Best Character Development in a Song?

[alcibiades_mystery]

Two nominees:

1) Dire Straits, Sultans of Swing, the story of an amateur jazz/swing band with little following but a lot of talent. The characters in question being Guitar George and Harry, who seem fully developed and real despite only a few lines of description for each (bolded):

You get a shiver in the dark
It's raining in the park but meantime
South of the river you stop and you hold everything
A band is blowing Dixie double four time
You feel alright when you hear that music ring


You step inside but you don't see too many faces
Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down
Too much competition too many other places
But not too many horns can make that sound
Way on downsouth way on downsouth London town


You check out Guitar George he knows all the chords
Mind he's strictly rhythm he doesn't want to make it cry or sing
And an old guitar is all he can afford
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing


And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene
He's got a daytime job he's doing alright
He can play honky tonk just like anything
Saving it up for Friday night
With the Sultans with the Sultans of Swing


And a crowd of young boys they're fooling around in the corner
Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles
The don't give a damn about any trumpet playing band
It ain't what they call rock and roll
And the Sultans played Creole


And then the man he steps right up to the microphone
And says at last just as the time bell rings
'Thank you goodnight now it's time to go home'
and he makes it fast whith one more thing
'We are the Sultans... We are the Sultans of Swing'

2) Notorious B.I.G., Niggas Bleed, a fully worked out narrative in its own right. The character here would be the narrator's accomplice, Arizona Ron, whose full story is worked out in just a few lines (bolded):

Today's agenda, got the suitcase up in the Sentra
Go to room 112, tell em Blanco sent ya
Feel the strangest, if no money exchanges
I got these kids in ranges, believe them niggaz brainless
All they tote is stainless, you just remain as
calm as possible, make the deal go through
If not, here's 12 shots, we know how you do
Please make yo killings clean, slugs up in between
They eyes, like True Lies, Kill em and flee the scene
Just bring back the coke or the cream
Or else, yo life is on the shelf, we mean this Frank
Them cats we fuckin wit put bombs in your moms gas tank
Let's get this money baby, they shady, we get shady
Dress up like ladies and burn em with dirty three-eighties
Then they come to kill our babies, that's all out
I got gats that blow the wall out, clear the mall out
Fuck the fallout, word to Stretch, I bet they pussy
The seven digits push me, fuckin real, here's the deal
I got a hundred bricks, fourteen-five a piece
Enough to cop six buy the house on the beach
Supply the peeps with Jeeps, brick apiece, capiche?
Everybody gettin cream no one considered a leach
Think about it now, thats damn near one point five
I kill em all I'll be set for life Frank pay attention
These motherfuckers is henchmen, renegades
If you die they still get paid, extra probably
Fuck a robbery, I'm the boss
Promise you won't rob em, I promise
But of course you know I had my fingers crossed

Chorus:

Niggaz bleed just like us
Picture me bein scared
of a nigga that breathe the same air as me
Niggaz bleed just like us
Picture me bein shook
We can both pull burners, make the motherfuckin beef cook
Niggaz bleed just like us
Picture a nigga hidin'
My life in that man hands, while he just decidin
Niggaz bleed just like us
I'd rather go toe to toe with all of y'all
Runnin ain't in my protocol

Verse Two:

Since it's on, I call my nigga Arizona Ron
From Tuscon, pushed the black Yukon
Usually had the slow grooves on, mostly rock the Isley
Stupid as a young'un, chose not the moves wisely
Sharper with game, him and his crooks, called The Jooks
Heard it was sweet, bout three-fifty a piece
Ron bought a truck, two bricks laid in the cut
His peeps got bucked, got locked the fuck up
That's when Ron vanished, came back, speakin Spanish
Lavish habits, two rings, twenty carats
Here's a criminal, nigga made America's Most
Killed his baby mother brother, slit his throat
The nigga got bagged with toast, weeded
Took it to trial, beat it
Now he feel he undefeated, he mean it
"Nothing to lose," tattooed around his gun wounds
Everything to gain, embedded in his brain
And me I feel the same for this money and diamonds
Specially if my daughter cryin, I ain't lyin
Y'all know the science

Chorus

Verse Three:

