The following songs, organized by the performer, appear to have interesting
stories behind them. On the one hand, it can be frustrating not to know
the rest of the context; on the other, it provides us an opportunity to fill in
the missing pieces ourselves.
Glenn Campbell
"Still Within the Sound of My Voice"
Harry Chapin (who liked to describe his songs as addressing "extraordinary
moments in ordinary people's lives)
"The Mayor of Candor Lied"
"Taxi" and "Sequel"
"Cats in the Cradle"
"Poor Damn Fool"
Roy Clark
"Yesterday, When I Was Young"
Jim Croce
"Walking Back to Georgia"
"Lovers' Cross"
"It Doesn't Have to Be This Way"
"Roller Derby Queen"--note the contrast between the
"surface" and deeper
story!
"A Long Time Ago"
Fleetwood Mac
"Rhinannon" (this song also contains a simile and
a metaphor in one
sentence!)
Crystal Gale
"You Never Gave Up on Me"
Elton John
"In Neon"
"Daniel" (a beautiful rendition is also recorded by
Wilson Phillips!)
Kathy Mattea
"Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses"
Dolly Parton
"Jolene"
"Sweet Music Man"
Kenny Rogers
"Lucille" (very different "surface" and
deeper stories!)
"Sweet Music Man"
"Daytime Friends"
Dan Seals
"You Still Move Me" (supposedly purely
fictional--written in one night--but
so touching!)
"Everything That Glitters Is Not Gold"
Paul Simon
"Slip Slidin' Away" (actually, several stories)
George Strait
"Amarillo By Morning"
James Taylor
"Something In the Way She Moves" (not the
same as the Beatles song!)
"Carolina in My Mind"
Don Williams
"She's In Love With a Rodeo Man"
"If Hollywood Don't Need You"
Roger Whittaker
"Mamy Blue"
Steve Winwood
"Valerie" (actually not about a woman that he
loved, but about the
frustration
over a woman lost to drugs)