What are your favorite narrative songs?

[TheAdversary]

I'll just start by saying half the reason I'm here is because I like sharing music. Not much to be surprised about considering my post history. I figured, there are some types of music that people end up missing out on, because they stick mainly to big hits that one would hear on the radio. I personally believe that I'll never find my favorite musicians/artists unless I branch out and try listening to people I've never heard of.

With that out of the way, I have been listening to some narrative songs lately (songs that tell a story) and have been finding some great gems that many people might not have even heard of.

My favorite thus far is The Frame trilogy, by I, The Mighty. It's a 3-piece narrative that was released one part at a time in reverse order over the course of I, The Mighty's past few albums. The lyrics are in the video descriptions.

 

[Deleted member 98605]

Ever heard of Filk?

There's a quite few narrative songs from Carmen Miranda's Ghost.

Here's Guardians:

 

[Mr Fish]

Pretty much any Steam Powered Giraffe song is a narrative song but the one that hits me the most is this song.
Now, the lore behind the musical automatrons is that they were built like a hundred years ago and have been kept functional and running by the Walter family and.... Well... What do you think happens when a robot lives forever and a human... Doesn't?

Keep that in mind while listening to this song:



It made me tear up the first couple of times listening to it.

Another great one in a similar vein by SPG is the original demo version of Photographic Memories by David Michael Bennet (who plays The Spine in SPG) but good luck finding that one, if anyone is interested they can tell me on Discord and I'll upload it there.

So I'll just leave with the lyrics:

Spoiler

Hope is very hard when
Hope is very hard when we
Put ourselves out to sea

We've taken all the right steps
Taken all the right steps
But which doors open with our keys?

All the neon fires fired in our brain
We were thinking that our world was in danger
Then we entered the fray

All the rest they could not compare
Your smiled said that you cared,
And it felt so wonderful

Now all these memories,
I can't wash them away
They are destined to stay
And they feel like heaven

Those photographic memories
And they'll die on with me

All your thoughts I did
Cherish them all
I helped you up when you'd fall
You did the same for me, too

Into my life, you were
Right-right on time
You must've been a sign
And now I'm left with all these

Photographic memories
And they'll die on with me

Your eyes
Burnt two giant holes
Straight in my heart, my love spills out
Conquers you whole, now we're swimming around

In the love
And it soaks into our skin
Though mine is metal, and yours is flesh,
Our differences make this the best

Love in the town that we skip to,
Every destination
We're putting on a show, everywhere we go
Sparks fly from our lips
It's an electric kiss

Static's abound, frequency sounds
And in and we dance around
I'm generating lots of love
Holding your hand

They can hear our motors turning 'cross the land

All our love, well it
Put us at ease
And it somehow made time freeze
And it seemed like it'd never end

Both of our hearts seemed to
Intertwine
We met for the first time
And now I can't stop thinking about those

Photographic memories
And they'll die on with me

Hope is very hard when
Hope is very hard when you
Lost the thing you had before

I took all the rights steps
I took all the right steps
And I unlocked the right doors

All the neon fires died out in my brain
Now I've grown onto that feeling of
Pain
Why did you have to go?

All they rest, they could
Never compare
Your smile showed me that you cared
And it felt so wonderful

All those memories I can't
Wash them away
They are embedded in my brain
And I am all alone now
With these

Photographic memories
And they'll die on with me

It's not really that much of a narrative song though but whatever.

Here's also a neat song by SPG that is narrative:

 

[Ben Soto]

There's A Boy Named Sue :


It's one of the best examples of a narrative song.

 

[mobucks]

Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel immediately comes to mind. It's a medley too I love medleys.
Billy Joel is one of the best songwriters of our time! If you're from New Jersey.

 

[MPPlantOfficial]

This one:

 

[TheAdversary]

This one:

Basically it's a less classy version of "Sweet Violets."

 

[Hassknecht]

Favourite narrative song... Probably The Evangelist by Spawn Of Possession.

Or maybe Diabolus Absconditus by Deathspell Omega.

 

[MPPlantOfficial]

This one is really good:

This band is amazing at narrative songs in general

 

[TheAdversary]

Here's one I forgot about.

 

[MPPlantOfficial]

Classic

 

[YeeCop]

Very overlooked art rock gem. Sounds a lot like Queen (urban legend is that this song inspired "Bohemian Rhapsody")