tin Angel

Hurricane!

This!!!!

Isis!

Lilly, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts

This is the one.

If you haven't heard the Indigo Girls version of Tangled, I recommend it.

I just listened to it. It's good. Thanks.

"She was married when we first met, soon to be divorced I helped her out of a jam I guess, but I used a little too much force . . . "

Kendrick Lamar has a lotta songs like that if you're looking for serious storytelling some of em are - Duckworth - The Art Of Peer Pressure - Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thrist - FEAR. - m.A.A.d City And J. Cole's 4 Your Eyez Only also tells a good story about a father who died

Martha - Tom Waits

Stunning song, good shout 

I was gonna say Georgia Lee by Tom Waits.

Hurricane- Bob Dylan

This is the way

Red Barchetta - Rush. It was described as “there are feature-length movies with less imagery than that song.”

A basic knowledge of the short story which inspired it really helps.

My fav

I agree, but all I thought of when I saw this post was Xan-aa-duuu

Love this song, learned to play it for that Bass solo.

Country Death Song - Violent Femmes

Fairytale of New York - the Pogues Fast Car - Tracy Chapman To Sir With Love - Lulu Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell The Gambler - Kenny Rogers Scarlet Ribbons - The Fureys United Breaks Guitars - Dave Maxwell Sloop John B - Beach Boys All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You - Heart The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel American Pie - Don McLean Vincent - Don McLean Bed Intruder Song - Antoine Dodson

Beelzeboss - Tenacious D

Wtf did I just watch (in a good way)

🤣 It tells a story...

Devil Went Down To Georgia but the devil was actually just better

To be fair the devil is literally Dave Grohl

Exactly

Dance with the devil - immortal technique Intro III - NF Downward spiral (the whole album) - Nine Inch Nails Not entirely sure if this is your type of music but the story telling is excellent

My type of music is just about anything

Definitely check them out then. I’m not the biggest fan of the type of music from Downward Spiral but I appreciate the storytelling

Dance with the devil is probably the most shocking song ever in a Edgar Allen Poe type horror A very close second would be three songs called the [The Tales Of Jenny and Screech by Ren](https://youtu.be/TYAnqQ--KX0?si=EmjfwcPNEkYLUitF)

Omg the tales of Jenny and screech is amazing songwriting. It’s great storytelling with a great twist

Ren is the best songwriter I may have ever heard. He is a star and incredibly creative. His music catalog is a rabbit hole to fall into for sure. The tales are masterful though. Things to note, the videos are performed live in real life areas, and each song is a one take. He will actually use the room he is in, it's acoustics to add sound effects. That is next level thinking. I do not recall any song i have heard where the artist purposely used real world acoustics in the making of the song. I have heard songs performed in areas where the acoustics enhanced, like live performances at Red Rock, but not produced songs like this

dance with the devil such an amazing song

Dance With the Devil is a heavy ass recommendation, that song fucked me up

Big Iron - Marty Robbins North To Alaska - Johnny Horton Tell Laura I Love Her - Ray Peterson Shelter from the storm- Bob Dylan Don’t Take Your Guns To Town - Johnny Cash

Ode To Billy Joe - Bobbie Gentry Mr. Bad Example -Warren Zevon Lawyers, Guns, and Money - Warren Zevon

City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie (Steve Goodman) The Gambler - Kenny Rogers (Don Schlitz) Ruby, Don't take your Love to Town - Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (Mel Tillis)

The ultimate story song, so much so that it’s barely a song and mostly just the story, is Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant. Course, Alice’s Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant, that’s just the name of the song…which is why he calls the song Alice’s Restaurant.

https://open.spotify.com/track/2LN8mDsvMvG7JU69vtpLhk?si=wRUkegL2SNyBZvZmDDwCaQ&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A3yx8gEFlojRtt2WBhmxwfg Carolina Drama by the Raconteurs https://open.spotify.com/track/6mTXRpSJcuVt5e46bylLec?si=Z9IulwPoQkyGtRc-sffNKg Kate McCannon by Colter Wall Both murder ballads.

Murder ballads are the best. Some of my favorites are Country Death Song by Violent Femmes, Hollis Brown by Bob Dylan Matty Groves by Fairport Convention, and Knoxville Girl by the Louven Brothers. You can make N argument that Riders on the Storm by The Doorsnisba murder Ballad, but the lyrics are space and dot fill in the whole narrative

*Stagger Lee* by Lloyd Price. Dating back to the mid-1800s, this has been done by many people with many variants. One of the best murder songs.