We agreed to go in shootin is silly
Because niggaz could be hidin in showers with Mac Billy's
So I freaked em, the telly manager was Puerto Rican
Gloria, from Astoria, I went to war with her
peeps in ninety-one, stole a gun from my workers
And they took drugs, they tried to jerk us
We blaze they place, long story, Glo seen my face
Got shook, thought a nigga was comin for the safe
Now she breakin, shut up, 112, what's shakin
A Jamaican, some bitches I swear, they look gay
In a black Range Rover, been outside all day
If it's trouble let me know, I'll be on my way
Please, I got kids to feed, I done seen you make niggaz bleed
Nightmares this bitch don't need
Ron, get the gasoline, this spot, we bout to blow this
Lets get the cash before the cops and Range Rover cats notice
Room 112, right by the staircase, perfect place
When they evacuate, they meet they fate
Ron pass the gasoline, the nigga passed me kerosene
Fuck it, its flame-able, my hunger is unexplainable
Strike the match, just what I expected
The dread kid ejected in seconds
And here come two, opposite sexes, one black, one Malaysian
We in the hallway waitin patient
As soon as she hit the door we start blastin
I saw her brains hit the floor, Ron laughin, I swear to God
I hit Maxi Priest at least twelve times in the chest
Spin-t around, shot the chink in the breast
She cryin, headshots put her to rest
Pop open the briefcases, nothin but Franklin faces
The spot's hot, sprinklers, alarm systems
Thats when other guests start to slippin
It's time for us to get to dippin
I know them niggaz in the Range is on they way up
Flippin, pistol grippin, I load the clip in
The hallway, got real loud and crowded
They walked right past us, I don't know how they allowed it
The funny thing about it, through all the excitement
They Range got towed, they double parked by a hydrant
Stupid motherfuckers

[AngryAmish]

1. Walk This Way by Run-DMC

[MsAnthropy]

2. "Cats in the Cradle"--Harry Chapin

The arc of manhood

[Deep13]

3. "Niggaz" ???

:wtf:
Isn't that a derivision of the word shouted by the Klan when lynching people?

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. I was afraid this thread would be hijacked behind that

My apologies. As you may be aware, the word has been picked up and used for a number of purposes by African Americans, to much controversy. Many white folks pretend that the word has the same meaning whether a black or white person uses it, which seems to me manifestly false and an extreme misunderstanding of the way language works through contexts. Many African Americans have also objected to the common use of the term among African American youth and within African American communities. There is no easy answer here. For the purposes of this thread, however, I'll just say that Biggie uses the term frequently, and that that is, after all, the name of the song.

[jobycom]

4. I'll throw in Gangsta's Paradise

Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise Lyrics (the whole song builds him, but I bolded the heart of the character)



As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there's not much left
coz I've been blastin and laughin so long, that
even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
but I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
me be treated like a punk you know that's unheard of
you better watch how you're talking, and where you're walking
or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
I really hate to trip but i gotta, loc
As I Grow I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool
I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
on my knees in the night, saying prayers in the streetlight

been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
keep spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
keep spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise

They got the situation, they got me facin'
I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the stripes
so I gotta be down with the hood team
too much television watching got me chasing dreams
I'm an educated fool with money on my mind
got my 10 in my hand and a gleam in my eye
I'm a loc'd out gangsta set trippin' banger
and my homies is down so don't arouse my anger, fool
death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away,
I'm living life, do or die, what can I say
I'm 23 now, but will I live to see 24
the way things are going I don't know



Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the one's we hurt, are you and me
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise

Power and the money, money and the power
minute after minute, hour after hour
everybody's running, but half of them ain't looking
what's going on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's kickin'
they say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me
if they can't undersstand it, how can they reach me
I guess they can't, I guess they won't
I guess they front, that's why I know my life is out of luck, fool

been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
been spending most their lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
spending most our lives, living in the gangsta's paradise
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the one's we hurt, are you and me
Tell me why are we, so blind to see
That the one's we hurt, are you and me

[Tikki]

6. Loudmouth......Ramones...

"You're a loudmouth, baby
Better shut it up....
I'm gonna beat you up"...


NAW, I really will pick ALISON....by Elvis Costello for character development.

"Oh it’s so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl.
And with the way you look I understand
That you are not impressed.
But I heard you let that little friend of mine
Take off your party dress.
I’m not going to get too sentimental
Like those other sticky valentines,
’cause I don’t know if you’ve been loving somebody.
I only know it isn’t mine.

