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Story Songs by Plot

Many songs are like short stories. Name these "story songs" by a short plot description.
Quiz by buck1017
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Last updated: December 26, 2013
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First submittedDecember 24, 2013
Times taken14,949
Average score35.0%
Rating4.49
8:00
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Plot
Song
Tough man with a girly name tries to find his dad so he can kill him
A Boy Named Sue
Dad can't spend time with son; Son grows and can't spend time with Dad
Cat's in the Cradle
Guy gets arrested for littering and therefore can't get in the army
Alice's Restaurant
Guy writes fan letters; doesn't get responses; has major psychotic break
Stan
Chronicle of America in the 50s and 60s before the music died
American Pie
Man tired of his wife unknowingly answers wife's personal ad
Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Sister secretly kills brother's cheating wife and friend; brother is hanged
The Night the Lights Went
out in Georgia
He got in one little fight and his scared mom sent him to live in California
Fresh Prince Theme Song
A boxer, who coulda been champion, is wrongfully convicted of murder
Hurricane
Massive freighter sinks in Lake Superior during a November storm
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Major Tom goes to space; doesn't make it home
Space Oddity
Satan has a fiddle battle with a boy named Johnny
The Devil Went down to Georgia
A demon is defeated by the greatest song in the world
Tribute
Young teacher falls in love with a girl half his age
Don't Stand so Close to Me
Cheating wife hides her lover in her closet when husband comes home
Trapped in the Closet
South Dakota man attempts to shoot off the legs of his rival; finds a bible
Rocky Raccoon
Guy on a train gets advice from a dying old card shark
The Gambler
Band goes to Switzerland to make a record; witness a big fire
Smoke on the Water
Young man is ruined by a New Orleans house of ill repute
House of the Rising Sun
Billy Joe & Bobbie Sue rob a man; Persued by detective Billy Mack
Take the Money and Run
34 Comments
+6
Level 78
Feb 3, 2014
Props for the Tenacious D clue.
+1
Level 43
Feb 3, 2014
True, though Beelzeboss is the song they use to beat the devil, Tribute is a tribute to that.
+1
Level 48
Oct 19, 2016
There's a version of the song where they play the riff for stairway to heaven in between one of the verses. it was a quiet nod to 'the greatest song in the world' which was then forgotten after a few too many puffs. stairway denied
+1
Level 41
Apr 15, 2024
Pishposh. I don't care what Kage said, the movie soundtrack was but a slightly harder-rocking remake of their first "album." Also, Beelzeboss definitely sounds something like Tribute as they follow a similar plot. Henceforth, Beelzeboss refers to the devil himself facing them in a rock-off challenge, which they lose. It is simply impossible that their song in Beelzeboss was the greatest song in the world when it fell by rock-off to the song of Satan. However, one may argue that the entire song of "Beelzeboss" was the song presented to the demon that fateful night, but they would require a third voice to play Satan. One could say that the demon, caught up in the greatness of the song, just couldn't resist joining in, but the voice in Beelzeboss was certainly different from the demon in Tribute.
+2
Level 85
Feb 3, 2014
Excellent quiz idea!
+1
Level 40
Feb 5, 2014
I thought American Pie was about the death of Buddy Holly
+3
Level 78
Feb 6, 2014
Admittedly, American Pie isn't much of a story song per se, but it does chronicle the change in the music scene in America after the "day the music died," which was the day of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper. There are many websites that attempt to explain the symbolism in the lyrics.
+3
Level 85
Aug 8, 2015
Surprised only 9% got Alice's Restaurant. More people should listen to the radio on Thanksgiving!
+3
Level 81
Mar 7, 2016
You've got Tenacious D on here so what about Weird Al? He's done several good "story" songs... including Albuquerque, The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota, and even a parody of American Pie, The Saga Begins
+1
Level 78
Mar 9, 2016
Albuquerque would be a good addition. One of my favorites, actually.
+1
Level 52
Jul 17, 2016
I would've been psyched if Albuquerque was on here. ^_^ "Man receives box of one dozen starving, crazed weasels, then meets the love of his life."
+1
Level 52
Jul 17, 2016
Another good addition to this would be Ode to Billie Joe by Bobbie Gentry.
+4
Level 51
Sep 20, 2016
Disappointed to not see Bohemian Rhapsody on here, but a fun quiz nonetheless!
+2
Level 78
Sep 21, 2016
Bohemian Rhapsody has a plot?
+8
Level 96
Nov 1, 2018
Absolutely! It's all about a young man who commits murder, goes to trial, begs for his life and finally accepts his fate before being put to death. The changes in musical pacing and styles throughout the song reflect the emotional state of the young man throughout his ordeal.
+9
Level 52
Aug 10, 2017
I was convinced the 'Escape' clue had to refer to 'Babooshka' by Kate Bush and was excited to finally see her referenced in a quiz on this site. Having used up half my time typing and retyping 'Babooshka' I reread the clue and realised it didn't fully apply. I'd still like to see Babooshka on here, I think it would fit in, Kate Bush has a number of other story songs such as 'Wedding List', 'Houdini' and 'There Goes a Tenner' that might fit too, though they're considerably less famous. Great quiz though.siderab
+3
Level 86
Mar 6, 2021
I thought it was "Babooshka" too.
+1
Level 57
Jan 4, 2022
Me too! She's done so many. Also 'Breathing', 'Experiment IV', 'Blow Away' etc. etc.
+2
Level 25
Nov 29, 2017
I thought Don't Stand So Close To Me was about a teacher who vehemently rejected a student's approaches in a one-sided relationship.
+2
Level 78
Apr 27, 2021
Temptation, frustration

