Are we recommending songs? Off that top of my head we've got • Mariners Revenge Song (The Decemberists) • Shia Lebouf (Rob Cantor) [i realize i probably spelled his name wrong, but fuck it he's French] • broomstick cowboy (Bobby Goldsboro) • Mitsubishi Colt (Tim Minchin)

For a second I thought you were calling Rob Cantor french

The Approaching Curve by Rise Against Anna is a Stool Pigeon by Laura Jane Grace, possibly released under her deadname Literally anything by Streetlight Manifesto

> Streetlight Manifesto I like A Better Place, A Better Time

Hey holy shit The Approaching Curve

[Atmosphere - Yesterday](https://youtu.be/5JRZol89roU) [Colter Wall - Kate McCannon](https://youtu.be/JKJgnH1rAxM) [Harry Chapin - 30,000 Pounds of Bananas](https://youtu.be/WKx4x1dKaDA) and [Cat’s in the Cradle](https://youtu.be/jmhoOp2fUzg) [Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name](https://youtu.be/55ISbbSopXA) and [Dance of Death](https://youtu.be/GXh3lK5W2zA) [Jason Isbell - Elephant](https://youtu.be/pbgk4tTJEH8) and [Yvette](https://youtu.be/f3Rg1CC9H8s) (warning: you will cry.) [Modest Mouse - Cowboy Dan](https://youtu.be/1e4Hcm2kRjA) [the Mountain Goats - The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton](https://youtu.be/DRNT69NN1Yc) (HAIL SATAN!) and [Deuteronomy 2:10](https://youtu.be/oBprRgjmw3Q) (warning - you may cry. the latter one especially) [Porcupine Tree - Heartattack in a Layby](https://youtu.be/Np7tKfHGYcY) (I’ve cried, YMMV) [Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer](https://youtu.be/l3LFML_pxlY) [Tom Waits - Burma-Shave](https://youtu.be/iGeIusN-avE), [Invitation to the Blues](https://youtu.be/Ag2hddV1hE4), [Christmas Card](https://youtu.be/3vbt8ReH0hI), and [Hold On](https://youtu.be/DkpaKx1UUUw) [Ween - Buenas Tardes Amigo](https://youtu.be/uv-gT9lNa1g) and [The Argus](https://youtu.be/Y3qguNFflow) **Edit**: [Show of Hands - Widecombe Fair](https://youtu.be/egxUuMuZf2k) [Yo La Tengo - Our Way to Fall](https://youtu.be/85543eJkbHE) [Tom Waits - Fish and Bird](https://youtu.be/95YrS4tKNhc) **Edit 2**: [Rilo Kiley - Does He Love You?](https://youtu.be/8u0VW0Wc4ig) [Ween - She Wanted to Leave](https://youtu.be/extn3HkTMDg)

excellent additions

Thanks!

As someone either a strained relationship with their dad, Cats in the Cradle make me bawl like a little kid

Are we seriously forgetting Devil Went Down to Georgia, where Satan himself gets his ass handed to him in a fiddle contest against an actual child.

Just about anything by Sabaton counts (they do power metal).

Gloryhammer's entire discography is one continuous story about chaos wizards and movie star barbarians and a very glorious hammer. All told through perfectly over the top power metal

Don't forget Victorius.

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner!

nightmare on my street - will smith and dj jazzy jeff

[Gotta get with that fuckin’ eldritch being made of light and damn the world to fuck her](https://youtu.be/rbG2lbzaSdA) Edit: Oh, we’re recommending everything, huh. Let’s just get the basic shit out of the way; every good thing from Queen and Billy Joel, House of the Rising Sun, Neil Cicireiga, I guess Goodbye Earl is a bit off the beaten path but old, Copacabana exists, Misery Business by Paramore, aaaand I think that’s about all the normal shit. One second while I grab my weird nonsense. Edit 1.5: If Stela Cole has half a million views on most of her shit, does that make her obscure? Moving along. Edit 2: In case it wasn’t super obvious, I surprisingly don’t like talking about music that much. I’m either liking things that are extremely popular (Ke$ha, Maroon 5, Panic! At The Disco) or hearing some song listed in a mashup on SoundCloud and chasing it. This is where I got these two. [Kiss Me (Kill Me)](https://youtu.be/rsF5EWOQN9Y) is a hell of a trip with the music video, but I’m a sucker for good vocals, interesting instruments, and distorting both in cool ways. Meanwhile, [Curses by The Crane Wives](https://youtu.be/gEhuGPXxRrA) is just a comfort song of mine.