Alison, I know this world is killing you.
Oh, alison, my aim is true.

Well I see you’ve got a husband now.
Did he leave your pretty fingers lying
In the wedding cake?
You used to hold him right in your hand.
I’ll bet he took all he could take.
Sometimes I wish that I could stop you from talking
When I hear the silly things that you say.
I think somebody better put out the big light,
Cause I can’t stand to see you this way.

Alison, I know this world is killing you.
Oh, alison, my aim is true.
My aim is true."



Tikki

[jobycom]

7. An old rap song (ROFL)

Big John
Big John

Every mornning at the mine, you could see him arrive.
He stood 6 foot 6, weighed 245.
Kind of broad at the shoulders, narrow at the hip.
And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big John.

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone.
He didn't say much, kind of quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all, you'd just said hi to Big John.
Somebody said he came from New Orleans,
Where he got into a fight over a Cajun Queen.
And a crash and a blow from a huge right hand,
sent a Lousiana fella to the promise land.

Big John
Big John
Big bad John
Big John

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine,
when a timber cracked and men started crying.
Minors were praying, and hearts beat fast
and everybody thought they had breathed thier last
cept' John.
Through the dust and the smoke of this man made hell,
walked a giant of a man that the minors knew well.
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan,
and like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

And with all of his strength, he gave a mighty shove.
Then a minor yelled out, 'theres a light up above!'.
And 20 men scrambled from a 'would be' grave
now theres only one left down there to save, Big John.
With jacks and timbers, they started back down,
then came that rumble way down in the ground.
And as smoke and gas smelched out of that mine,
everybody knew it was the end of the line, for Big John.

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Now they never re-opend that wortheless pit,
they just placed a marble stand in front of it.
These few words are written on that stand,
'At the bottom of this mine, lies one Hell of a man, Big John'

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John.

[datasuspect]

8. hanging out with jim

kinda simple, but heartfelt in a gg allin kinda way:



Never had no friends, I was always the outcast
Just a psycho weirdo, I was just a piece of thrash
But I always had a partner in crime, that's me and Jim
'Cause I spent a lot of time in jail hanging out with him

Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out

Me and Jim were always, always going out
Looking for some fistfights, we were smashing all above
Never knowing where we'd end up, always breaking the law
Beating off on young girls, some nights we almost died

Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out

Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out

Jim and I were fucking crazy, we never had a care
Riding on a death trip, causing trouble everywhere
We're uncontrollable, rebels with a cause
Mr. Beam was always there when I wake up on the floor

Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out
Hanging out with Jim, hanging out

[enigmatic]

9. "Ohio"- Damien Jurado

Out from my window across from the city
I have what's considered a good view
Two blocks from the subway, three from the fountain
Where I walk to break in new shoes

She stands on the sidewalk just waving at taxis
Like horses in parades in passing
I ask where she's headed she tells me,
"Ohio, I've not seen my mother in ages
It's been a long time, a real long time."

Out from my window "How far is Ohio?"
She laughed and pointed out east
She said, "I grew up there with my dear mother
And I haven't seen her since thirteen.

You see, I was taken while she lay sleeping
By my father's hired man
We moved to city so far from my family
I haven't been back there since.
It's been a long time, a real long time."

Out from my window please hear me Ohio
Your daughter wants to come home
She longs to be with you to hug you to kiss you
To never leave her alone

And I've gotten know her to live with to love her
It's hard to see her leave
She belongs to her mother and the state of Ohio
I wish she belonged to me

See you sometime, see you sometime....

[Dark]

10. "What it's like" by Everlast

We've all seen a man at the liquor store beggin' for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dread-locked, and full of mange
He asks the man for what he could spare, with shame in his eyes
"Get a job you fucking slob," is all he replies
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to sing the blues

Then you really might know what it's like (what it's like) 3x
Then you really might know what it's like

Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom who said he was in love
He said, "Don't worry about a thing, baby doll
I'm the man you've been dreaming of."
But 3 months later he say he won't date her or return her calls
And she swears, "God damn, If find that man I'm cuttin' off his balls."
And then she heads for the clinic and
she gets some static walking through the door
They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner
and they call her a whore
God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
'cause then you really might know what it's like to have to choose