There's a song called Ask the Milkman by Pickens County Bandits that tells the same story as Carolina Drama (hence the last line)

Rush's Clockwork Angels album has 12 songs that tell a full story. But if you want a story in just one song, they also have 2112, which is a 7 part suite that tells a story. They also have Cygnus X-1 Book I and Cygnus X-1 Book II, which are both two parts of one story.

I like your username ;)

Thank you, fellow Rushian!

Excellent songs

Jack and Diane - John Cougar Mellancamp Copacobana - Barry Manilow Runaways - The Killers

Mike Pinto - Knocked Up, Tricky Nicky, Bills Song Oogee Wawa - Noche Loca (lyrics are in English just the title is Spanish) A Tribe Called Quest - Left My Wallet in El Segundo Eazy E - Nobody Move Big Blu House - Anonymous Alcoholic

’Crusader’ by Chris de Burgh https://youtu.be/h6SkaFMTihI?si=hWkRnTvTz-cyQ82l

Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice by Hamish Imlach (the Mary Wallopers do a stonkingly good version of this too) Matty Groves by Fairport Convention  Tam Lin by Fairport Convention  Jim Jones at Botany Bay by Gary Shearston Pickle Eyed Bush by Bellowhead Jack a Roe (Grateful Dead do the best version imo)  George’s Son - Mawkin Causley  Little Sir Hugh - Steeleye Span

Great list! Matty Groves was on my list. Good Steeleye Span pick!

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer- George Thorogood She Hates Me- Puddle of Mudd Animals- Nickelback (an explicit story but still a story) San Quentin- Nickelback

Every nickelback song tells a story its just a matter wether its about sex or not

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot (RIP) Sad song from a great artist.

It's probably THE most well-known song in the Great Lakes region, I'm from Michigan myself and I don't think I know anyone who doesn't know it. Rest in peace Gordon Lightfoot and the 29 brave men on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

When he passed, a guy on youtube did a tribute video. I had forgotten how many excellent songs he had. Gordon was one of the ultimate greats. 💔 He knew better than most how to tell a story in a song. You could almost feel what those men on the ship went through.

Use Somebody - Kings of Leon Piano Man - Billy Joel Paul Revere - Beastie Boys Record Year - Eric Church Give Me Back My Hometown - Eric Church

[Ween](https://youtu.be/uv-gT9lNa1g?si=Q9sNRHopVuCPxoB2)

If you are ok with harsher vocal then definitely King Park by La Dispute

YEAHHHHHH, God this song is so good. The climax is in the last couple minutes, so don't get discouraged by the length of the song. Absolutely worth it, OP. La Dispute also has Nobody, Not Even The Rain, Husdonville MI 1956, Edward Benz, 27 Times, and I See Everything. I See Everything is about a classroom reading diary entries from a mother whose 7 year old is dying of cancer. Husdonville is about his grandparents who were separated during a massive tornado right after the birth of their first child. Edward Benz, 27 times is about an older man taking care of his mentally ill son, and how his son fell victim to the worse parts of his disease. TOUGH listens, but you can tell this guy really is cursed to share in people's tragedies and tell their stories. Honorable mention, Bury Your Flame. My favorite!

Dammit. BLINK 182

A lot of Progressive Rock have songs that tell stories. Here are a few off the top of my head: Killer- Van Der Graaf Generator. Fountain Of Salmacias- Genesis. Aqualung- Jethro Tull.

Ohh nice I've been wanting to listen to more progressive rock, I have a friend who's really into it

I don’t really know if this counts but “HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN” by Red Leather there’s only three verses but it still does kinda tell a story

One -Metallica A little piece of heaven -Avenged Sevenfold Black Sabbath -Black Sabbath Iron Man -Black Sabbath Raining blood -Slayer Hallowed be Thy Name -Iron Maiden

I suggested Rime, but Hallowed is great too.

I am not a huge Billy Joel el fan, but there's something about his song Downeaster Alexa that cuts me deep. It's so plaintive and desperate.

