Song lyrics that actually tell a story.


Not the original but sineads vocal is superb on this..

It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin' cotton, and my brother was balin' hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y'all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin' from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And papa said to mama, as he passed around the blackeyed peas
Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits, please
There's five more acres in the lower forty I've got to plow
And mama said it was shame about Billy Joe, anyhow
Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge
And now Billy Joe MacAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And brother said he recollected when he, and Tom, and Billie Joe
Put a frog down my back at the Carroll County picture show
And wasn't I talkin' to him after church last Sunday night?
I'll have another piece-a apple pie; you know, it don't seem right
I saw him at the sawmill yesterday on Choctaw Ridge
And now ya tell me Billie Joe's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And mama said to me, child, what's happened to your appetite?
I've been cookin' all morning, and you haven't touched a single bite
That nice young preacher, Brother Taylor, dropped by today
Said he'd be pleased to have dinner on Sunday, oh, by the way
He said he saw a girl that looked a lot like you up on Choctaw Ridge
And she and Billy Joe was throwing somethin' off the Tallahatchie Bridge

A year has come and gone since we heard the news 'bout Billy Joe
And brother married Becky Thompson; they bought a store in Tupelo
There was a virus going 'round; papa caught it, and he died last spring
And now mama doesn't seem to want to do much of anything
And me, I spend a lot of time pickin' flowers up on Choctaw Ridge
And drop them into the muddy water off the Tallahatchie Bridge

And no, I haven't a clue what it means. But I'm sure it means something.
 
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Both written when he was in his early twenties, and still relevant today



Puts up the closed sign does the man in the corner shop
Serves his last then he says goodbye to him
He knows it is a hard life
But it's nice to be your own boss really
Walks off home does the last customer
He is jealous of the man in the corner shop
He's sick of working at the factory
Says it must be nice to be your own boss, really
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
Sells cigars to the boss from the factory
He is jealous of the man in the corner shop
He is sick of struggling so hard
Says it might be nice to own a factory
Go to church do the people from the area
All shapes and classes sit and pray together
For here they are all one
For God created all men equal
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
Go to church do the people from the area
Go to church do the people from the area
Go to church do the people from the area
For God created all men equal, they know
That God created all men equal, they know
That God created all men equal, they know
That God created all men equal, they know
That God created all men equal, they know
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la...




Hello darlin', I'm home again
Covered in shit and aches and pains
Too knackered to think so give me time to come round
Just gimme the living room beat to the TV sound
My hard earned dough goes in bills and the larder
And that Prince Philip tells us we gotta work harder!
It seems a constant struggle just to exist
Scrimping and saving and crossing of lists
From this window I've seen the whole world pass
From dawn to dusk I've heard the last laugh laughed
I've seen enough tears to wash away this street
I've heard wedding bells chime and a funeral march
When as one life finishes another one starts
From this window I've seen the whole world pass
From dawn to dusk I've heard the last laugh laughed
I've seen enough tears to wash away this street
I've heard wedding bells chime and a funeral march
When as one life finishes another one starts
Alright then love so I'll be off now
It's back to the lunchbox and workermanagement rows
There's gotta be more to this old life then this
Scrimping and saving and crossing of lists
 
Half Man Half Biscuit - The Ballard of Climie Fisher

Now here comes a story that’s never been told
About the turbulent demise of Climie Fisher
They had their success and they went separate ways

Fisher went to work as a researcher for the BBC Education Department; rented a flat in Norbury, South London. Climie moved into the gravel business, with his brother. Theirs was the place to go for White Dolomite and Canterbury Spur. It was a small but profitable operation, specialised in large driveways. Top of the range was called a “Hadleigh”; so named after the TV series.

Now keep this in mind
Fisher hates gravel
And Fisher hates shale
It goes right through him

In the spring of 1995, Climie did an interview for “Mixed Aggregate” magazine, in which he criticised his ex-partner for not giving him the credit he felt he deserved during their days of chart stardom. Fisher read the article, became incensed, and started a smear campaign against the brothers’ business which proved immensely damaging. When Climie eventually found out who it was that had been trying to destroy his livelihood, he swore revenge – this time with a full-page statement in “Asphalt”. One hundred pound a word. Spent his last five hundred pounds to say: “You’re a dead man, Fisher.”

Now here comes a story that’s never been told

In the meantime, Fisher had started to pine for his music, and decided to get a band together. Do a few gigs; nothing serious, just enjoy it, see what happens, kinda thing. Thought it might be fun to do some out-of-the-way venues. So it passed that on October the 3rd 1995, he took to the stage at the Duke Of Marlborough pub in Amesbury, on the south-eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Well of course Climie had somehow found out about all this, and was standing right in front of Fisher with pockets full of gravel. Thirty seconds into the first song and he’s raining his stones down at Fisher’s feet. Well the music stops. Fisher goes beserk. Mayhem. Police cars.

I’ll tell you a story that’s never been told
 
The Fall - New Face in Hell

Wireless enthusiast intercepts government secret radio band and
Uncovers secrets and scandals of deceitful-type proportions.

Aghast, goes next door to his neighbor, secretly excited,
As aforementioned was a hunter who radio enthusiast wanted
Friendship and favor of

A new face in hell
Nearly a new face in hell!

A muscular, thick-skinned, slit-eyed neighbor is at the table
Poisoned just thirty seconds before by parties who knew of
Wireless operator's forthcoming revelation

A new face in hell!

A prickly line of sweat covers enthusiast's forehead as the
Realisation hits him that the same government him and his now
Dead neighbor voted for and backed and talked of on cream porches
Have tricked him into their war against the people who enthusiast
And dead hunter would wish torture on. A servant of
Government walks in and arrests wireless fan in
Kitchen for murder of his neighbour

A new face in hell!
A new face in hell!
A new face in hell!

A new face in hell!
A new face in hell!
A new face in hell!
A new face in hell!

The dead cannot contradict
Sometimes the living cannot

A new face in hell!
 
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