Then you REALLY might know what its like (what it's like) 3x
then you really might know what its like

I've seen a rich man beg
I've seen a good man sin
I've seen a tough man cry
I've seen a loser win
And a sad man grin
I've heard an honest man lie
I've seen the good side of bad
And the downside of up
And everything between
I've licked the silver spoon
Drank from the golden cup
And smoked the finest green
I've stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times
before I broke their heart
You know where it ends, yo, it usually depends on where you start

I knew this kid named Max
He used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late
he liked to get shit-faced and keep the pace with thugs
Until late one night there was a big gun fight and Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome.45, talked some shit, and wound up dead
Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of this pain
You know it crumbles that way
at least that's what they say when you play the game
God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
'Cause then you really might know what it's like to have to lose

Then you really might know what it's like...
Then you really might know what it's like...
Then you really might know what it's like...to have the blues

[LynneSin]

11. What about Jack & Diane by John Cougar Mellancamp?

Intro: / A - E/A AE/A D - - - /

A little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids growin' up in the heartland
Jack, he's gonna be a football star
Diane's debutante, back seat of Jackie's car

/ A E D E / A E DE A / :

Suckin' on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freeze
Diane sittin' on Jackie's lap, he's got his hands between her knees
Jackie says, "Hey, Diane, let's run off behind a shady tree
Dribble off those Bobbie Brooks, let me do what I please" sayin'

{Refrain}
Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of living is gone, sayin'
Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of living is gone

/ A E D E / / / A E DE A /

Jackie sits back, collects his thoughts for a moment
Scratches his head and does his best James Dean
"Well, then, there, Diane, you gotta run off to the city
Diane says, "Baby, you ain't missin' a thing."

But Jackie says,
{Refrain}

Oh, let it rock, let it roll
Let the Bible Belt come and save my soul
Hold on to sixteen as long as you can
Change is comin' 'round real soon, make us women and men

/ A D - E / A D G DE / A D - E / A D E A /

A little ditty about Jack and Diane,
Two American kids doin' the best that they can

[LynneSin]

12. Or Steve Miller's "Take the Money and Run"

Steve Miller - Take The Money And Run Lyrics
This here's a story about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue
Two young lovers with nothin' better to do
Than sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube
And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose

They headed down to, ooh, old El Paso
That's where they ran into a great big hassle
Billy Joe shot a man while robbing his castle
Bobbie Sue took the money and run

Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run

Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas
You know he knows just exactly what the facts is
He ain't gonna let those two escape justice
He makes his livin' off of the people's taxes

Bobbie Sue, whoa, whoa, she slipped away
Billy Joe caught up to her the very next day
They got the money, hey
You know they got away
They headed down south and they're still running today
Singin' go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run
Go on take the money and run

[SKKY]

13. I get a pretty good idea of who "Stan" is from Eminem...

[leftofthedial]

14. Bobby Goldsboro

"Honey"

See the tree, how big it's grown,
but friend, it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
I laughed at her and she got mad
the first day that she planted it was just a twig.

Then the first snow came and she ran out
to brush the snow away so it wouldn't die
came runnin' in all excited
slipped and almost hurt herself and I laughed 'til I cried.

She was always young at heart
kinda dumb and kinda smart and I loved her so
I surprised her with a puppy
kept me up all Christmas eve two years ago.

And it would sure embarrass her when
I came in from working late 'cause I would know
that she'd been sittin' there crying
over some sad and silly late, late show.

And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you if only I could

She wrecked the car and she was sad
and so afraid that I'd be mad but what the heck
though I pretended hard to be
guess you could say she saw through me and hugged my neck

I came home unexpectedly
and found her crying needlessly in middle of the day
and it was in the early spring
when flowers bloom and Robins sing, she went away.

And Honey, I miss you and I'm being good
And I'd love to be with you if only I could.

One day while I wasn't home
while she was there and all alone, the angels came
now all I have is memories
of Honey, and I wake up nights and call her name.