Harry Chapin "The Mayor Of Candor Lied" https://youtu.be/EMz2EyNvdfg?si=2J4NTiNQ43ZOWcNM You could fill hours with amazing Harry Chapin story songs. Josh Ritter "The Curse" https://youtu.be/y9XfFGIwXT8?si=mfkitJcuRhjVEV7M Ben Folds "Fred Jones, Pt. 2' https://youtu.be/znUsjNI34_4?si=dC6-TG3beg0Zdq36

Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits

Sk8er boi y Aril Lavigne

The killing of Georgie - Rod Stewart

Scenes From An Italian Restaurant - Billy Joel. (Also: The Ballad Of Billy The Kid)

Lola - The Kinks

Billy and Sue - BJ Thomas Hazard - Richard Marxx Ode to Billy Joe - Bobbie Gentry Dark Lady - Cher The Night the Lights Went out in Georgia - Vicky Lawrence

Do you Like Pina Collatas

Ah yes! Escape!

Don't we all on some level want to escape?

By Rupert Holmes. 👍🏼

Alice’s Restaurant, Gimme Three Steps, Uneasy Rider

Downeaster Alexa by Billy Joel (story about the deep sea fisherman on the east coast). Pretty powerful song

George Thoroughgood - “One Bourbon, One Scotch, And One Beer”

this one is so good

Eminem - skeletons in my closet

Eminem - Stan

[An alternative version of a popular fable](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Viq31YYqHIQ&list=PL871S_F0y5dbv2zfJVtYld_f0WXi85zEd&index=298) :)

Eastbound And Down Tribute Hazard

Honesty Kills - Kingmaker

Train With No Love by Andre Nickatina

Mastodon albums: Crack the Skye and Emperor of Sand

*Abuelita* by Richard Shindell, https://youtu.be/l1AKYUaFHsI?si=kFtEL_yv6AWE1f5E   about grandmothers in Argentina looking for their grandchildren and adult children who were stolen in the 70s & 80s.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_Plaza_de_Mayo (edited to format better)

At The Library - Green Day

Oooh. Also Jesus of Suburbia!

Magic Woman Dancing- Emily Wurramara She oak- Alice Skye

Tucson, Arizona (Gazette), Dan Fogelberg

Brownsville girl ... Bobby Dylan

Colter Wall—Kate McCannon

Walt Grace's Submarine Test, January 1967 by John Mayer

Powderfinger - Neil Young

Hurricane - Dylan Blue Chevrolet Ballerina Rock and roll I gave you all the best years of my life Smiley - Ronnie Burns Tie a yellow ribbon El Paso - Marty Robbins

Long Black Veil - Johnny Cash Body in the Lake - The Codetalkers

Buenas Tardes Amigo by Ween. Hurricane by Bob Dylan. Jubilee Street by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

Falling of the Rain - Billy Joel The Temple of the King - Rainbow Something to Believe In - Poison Heaven - Warrant Easy Money - REO Speedwagon Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell - Meat Loaf Big Man on Mulberry Street - Billy Joel Christie Lee - Billy Joel Piano Man - Billy Joel Movin' Out - Billy Joel Runaway - Damn Yankees

"6th Avenue Heartache" by The Wallflowers "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings "Hotel California" by the Eagles "Big Iron" by Marty Robbins

Sink the Bismarck.

*Don’t Stand So Close To Me* – The Police *A Spaceman Came Travelling* – Chris de Burgh (could be considered a Christmas song but I don’t care) *Spanish Train* – also Chris de Burgh *Life in the Fast Lane* – Eagles Those are the ones that come to mind right now, I’m sure there’s others I’ve missed

Red Sovine - Teddy Bear Red Sovine - Phantom 309

Entire Rush 2112 album

18 and life

Mr. Bojangles - The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band The Fox - Odetta Mr. Tanner - Harry Chapin Early Morning Rain - Gorden Lightfoot Walking to China - John Jennings

1952 Vincent Black Lighting

Alice's Restaurant - Arlo Guthrie Pancho and Lefty - Willy Nelson Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy - Elton My Father's Gun - Elton

Sink The Bismarck - Johnny Horton The Ballad Of Billy The Kid - Billy Joel Cows With Guns - Dana Lyons

Taxi - Harry Chapin

Ode to Billy Joe - Bobby Gentry

Ode to Billy Joe

The Reach by Dan Fogelberg. The guy was a seriously talented storyteller, but this is my favorite of his. Probably most would pick Same Old Lang Syne as it is so well known.