So bad it makes him cry

Wet bus stop, she's waiting

His car is warm and dry

Don't stand, don't stand so

Don't stand so close to me

Don't stand, don't stand so

Don't stand so close to me

Loose talk in the classroom

To hurt they try and try

Strong words in the staff room

The accusations fly

It's no use, he sees her

He starts to shake and cough

Just like the old man in

That book by Nabokov

+2
Level 65
Feb 6, 2018
Two of the best = "El Paso" and "Lyin' Eyes".
+2
Level 72
Jun 13, 2019
Great idea for a quiz, but I think only about 8 of these songs are known by most people, a bit too obscure. You need to know the song before an description even has the change to make sense to you ( some might reply with saying that is part of the quiz, but it shouldnt be the main part. otherwise it could be called guess these obscure songs and do without the descriptions)
+1
Level 72
Jun 13, 2019
Btw I missed the word card, in card shark first hahah.

Plus I knew the tribute one, but thought it was called greatest song of the world and even tried that... after seeng trbute it was like ow yea..

+3
Level 78
Apr 27, 2021
Which ones are obscure? I'm not a particularly musical person, but I got 13 pretty easily, 2 more I was kicking myself for missing, and all the rest I'd at least heard of even if I wasn't especially familiar with them.
+2
Level 93
Jun 21, 2019
Typo: should be pursued in last clue
+7
Level 89
Sep 29, 2019
When the stories are stripped to bare bones, most of them wind up sounding like country songs.
+6
Level 78
Jun 4, 2020
There's a reason for that...country songs (especially older country songs), more often than pop songs, tell stories. It's kind of the foundation of the genre.
+2
Level 84
Apr 6, 2020
should include el paso by Marty robbins.it tells a story.
+1
Level 57
Jan 4, 2022
Most of these I've never heard of! Duh.
+1
Level 83
Feb 24, 2022
I thought Smoke on the Water describes what happened during the Montreux Jazz Festival, not at a recording studio. It was during Zappa/MOI's set before Deep Purple was supposed to play
+1
Level 78
Feb 25, 2022
It was. Deep Purple were in Montreux recording an album when it happened.
+3
Level 79
Nov 2, 2022
A lot of niche songs which I happened to know... and a few I didn't. Overall, props for not just going with the obvious clues.
+1
Level 83
Apr 13, 2023
Awesome quiz! (An' the sequel definitely needs some Tweeter and the Monkey Man love... 😁)
+2
Level 68
Mar 11, 2024
Where's the hottest spot north of Havana?