Now my life's an empty stage
where Honey lived and Honey played and love grew up
A small cloud passes over head
and cries down in the flower bed that Honey loved

And see the tree, how big it's grown,
but friend, it hasn't been too long it wasn't big
and I laughed at her and she got mad
the first day that she planted it was just a twig

[jobycom]

16. Or how about this, by Mac Davis?

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way.
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better loking each day.
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
I used to have a girlfriend
but she just couldn't compete
with all of these love starved women
who keep clamoring at my feet.
Well I prob'ly could find me another
but I guess they're all in awe of me.
Who cares, I never get lonesome
cause I treasure my own company.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
I guess you could say I'm a loner,
a cowboy outlaw tough and proud.
I could have lots of friends if I want to
but then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd.
Some folks say that I'm egotistical.
Hell, I don't even know what that means.
I guess it has something to do with the way that I
fill out my skin tight blue jeans.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
when you're perfect in every way,
I can't wait to look in the mirror
cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man.
Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
but I'm doing the best that I can.
We're doing the best that we can

[leftofthedial]

17. That's a song about me

isn't it?

:rofl:

[jobycom]

19. Apparently!

If you think it is, it may be. :-)

[leftofthedial]

20. to get away with singing that one requires a huge

sense of irony

[underpants]

15. "A Boy named Sue"?? words by Shel Silverstein

My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

[taterguy]

18. Missing the War / CBGB's

Several other songs from that old Ben Folds Five album might qualify but for some reason this is a favorite

All is quiet his tired eyes
see figures jotted down
and clothes all strewn around
the bedroom floor
Now nothing's adding up
and nothing's making sense
she's sleeping like a baby
she doesn't know he wasn't
meant for this

I'm missing the war
I'm missing the war all night
missing the war

He drove home again
pissed and beaten
it's really no big deal
it happens all the time
it's no big deal

I'm missing the war
I'm missing the war all night
Missing the war
I'm missing the war
Till beads of sunlight hit
me in the morning (and I forget)

So much time so little to say

Time may fly
and dreams may die
The shaking voice that tells
him go
still thinks he might
he knows he won't
I'm missing the war
missing the war all night
missing the war

###

Honorable mention goes to this old Syd Straw tune about CBGB's. Griel Marcus wrote a great essay about it but I can't track it down at the moment.

Hey remember me, we met ten years ago
at CBGB's, on New Year's Eve
back when you were tending bar
you had a band of your own called The Revlons
and I liked your songs, I don't know how
I must have lost my head an abandonment like that,
was easier then and I don't know why we never met again
but I still think of you sometimes every now and then,
Hey remember when you took me to the movies
to see Soylent Green
I can't believe it was such a long time ago,
So much has happened, I hear you had twins,
Are you doing what you wanna do,
Did you follow your intentions, all the dreams you had,
Has even a single one of them come true?
I ask myself as I'm asking you, hey, I'm just asking
You were the one most likely to succeed without
ever really trying, You had so much to live up to
I was married for awhile, it ended in tragedy,
oh well, enough about me,
Are you doing what you wanted to,
Did you follow those intentions through, and
All the dreams you had, Have any or all of them come true,
If they haven't yet I hope they do

[hobo_baggins]

21. Highway Patrolman - The Boss

[underpants]

22. Sam Stone came home to his wife and family after serving in the conflict

overseas

John Prine

[peekaloo]

36. Excellent choice! I was going to say "Hello in There".

heartbreaking portrait of growing old and lonely.

[Radical Activist]

23. Come gather round me people and a story I will tell...

about Pretty Boy Floyd the outlaw. Oklahoma knew him well.

[Radical Activist]

24. Two good men a long time gone...

Sacco and Vanzetti

[argyl]

25. "Tom Ames' Prayer" Steve Earle

Everyone in Nacogdoches knew Tom Ames
Would come to some bad end
The sheriff caught him stealin' chickens and stuff
By the time that he was ten

And one day his Daddy took a ten dollar bill
And he tucked it in his hand
Said I can tell you're headed for trouble son
And your Mama wouldn't understand

So he took that money annd his brother's old bay
And left without a word of thanks
Fell in with a crowd in some border town
And took to robbing banks

Outside the law your luck will run out fast
And a few years came and went
Till he was trapped in an alley in Abilene
With all but four shells spent

And he realized prayin' was the only thing
That he hadn't ever tried
And he wasn't sure he knew just how
But he looked up to the sky

Said you don't owe me nothing and as far as I know
Lord I don't owe nothing to you
I ain't asking for a miracle Lord
Just a little bit of luck will do

And you know I ain't never prayed before
But it's always seemed to me
If praying's the same as begging Lord
I don't take no charity