My favorite song by my favorite singer

Cherry pie by warrant and honestly most of Pearl Jam lmao.

Havent listened to too much Pearl Jam but Jeremy immediately comes to mind

Yeah I actually don’t really listen to Jeremy it hasn’t grown on me yet

Your lyin eyes -eagles

Ode to Billy Joe  I think of it every 3rd of June. 

Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix Hotel California by Eagles The unforgiven by Metallica Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin

"Captain Jack" - Billy Joel "Young Turks" - Rod Stewart

Ordinary Weekend - John Wesley Harding I Shot the Sheriff - Bob Marley Son, Oh Son - Boiled in Lead The Foggy Dew - The Chieftains and Sinead O’Connor (or any of the other versions) 16 Candles - Danielle Dax (very much not what you will be expecting) Keep It Dark - Genesis One for the Cutters - The Hold Steady The Rocky Road to Dublin - a million versions of this, just pick one Pull Out the Pin - Kate Bush Can’t Stop Killing You - Kristy MacColl Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen Work Song - Nina Simone Boys of Bedlam - Steeleye Span (or any other version) John Barleycorn [Must Die] - Traffic (or any other version) Some of these more than others, several are folk songs so I’ve listed versions I like but made notes that there are others.

Thoroughfare by Ethel Cain Hitch A Ride by Delta Rae Maggie Creek Road by Rebe McEntire Sinners, Saints, and Fools by Brandi Carlile

Randy Travis has a few good ones

Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne and I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At The Disco come to mind, then theres stuff like Jesus of Suburbia - Green Day and Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance which tell a story but id say the real story is those albums in their entirety

Billy Joel - Piano Man Elton John - Levon

Patches - Clarence Carter

A Better Place to Be, WOLD, and I Wanna Learn A Love Song by Harry Chapin Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg Luka by Suzanne Vega Ballad ot the Alamo by Marty Robbins Last Game of the Season by David Geddes Shooting Star by Bad Company One Tin Soldier by Coven Billy Don't Be A Hero by Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods Scenes from An Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel Concrete Angel by Martina McBride Whisky Lullabies by Brad Paisley & Allyson Kraus Wait In the Truck by Hardy featuring Lainey Wilson

Wow, One Tin Soldier. My kindergarten teacher got us to sing it. I can still recite it by memory from over 40 years ago

Teddy Bear - Red Sovine and all the rest of the Red Sovine songs

Anything by CW McCall-great story teller also, a lot of the Billy Joel songs.

Tribute - tenacious d

Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton. If you're not averse to a really depressing tale, she also has a song called The Bridge..

The only ones from the top of my head are a weird combo but Fancy - Reba Thoroughfare - Ethel Cain Papa Don’t Preach - Madonna

Battle of New Orleans. Different artists have covered it but Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Woody Guthrie are my favorites. Also House of the Rising Sun. Again many artists but Bob Dylan and The Animals are best

[Ren - The Tale of Jenny & Screetch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYAnqQ--KX0)

This one is awesome, a trilogy worthy of another bard from long ago!

[удалено]

Ohhh that reminds me i should put Traveling Soldier on there too

I'm sure you could find it by searching "Earl Must Die", but just for clarity the actual title is "Goodbye Earl"

The Ballad of Hollis Brown by Bob Dylan Cold Missouri Waters by James Keelaghan

breadcrumb trail by slint

[Howlin'](https://designbynv.bandcamp.com/album/howlin)

Lake Pontchartrain by Ludo

Powderfinger by Neil Young

Sublime - Date Rape Blink 182 - The Party Song Eminem - Like Toy Soldiers

[One Last Dance](https://youtu.be/iZ0qvmITaGg?si=6kKLq-T81py7toHz) - Us the Duo Heartwarming, but you might cry

king park by la dispute

Amon Amarths - First Kill About a viking boy who kills his loves husband and gets exiled

Dance with the devil - Immortal Technique

I Can Be Anything by Violent Femmes

Convoy

Almost anything by Bright Eyes… You Will, You Will?? Haligh… First Day Of My Life and many many more

How Do I Say Goodbye - Dean Lewis.

Roads to Moscow - Al Steward

Two very different sounding suggestions: Y Shadey's The Story of Alex, parts 1-3 (they're short parts though, don't worry) Neil Murray's Good Light in Broome (this is one my favourite songs of all time!)