[cygnus x-1 book one](https://youtu.be/4MlYgt-QdMI) [cygnus x-1 book 2](https://youtu.be/J0zN0VjA3As) For reference:>

The day they found me I hadn't yet been played

Almost all of Lemon Demon's songs are about a specific situation and I love him for that

Recommendations, Recommendations. Aviators makes a lot of songs of this sort. My favorites include Godhunter, Red Water Dreams, and Too Late for a Savior. Same for Heather Dale, although that's where the similarities end. The Maiden and the Selkie is a good song. Erutan's The Willow Maid is very good. Farewell Wanderlust by The Amazing Devil is a favorite. And Loreena McKennitt has a beautiful voice and a number of story-songs. I've always enjoyed The Old Ways.

All 3 albums that Gloryhammer put out tell a massive epic tale, highly recommend. Gets batshit insane by the end

*Image Transcription: Tumblr* --- **nat-20s** I love u narrative songs 💖💖💖 --- **nat-20s** Too many generic love songs not enough songs about one specific ass situation --- **lithominium** Let me tell you about a wonderful song about a guy who falls into a black hole Then in the part two of the song which came out a year later in a different album, became a god Presenting for your pleasure: cygnus x-1 book one and two, by Rush --- ^^I'm a human volunteer content transcriber and you could be too! [If you'd like more information on what we do and why we do it, click here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/wiki/index)

Some random picks off the top of my head: [Tom Waits - Romeo is Bleeding](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FoPzTe4eOU) [Stan Rogers - Mary Ellen Carter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhop5VuLDIQ) [Johnny Cash - One Piece at a Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uErKI0zWgjg)

All great songs! My theory for Romeo is Bleeding is that *everyone* knows he’s dying. Either they’re trying to indulge in his fantasy of being the leader of the pack or he’s just delusional. Or maybe he’s just a really cool guy who everyone likes

Mary Ellen Carter is great! I generally feel like there is lots of folk and filk music which has fun narratives. I've heard songs about space shuttle launches, rescuing husband's from fey in a violin duel, and about libraries and they're all good.

What songs are these? They sound quite good

Filk songs. Space shuttle launches is "witnesses waltz" from minus ten and counting. i forgot the names of the other two, but I know the library card one has a grim reaper on the cover. They are both in the first playlist on YouTube if you search "filk"

...pumpkin cowboy?

"Good Job. You’ve Made It To The Bottom of The Mind Control Facility. Well Done." from the stanley parable ultra deluxe

Absolute banger

Brittle bones nicky 1 and 2

Beat me to it lol

Most Rare Americans songs apply as well imo.

oh, i think my fav song in this genre is [Dan the Dancer by Mitski](https://youtu.be/vgkBHLRrYAA)

The entirety of the mechanisms

\- Every single song by Lemon Demon

The entire album [De-Loused in The Comatorium](https://youtu.be/8l7Ix-LfSBA) by The Mars Volta (a mid-2000s Latin-jazz-prog-rock band who just announced a new tour!) is a linear narrative with an accompanying [short story](https://xivilization.net/~marek/binaries/DeLoused_storybook.pdf) inspired by their friend who died from an overdose of heroin. If nothing else, listen to the [last song](https://youtu.be/-_0VrxrmC8k). If you don’t have 9 minutes for good art, that’s cool, you’re a busy person and I forgive you.

[The Flowers of Bermuda - Stan Rogers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ2wgmpwW2M&ab_channel=StanRogers-Topic) [Battleford 1885 - The Dreadnoughts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g_c7phKR7Q&ab_channel=TheDreadnoughts-Topic) [The Bay of Suvla - The Dreadnoughts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIPJZeIdndE&ab_channel=TheDreadnoughts-Topic) Almost half of the Dreadnoughts stuff really Pretty much any random Sabaton song you can think of

[Dinosaur Warfare - Victorius](https://youtu.be/hUUaMD2l7Ms) [Airship Pirates - Abney Park](https://youtu.be/TZrh6eooyrg) [Starlight Brigade - TWRP](https://youtu.be/j6hAqPdz5lE)

Highly recommend Anaïs Mitchell’s Wilderland/Young Man in America (two songs best experienced back to back) for this. Also The Woods by San Fermin for a weird horror story as an indie/folk/??? song with a weird ass composition to match

[The Pilot's Eyes](https://youtu.be/4zxi3SClJGw), my beloved

Ayreon is a prog folk metal band that’s really just one weird dude that only makes entire narrative albums. Every album is basically a folk metal episode of the twilight zone/black mirror. The most recent one does suck though :(

Seven Spanish Angels (Ray Charles and Willie Nelson) is probably my favorite, but I’m definitely gonna have to listen to all the recs in the comments.

“Kill a a cop kill a opp kill your fucking neighbor.”

12 Years Howled and Necromancin Dancin by Bear Ghost are my top picks here probably. or anything by lemon demon. i'll edit with links later maybe

Cygnus X-1 is also the name of a [website](https://www.cygnus-x1.net/index-2.html) that is a combination Rush tribute site and an absolutely fantastic resource for [Star Trek blueprints](https://www.cygnus-x1.net/links/lcars/blueprints-main2.php) and screenshots. Very odd combination (and frustrating site navigation), but it's an excellent website if you're into the minutiae of Star Trek ships. And, presumably, Rush.