But right now Lord with my back to the wall
I can't help but recall
How they nearly hung me for stealing a horse
In Fort Smith Arkansas

Judge Parker said guilty and the gavel came down
Just like a cannon shot
And I went away quietly
And I begin to file and plot

Well they sent the preacher down to my cell
He said the Lord is your only hope
He's the only friend that you're gonna have
When you hit the end of Parker's rope

Well I guess he coulda kept on preaching till Christmas
But he turned his back on me
I put a homemade blade to that goldenthroat
And asked the deputy for the key

Well it ain't the first close call I've had
I'm sure you already know
I've had some help from you Lord and the Devil himself
It's been strictly touch and go

Yeah but who in the hell am I talkin' to
There ain't no one here but me
Then he cocked bith his pistols and he spit in the dirt
And he walked out in the street

[skygazer]

26. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts

Bob Dylan. The first time I heard this song, I was nicely buzzed at a party and there was this fantastic story going on in the background - sucked me in and I've loved the song ever since.



The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall.
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down,
Anyone with any sense had already left town.
He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.

He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.

Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.

Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts.

"I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.

Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled.
She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.

The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.

Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday.
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.

The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.

Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch,
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere,
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear.
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.

No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.

Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.

The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.

The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts.

[Orsino]

29. Beat me to it. n/t

[ET Awful]

27. How about character development and autobiographical?

Creeque Alley - Mamas and the Papas

John and Mitchy were gettin' kind of itchy
Just to leave the folk music behind;
Zal and Denny workin' for a penny
Tryin' to get a fish on the line.
In a coffee house Sebastian sat,
And after every number they'd pass the hat.
McGuinn and McGuire just a-gettin' higher in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

Zally said, "Denny, you know there aren't many
Who can sing a song the way that you do; let's go south."
Denny said, "Zally, golly, don't you think that I wish
I could play guitar like you."
Zal, Denny, and Sebastian sat (at the Night Owl)
And after every number they'd pass the hat.
McGuinn and McGuire still a-gettin higher in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

When Cass was a sophomore, planned to go to Swathmore
But she changed her mind one day.
Standin' on the turnpike, thumb out to hitchhike,
"Take me to New York right away."
When Denny met Cass he gave her love bumps;
Called John and Zal and that was the Mugwumps.
McGuinn and McGuire couldn't get no higher
But that's what they were aimin' at.
And no one's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

Mugwumps, high jumps, low slumps, big bumps---
Don't you work as hard as you play.
Make up, break up, everything is shake up;
Guess it had to be that way.
Sebastian and Zal formed the Spoonful;
Michelle, John, and Denny gettin' very tuneful.
McGuinn and McGuire just a-catchin' fire in L.A.,
You know where that's at.
And everybody's gettin' fat except Mama Cass.

Broke, busted, disgusted, agents can't be trusted,
And Mitchy wants to go to the sea.
Cass can't make it; she says we'll have to fake it---
We knew she'd come eventually.
Greasin' on American Express cards;
Tents low rent, but keeping out the heat's hard.
Duffy's good vibrations and our imaginations
Can't go on indefinitely.
And California dreamin' is becomin' a reality...

[NMMNG]

28. Bad Company's "Shooting Star"

Johnny was a schoolboy when he heard his first Beatle song,
'Love me do,' I think it was. From there 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 all right, don't you know?

Johnny told his mama, hey, 'Mama, I'm goin' away. I'm gonna hit the big
time, gonna be a big star someday', Yeah.
Mama came to the door with a teardrop in her eye.
Johnny said, 'Don't cry, mama, smile and wave good-bye'.

Don't you know, yeah yeah, 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.
Watching the world go by, surprising 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, Don't you know that you are
a shooting star,
Don't you know, oh, yeah, Don't you know that you are
a shooting star, yeah,
And all the world will love you just as long,
As long as you are, a shooting star.

Don't you know that you are a shooting star, Don't you know, yeah,
Don't you know that you are a shooting star, now,
And all the world will love you just as long, As long you are you.