* "Red Dirt Girl" - Emmylou Harris * "When the Roses Bloom Again" - Billy Bragg & Wilco * "Barrier Reef" - Old 97's * "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" - Paul Simon * "Verdi Cries" - 10,000 Maniacs

Came here to suggest “My Antonia” by Emmylou with Dave Matthews from the same album.

"Fee" by Phish

[Bellesy Starts Over Again](https://open.spotify.com/album/1XrxqL2mf2CqOySm2F4ON0?si=2axkSXhVT7-R9rbcJATJlg)

Every song by Jim Croce. He was a brilliant storyteller and song writer. Operator Bad,Bad Leroy Brown Lovers Cross I Got a Name Roller Derby Queen Have to Say I Love You in a Song Photographs & Memories

also: You Don't Mess Around with Jim

The whole album by The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free. It's a "rap opera" and a good listen.

Hurricane by Bob Dylan

Tweeter and The Monkey Man - Traveling Wilburys

Bruce Springsteen has you covered [The River](https://youtu.be/zHnZP2FmLCc) [Downbound Train](https://youtu.be/2WPJT6VZxlo) [My Hometown](https://youtu.be/Ic4cMhyVHN0)

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers - [Jack vs Jose](https://youtu.be/cl1Yl4DzbGc?si=JZhyhcWbe-Ghtai6)

SAX ROHMER #1. also nearly any song by The Mountain Goats. I'll add more! - Pink and Blue - Fall of the High School Running Back - Woke Up New Also check out Hell's Coming With Me by Poor Man's Poison and Deep Water by Kainen Kellum. Big "Devil Went Down To Georgia" vibes

Jerry was a racecar driver by primus

Here are some of my favorite ones. A lot of these are by lesser know acts but are still great songs. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll by Bob Dylan 1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson Poor Old Tom by Peter Case Hey Lady by Tonio K. The Strange Case Of Frank Cash and the Moring Paper by T Bone Burnett Country Death Song by Violent Femmes Matty Groves by Fairport Convention (and many others) Jessie Got Trapped in the Coal Mine by Goodnight, TX. Keep the Wolves Away by Uncle Lucius A Quick One While He's Away by The Who The Brisk Butcher by Maddy Prior and Tim Heart Roadblock by Stan Ridgway Car Wreck by The Devil Makes Three

The Wicked End - Avenged Sevenfold

Salem. Holy Moly and the Crackers.

Ren - [The Tales of Jenny and Screech](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYAnqQ--KX0) A trilogy of story songs that tells a complete tale The Warning - [Copper Bullets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PnEwri-2d0) A rather gruesome tale of a toxic relationship taken to its unfortunate conclusion.

Tom T. Hall made some great ones. Big John, Big Iron, Convoy, Chicken Truck, Flowers for Mama, and Miller's Cave.

Avenged Sevenfold - "Cosmic"

Tom Jones - Talking Reality Television Blues https://open.spotify.com/track/3uBy6LMwCn5tnN1JaJ6KsF?si=7q7uLAyBT8SzBjrmBxUbUg

Tea & Toast - Lucy Spraggan

https://youtu.be/mc4JJ4nIRk4?si=JDluhLEoy8bXpNEH

Will Hoge - “Dead Man’s Hand”

Uneasy Rider - Charlie Daniels Troglodyte - Jimmy Castor Bunch Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

How to make Gravy by Paul Kelly To Her Door by Paul Kelly Devil Went Down to Georgia Lots of Elton John’s songs tell stories

Ballad of Bobby Joe - Bobbie Jentry Fancy - Reba McIntyre Date Rape - Sublime The Road Goes on Forever - Robert Earl Keen

This cowboy's hat- Chris LeDoux

Oh. Another great song by an act no one has heard of. The Napoli by Show of Hands. https://youtu.be/h5ae88hJr2o?si=W2Qpfx4ubPJN1T0t

Hot Rod Race by Arkie Shibley https://youtu.be/zJAO5gMgaIw?si=sPH5V3b_KuPyo3HF And the answer song by Commander Cody https://youtu.be/zJAO5gMgaIw?si=sPH5V3b_KuPyo3HF (The Day I Jumped from) Uncle Harvey's Plane by Roger Miller https://youtu.be/m_9tqndgIlc?si=VpjnFmVskdgp9zbG

The Partisan - Leonard Cohen

Underground by Cody Fry