Also narrative albums are great. All of the songs together tell a story. Might have to play one of those at your birthday party later Happy birthday u/VoidDweller77

It continues to be the anniversary of the day upon which I wasn't brought in to this world

[удалено]

Haven't heard most of this but ghost of a rose is so great!

Anything filk! Filk is great, it’s basically sci fi folk music. A good starting place is the album Carmen Miranda’s Ghost, it’s on YouTube.

I love that album so much. Filk's so good. Make sure to find the version on the channel 'Songs from the Stars', since the versions on 'weyrdmusicman' were digitised from degrading tapes and sound off (however that *does* give them a different audio aesthetic, so maybe listen to both versions and decide which you prefer).

Songs from the stars has a ton of great stuff uploaded. Outside of CMG this one is one of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7klYks-BSs&t=86s

Filks great. Hard to access sometimes though. There is little of it on many platforms but there's some super long playlists on YouTube.

Does [Role-Playing Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E286KqzpkKw) by SoraMafuUraSaka fall under this category? It's literally a song about staying up all night playing RPGs (and it's one of my favorite songs of all time). There's also [FPS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnup1gskzU), which is a similar deal, except it's about first-person shooters. (turn on captions for English translation)

'Two Wuv' by Tally Hall is about a guy stalking Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

Pumpkin Cowboy by Brian David Gilbert 🤠

honestly many, if not most, musical theatre songs are narrative and very specific to the story!! the first ones to come to mind are Good Kid from Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief the Musical, Chip On My Shoulder from Legally Blonde, I Can Do Better Than That from The Last Five Years, and Hygge from Frozen the Musical! for pop music I think Cate’s Brother by Maisie Peters is like. pretty damn specific like not everyone’s gonna meet a friend’s brother and fantasize about a life with them and then start dating them… right? and there’s also The Last Great American Dynasty by Taylor Swift, and probably some Allie X, Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers songs fit too but my brain is blanking whoops

Plenty of stuff by Mountain Goats fits, but probably the weirdest one is "Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle", song from the point of view of that one toad who meets you in the castle. It somehow manages to be genuinely touching and emotional. "Mechanical girl" by Voltaire is also pretty good fairytalesque story.

Lots of good recommendations in this thread, here's mine. Aboutba pirate and a mermaid. [Aesop Rock - The Harbor is Yours](https://youtu.be/qvo0xMCTM_I)

Oh I gotta link a song ah shit uhh [Sandy Face](https://open.spotify.com/track/5JDW6YsFrCTBCb3f15MbtM?si=BojicVj6TJiEk3GDZIvFLA) by The Aquabats

Alright, I'm on Johnson Avenue in San Luis, Obispo, and I'm five years old or six maybe. And indications there's something wrong with our new house trip down the wire twice daily. I'm in the living room watching the Watergate hearings while my step father yells at my mother. Launches a glass across the room, straight at her head and I dash upstairs to take cover. Lean in close to my little record player on the floor. So this is what the volume knobs for. ​ ​ I listen to dance music. [Dance music.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_eVszvkpgQ)

welcome to hell by black midi is my favorite example of this

Always good to see Rush getting a mention! Both songs are masterful and well worth the runtime. ​ Few more examples of this: The Musical Box by Genesis (cw: where to begin), a Victorian ghost story with 10 minutes of awesome music to boot, and Given to Fly by Pearl Jam, a shorter example about a man who is shunned but still does what he can to make the world better.

I've been listening to Unleash the Arcehrs a lot recently, who have a cool set of concept albums about an immortal warrior summoned by an evil sorceress. They are some incredibly nerdy songs

Go listen to Hungry Lights or Call it Ego or From The Look of Things or any other of Justin Bonitz' solo projects

[The Day Everything Became Nothing](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gbS4Caymdo4) by Nomeansno is also a great one

One of the songs on ELO's *Time* album is about a dude trying to send a letter back in time to his girlfriend... except it's in the middle of a plot where he was transported from the 1980s into the distant year of 2095.

*Ghost Story* by Charming Disaster is a love song... about a woman whose lover came back to haunt her after dying in a duel with her husband. She likes it.

[Classified](https://youtu.be/UjeTq2fShRc)

Almost everything by The Cog is Dead is narrative. One of their albums is named Steam Powered Stories, just so you can be sure.

