I’m always amazed by well-crafted story songs. This goes back to one of my original favorite songs from childhood, The Band‘s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” I’ve never been much of a story teller. Stories are important. A well-told story set to great music simply dazzles me.
I even appreciate story songs that I can’t stand, such as Don McLean‘s “American Pie” and Billy Joel‘s “Piano Man.” The latter, for all its relative Joel merits, quickly falls prey to the high bar set by telling a story song from the perspective of an old man when the songwriter is, in fact, a young man. That “when I wore a younger man’s clothes” line in “Piano Man,” for instance, is one of the song’s many deal-breakers for me.
Last night, as “Piano Man” played on the radio after a fun dinner out with the family, even our 11-year-old son began cutting up on the lyrics. “The music’s good,” he said, “but the lyrics are stupid.” In the front seat my wife and I began talking about Olde Thyme-themed story songs of our youth. “Midnight at the Oasis” came on next, and we all got a chuckle out of that one, reminding ourselves that it was supposed to be silly.
“‘Mr. Bojangles’!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah,” my wife replied, “what was the deal with ‘Mr. Bojangles’?”
What was the deal with “Mr. Bojangles”?
It’s about Paul Robeson, right, who I know is a legendary and important multi-faceted entertainer and civil rights activist?
No, it’s about an actor named Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, right?
No, at least according to Wikipedia it’s about a homeless man songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker met in the drunk tank who called himself “Mr. Bojangles” and then regaled Walker and their cellmates with tales and a tap dance that the songwriter turned into a gold record and signature song for Sammy Davis Jr.
Where does “Mr. Bojangles” rate on the scale of story songs? Is it good, bad, or somewhere in between? It’s always been a tough song for me to get my head around. How about other story songs? What separates the best from the worst?
For me, story songs rate on a scale of one to “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”.
Bojangles fits in there, and somewhere in there is also Clarence Carter’s “Patches”, and “Wildfire” by Michael Murphy.
There has to be a kitschy eye-rolling element to these songs. If one isn’t embarrassed by listening or liking the song, it can’t count.
I have a soft spot for “Mr. Bojangles”, since I remember hearing it on the radio when I was a lad.
I also heard “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” when I was a lad. However, I’m boggled as to why this was a hit instead of “Shake Some Action”.
Finally, I do like “Patches”, but, jeeze, that has to be a depressing song. There’s no happy ending. I prefer “Slip Away”.
One of my favorite story songs is Dyke and the Blazers’ “Wrong House”. It’s long but a great groove…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve6t6MS61HA
Mr Bojangles has a confusing place in my head. It has all these connections to Mr Tambourine Man which is also about a Mister wandering entertainer, and Mr. T.Man has the line with jingle “jangle” in it so that further blends the songs. And then there’s the Candy Man song associated with Sammy Davis Jr. which has the “man” in the title so reminds me of Mr Tambourine Man and of Mr Bojangles again. I probably need a few months of Arthur Janov scream therapy to unwind those 3 songs in my head to be able to offer a rational opinion if I like it or not. Nice wolfman burns on Tom Jones though.
I’ve always rated David Bromberg’s version of “Mr. Bojangles” the best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muG8kDYbZ5Q
It’s on his excellent first album which also includes a great version of Blind WIllie McTell’s “Delia”.
Mr. Bojangles is a terrible song. It is hard for me to say if it is worse than Piano Man. They are both awful.
But, Mod, I am not sure what puzzles me more: appreciating songs you can’t stand or your idea that “Piano Man” is told “from the perspective of an old man.” I don’t think that is the case. It is not the song’s narrator who “wore a younger man’s clothes” but rather “an old man sitting next to” him who is “Makin’ love to his tonic and gin.”
I just listened to the song to confirm this, and I hate you for making me do that.
And bonus points if it is about a horse or can be taken to be about a horse.
I find it easier to think of “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” and “Shake Some Action” existing in separate, albeit contemporaneous, universes. It helps keep me sane.
You should get a purple guitar pick or some sort of medal for listening to that crap.
The Mr. Bojangles I grew up knowing was the version by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band,
http://youtu.be/j3YMyW0SqmU
“The Gift” by VU gets me every time.
Story songs are very dicey in general, but I am not totally anit-story song.