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

Oh oh oh, Don't you know that you are a shooting star,
Don't you know, yeah, don't you know', Don't you know that
you are a shooting star,
Don't you know, yeah,
Don't you know that you are a shooting star,
Don't you, don't you,
don't you, don't you,
Don't you know, don't you
know, oh, yeah, you are,
Yeah, a shooting star, yeah, oh
oh oh oh oh......
Don't you, don't you know
that you are a shooting star,
Don't you don't you know......

[ghostsofgiants]

30. "Wonderboy" by Tenacious D

[tjdee]

31. Bohemian Rhapsody, Running to Stand Still... Evenflow....

But Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the best, off the top of my head.

[ScreamingMeemie]

32. Willie and Laura Mae Jones...

Were our neighbours a long time back
They lived right down the road from us
In a shack just like our shack

The people worked the land together
And we learned to count on each other
When you live off the land
You don't have the time to think about another man's colour

The cotton was high and the corn was growing fine
But that was another place and another time

Sit out on the front porch
In the evening when the sun went down
Willie would play and the kids would sing
And everybody would mess around
Daddy'd bring out his guitar
And play on through the night
Every now and then ol' Willie would grin and say
"Hey, you play all right"
Made me feel so good

I remember the best times of all
When Saturday came around
We all would stop by Willie's house and say
"Do y'all need anything from town?"
He'd say "No, but why don't y'all stop on the way back through?
And I'll get Laura Mae, yeah, to cook up some barbecue"
And you know that's good

The cotton was high and the corn was growing fine, yes it was
But that was another place and another time

Oh, the years rolled past the land
And took back what they'd given
We all knew we had to move
If we were gonna make a living

So we all moved off
And went about our separate ways
It sure was hard to say goodbye
To Willie and Laura Mae (Jones), oh yeah

The cotton was high and the corn was growing fine, yes it was
But that was another place and another time
I remember so well
The cotton looked so fine
But that was another place and another time
And it felt so good, yes it did

[IntravenousDemilo]

33. Just about anything by Stephen Sondheim...

...or Frank Loesser, or Rodgers and Hammerstein, or...

Broadway songs are all about character development -- the good ones, anyway.

[rug]

34. Boots of Spanish Leather

"... and yes, there is something you can bring back to me
Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather."

[EstimatedProphet]

35. Cumberland Blues

"Cumberland Blues"
Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission

I can't stay much longer, Melinda
The sun is getting high
I can't help you with your troubles
If you won't help with mine

I gotta get down
I gotta get down
Got to get down to the mine

You keep me up just one more night
I can't sleep here no more
Little Ben clock says quarter to eight
You kept me up till four

I gotta get down
I gotta get down
Or I can't work there no more

Lotta poor man make a five dollar bill
Keep him happy all the time
Some other fellow making nothing at all
And you can hear him cryin...

"Can I go buddy
Can I go down
Take your shift at the mine?"

Got to get down to the Cumberland mine
That's where I mainly spend my time
Make good money/five dollars a day
Made any more I might move away -

Lotta poor man got the Cumberland Blues
He can't win for losin
Lotta poor man got to walk the line
Just to pay his union dues

I don't know now
I just don't know
If I'm goin back again
I don't know now
I just don't know
If I'm goin back again



Or Peggy-O (But I don't much care for that song)

As we rode out to Fennario, as we rode on to Fennario
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove
And called her by a name, pretty Peggy-O.

Will you marry me pretty Peggy-O, will you marry me pretty Peggy-O
If you will marry me, I'll set your cities free
And free all the ladies in the are-O.

I would marry you sweet William-O, I would marry you sweet William-O
I would marry you but your guineas are too few
And I fear my mama would be angry-O.

What would your mama think pretty Peggy-O,
What would your mama think pretty Peggy-O,
What would your mama think if she heard my guineas clink
Saw me marching at the head of my soldiers.

If ever I return pretty Peggy-O, if ever I return pretty Peggy-O
If ever I return your cities I will burn
Destroy all the ladies in the area-O.

Come steppin' down the stairs pretty Peggy-O,
Come steppin' down the stairs pretty Peggy-O,
Come steppin' down the stairs combin' back your yellow hair
Bid a last farewell to your William-O.

Sweet William he is dead pretty Peggy-O, sweet William he is dead pretty Peggy-O,
Sweet William he is dead and he died for a maid
And he's buried in the Louisiana country-O.

As we rode out to Fennario, as we rode out to Fennario
Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove,
And called her by a name, pretty Peggy-O.