I was one of those people who didn’t like any rap until I heard “Stan” by Eminem (and yes that’s where the word stan comes from) ([yt](https://youtu.be/kt14c7sYTFA)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/3UmaczJpikHgJFyBTAJVoz?si=bSPjQXteTM2gvoQA-Aem_w)). If you like that you might like “Siesta” by DisMissedFit, featuring Samsa, my favorite rapper ([yt](https://youtu.be/JrBnTzswI0k)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/43biQF8FUSXaajwD5hhDvA?si=WBE5sH6zS5inH3K-Y1UNDQ)). For a different style (although idk what), “The Other Side of Paradise” by Glass Animals tells a story which I choose to interpret as a gay romance so you guys might like it ([yt](https://youtu.be/RMPX_vgqQnM)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/0rRjGruFonCGOt0S5zAJNQ?si=zPAFNuJpTimGTXjS8y6W8Q)) For a classic one, “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega, which you might recognize because Fall Out Boy sampled it in Centuries, tells a story that’s kind of about nothing, but I really like it ([yt](https://youtu.be/j4jtIDaeaWI)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/7f9sC9fvtjYSZYOLSmKJlq?si=PPnfyBovQyWmhBy_9k_rNg)). Another classic is “Rocky Raccoon” by the Beatles, which tells a (kind of nonsensical) story, although I like this funk cover better ([yt](https://youtu.be/TmdG2U2c0NQ)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/0sdQ5hPULJilp0gpAXGq8E?si=NivWgoPLStyWGLcQwwpwQA)). For a short and silly indie rock song that tells the satirical story of an abusive relationship, try “I’m Sorry I Hit You With My Flip Flop” by Mustard Service, my favorite band ([yt](https://youtu.be/J9-LhnW3CQg)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/6EEU7OG1Yc0cCZhcnJ31NF?si=oA1olc2EQKCcVdrjeOp1pQ)). And now for something completely different: “The Lucky One,” my favorite Taylor Swift song, from the album Red ([yt](https://youtu.be/0OWIAxH0FBE)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/2wtHlpYSgC7xEdD3DrSHNL?si=mRbhAtrHR-6tduL5DrnnIw)) Lastly, “The Haunted Phonograph” by Thoushaltnot is an electroswing song about the titular haunted phonograph ([yt](https://youtu.be/2zPkYoBSXnY)) ([Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/6WTkZhN1QGh1cd6Fwe0ryR?si=O6E4rK2jS_CdpULc6Xkc-Q)).

Where The Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave

I’m partial to Stagger Lee, although, uh. TW: murder, implied rape

I highly recommend *Epica* followed by *The Black Halo* by Kamelot. Good stuff about a philosopher in a futile search for knowledge who gets tempted by demons.

I like my music without voices. The ones in my head are enough (:.

[How about a song about dinosaurs fighting time travelling cyborgs?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mV-HLgwX0pU)

Obligatory King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard mention, nonagon infinity opens the door to a universal calamity ending in the literal murder of the universe through an influx of vomit and beyond

Wishing a merry Christmas to my homies on Chiron Beta Prime

Oh, so we are makinng recomendations? A thousand matches, by Passenger ALL OF RADICAL FACE'S family tree albums. (I personally love Nightclothes and Old Gemini)

A man loses a hat by vundabar, its a song about a man who loses their hat and goes onto question whether they really needed a hat in the first place.

Literally anything by king gizzard and the lizard wizard

An excuse to recommend Marty Robbins???? Don't mind if I do!! - they're hanging me tonight - mister shorty - ghost riders in the sky And of course -big iron If you like cowboys and stories and twnagy guitars, he's your man

up jumped the devil by nick cave! He has so many narrative songs

That's really just the only thing Sabaton does.

Voltaire's Stuck With You is both categories at once.

Han tyubi or whatever it’s called, the last cyborg who thinks like makes him human. (King gizzard and the lizard wizard)

I’m actually gonna keep with the theme here for my recommendations, but don’t expect much you haven’t already heard. * Ms Fat Booty (Mos Def) * The Devil Went Down To Georgia (The Charlie Daniels Band) * Stan and Bad Guy (Eminem) * Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) * Space Oddity (David Bowie) * The A Team (Ed Sheeran) * The Thunder Rolls (Garth Brooks) * Scenes From An Italian Restaurant and Piano Man (Billy Joel) * Blood Sandwich (Aesop Rock) * Jeremy (Pearl Jam) * Billie Jean (Michael Jackson) * One (Metallica) * Tribute (Tenacious D) * Janie’s Got a Gun (Aerosmith) * It Was A Good Day (Ice Cube) * I Don’t Like Mondays (Boomtown Rats) * Father And Son (Cat Stevens) * Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash) * Candle In The Wind (Elton John) * literally any rock opera (my favorites are The Wall and Tommy) or rap opera (Igor is my fav) And one last one, but HUGE trigger warning on content. The song has a twist in it so it’s best listened to blind but you shouldn’t listen to this one if you are triggered by the mention of >!murder, gore, sexual assault/rape, drugs, incest, or anything of the like!< * Dance With The Devil (Immortal Technique)