I always liked Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road” — in which skinny heroin Steve let’s his hair down.
http://youtu.be/xvaEJzoaYZk
Ol’ Steve has got a few story songs that are pretty good — “Devil’s Right Hand,” ‘Hillbilly Highway” even “Guitar Town” is kind of a story song.
Drive by Truckers have lotsa great story songs. Zip City and Carl Perkins’ Cadillac are two terrific ones that come to mind right away.
Yeah, and what the fuck is a “real estate novelist”?
Also by Steve Earle, “Tom Aimes Dream”. Great story in the tradition of Occorance at Owl Creek Bridge.
Also, Walk in the Woods by Peter Case is a great story song with a twist at the end.
Funny, last night was the first time that stupid line stuck out for me. I found myself wondering if it was some kind of reference to “Paperback Writer,” but I couldn’t make the connection.
Agreed. WINNER!
Ode to Billie Joe!
Some of Bob Dylan’s “Dream” songs work this genre. My favorite is probably “Talkin’ World War III Blues”.
Percy’s Song is an sanctimonious shit of a song that also mines this vein.
I take it as a guy who sells real estate for a living who really would like to be a novelist; since the song (warning–poignant moment ahead!) seems to be about people who were never able to achieve their dreams and hang out in the bar and live out their fantasies through the oh-so-talented man at the piano.
Dylan has a lot of songs that could be viewed as “story songs,” I suppose. Is “Tangled Up in Blue” a story song? Sort of. “Black Diamond Bay” on Desire is, and a great one. Dylan also has an unspeakable version of “Mr. Bojangles,” on the non-canonical Dylan lp.
Somewhere near the acme/nadir of bad 70s story songwriting must be the works of Jim Croce and Harry Chapin.
Shoot, so my efforts to explore the budding genre of real estate fiction are in vain!
I have never taken a liking to “Mr. Bojangles” at all.
Stan Ridgway is a king of character/story songs. The fact that they are still short means he packs a tremendous amount of detail and flavor into every verse. It’s hard to pick just one, because it’s just kind of what he does. I submit “The Roadblock”, a story about townspeople out to stop a fugitive on the highway. And of course there is a punch for the last verse.
http://youtu.be/HhSoJwGKj7E?t=52s
He’s much more literal and descriptive. Often “noir” in tone. Perhaps not ripe for deep interpretation. Just vivid, smart observation, character study. “Drive, She Said” is such a classic example.
http://youtu.be/p7iARb-JpaY
Good one!
You could say that a lot of “Mosquitos” is just a bunch of character studies.
I’m shocked and amazed that Slim Jade hasn’t piped in about Stagger Lee.
Which reminds that Nick Cave’s “Murder Ballads” has a whole bunch of story songs on it.
And I don’t really like Mr. Bojangles. It sounds maudlin to me.
And surely any list of the best story songs would have to include Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”.
Definitely. I think the same goes for “The Big Heat”.
This whole thread reminds me of a story that Aimee Mann told the last time I saw her in concert. She did some dates with Bob Dylan, supposedly he had personally requested her as his opening act, but she only got to talk to him once & all he said to her was, “Don’t you just hate story songs?” She said that she just didn’t know how to respond & wasn’t sure if’n he was fucking with her or being serious, or implying somethang about her songwriting or his own. She then said that she thought of bringing up “Tangled Up in Blue,” but decided it was a bad idea. It got a good laugh out the audience.
Producer Phil Ramone, who just died and who was certainly a great…man, is someone I’ve always associated with Billy Joel albums. For that reason I will leave it to others to write up a tribute to him.
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20130330_ap_philramonegrammywinningproducerdeadat79.html
Al In case you’re interested and can get there David Bromberg will be performing April 12 at the Appelfarm. Its a performance space and a farm. Elmer NJ. Its named Appel farm because the owner’s last name is Appel. I really like Blind Willie McTell. Of course his most famous blues is Statesboro Blues.
What version of Staggerlee do you like best. I think the song goes back at least to the 20s. First known as Stakalee. One version Woody Guthrie. Furry Lewis 1927
My deepest condolences to the family of producer Phil Ramone. My contribution to story songs “Every Picture Tells a Story” Rod Stewart. I mean story is in the title.