Jackie Paper in Puff The Magic Dragon

:music: A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant's rings make way for other toys
One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar :music:

"Last Kiss" - J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers

Well, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me.
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good,
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.

We were out on a date in my daddy's car.
We hadn't driven very far.
There in the road, straight ahead ...
The car was stalled, the engine was dead.

I couldn't stop, so I swerved to the right.
Never forget the sound that night ...
The cryin' tires, the bustin' glass.
The painful scream that I heard last.

Well, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me.
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good,
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.

Well, when I woke up, the rain was pourin' down.
There were people standing all around.
Something warm running in my eyes,
But I found my baby somehow that night.

I raised her head, and when she smiled, and said,

"Hold me darling for a little while."
I held her close. I kissed her our last kiss.
I found the love that I knew I would miss.

But now she's gone, even though I hold her tight.
I lost my love ... my life, that night.

Well, where oh where can my baby be?
The Lord took her away from me.
She's gone to heaven, so I got to be good,
So I can see my baby when I leave this world.

The guy in Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell. Overall, he seemed nice enough...


:music: But I can't stop thinking of you
And I never see the sudden curve 'til it's way too late
And I never see the sudden curve 'til it's way too late

Then I'm dying at the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun
Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike
And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell
And the last thing I see is my heart still beating
Breaking out of my body and flying away
Like a bat out of hell :music:

Seasons in the sun by Terry Jacks. Sad song from the early 70's. Either the guy was about to commit suicide or he was dying from cancer or another major illness.:(

Shooting star by Bad company, talks about death from a drug overdose.:(

_7fIZU2E52k

The poor doggie in ‘Mr. Bojangles’ :( Even sadder than the kid up there who got eaten by the dragon.

:music: The dog up and died, he up and died
After twenty years he still grieves :music:

A good thread Opus,I love that soing.. Makes me cry!!

The poor doggie in ‘Mr. Bojangles’ :( Even sadder than the kid up there who got eaten by the dragon.

:music: The dog up and died, he up and died
After twenty years he still grieves :music:

Yes! A very beautiful but sad song. :(

Just in case there are some who've never heard it before, the original Liberty records single had an intro with Uncle Charlie trying to get Ol' Teddy to sing--here is that complete version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMzblsYauuQ&list=RDeMzblsYauuQ&start_radio=1

With imagery going back to a terrible 1959 plane crash killing several musicians, and full of other lyrics applicable to the times, there is the incomparable 8-1/2 minutes of American Pie. It's one of those songs I've heard so many times, I could probably come close to writing out the entire song by memory.

Whoa.

Heavy thread.

With imagery going back to a terrible 1959 plane crash killing several musicians, and full of other lyrics applicable to the times, there is the incomparable 8-1/2 minutes of American Pie. It's one of those songs I've heard so many times, I could probably come close to writing out the entire song by memory.

Challenge accepted. Without any help (I trust you), do it here :guitar:

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

This song memorializes the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

This song memorializes the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

The Great Lakes freighter sank in 1975 with 29 crew members on board.

B.J. the D.J. - Stonewall Jackson

yfCikcK6Ro0?si=XDXh9wcY6IEPBBrS

Long long time ago

I can still remember

Uh oh

How something or other

Used to ....

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above?
If the Bible tells you so.

Do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
Can you teach me how to dance real slow?

And I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before.
But the men there said the music wouldn't play.

Bad news on the doorstep.
I couldn't take one more step.

Bye bye Miss American Pie...

I think I'm missing a few words here and there. Seven and a half minutes more or less...

Tell Laura I love her by Ray Peterson 1958 . About a race car driver that dies in a fiery crash.:(

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

This song memorializes the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

That is a beautiful sad song. Especially being it came out not too long after this tragedy happened. Wasn't it a hit in 76-77?

Long long time ago

I can still remember

Uh oh

How something or other

Used to ....

Did you write the book of love
And do you have faith in God above?
If the Bible tells you so.

Do you believe in rock and roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
Can you teach me how to dance real slow?

And I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before.
But the men there said the music wouldn't play.

Bad news on the doorstep.
I couldn't take one more step.

Bye bye Miss American Pie...

I think I'm missing a few words here and there. Seven and a half minutes more or less...

Close enough…..

D-MthLm7_m0

qfypRsWPuVM

qfypRsWPuVM

That song always brings tears to my eyes. I remember it played on the Oldies radio station in the late 80"s when I was pregnant with my boys. This song really hit hard to a pregnant woman.

" As the snow flies, on a cold and gray Chicago morn, a poor little baby child is born in the ghetto. And his mama cries , cause if there's one thing she doesn't need is another hungry mouth to feed in the ghetto"


And the last verse :(

And as her young man dies , on a cold and gray Chicago morn another little baby child is born in the ghetto .:(

Rammstein's Spring (Jump)

vPj6Gz_sh4c



It's about a guy who climbs up a bridge to get a look at the view. People see him and think he's going to jump off and yell "Jump!" at him.



Quite high on a bridge
A man holds his arms open
There he stands now, still hesitating
People immediately flock in droves
I won't miss it either
I want to see that up close
I'll put myself in the front row


And scream
The man wants to get off the bridge
People start to hate
Form a dense dance
And I don't want to let him downstairs
So he climbs up again


And the mob begins to rage
They want his innards
And scream
Jump
Jump
Jump
Jump



Deliver me
Jump
Don't disappoint me
Jump for me
Jump into the light
Jump



Now the man starts to cry
A cloud moves secretly
Asking yourself, “What have I done?”
In front of the sun, it gets cold
I just wanted to go to the view


People are leaving the ranks
And look at the evening sky
And they scream
Jump
Jump
They scream
Jump
Jump


Deliver me
Jump
Don't disappoint me
Jump for me
Jump into the light
Jump



A cloud moves secretly
In front of the sun, it gets cold
But a thousand suns burn just for you
I secretly sneak onto the bridge
Kick him in the back from behind
Deliver him from this shame, yes


And shout after him
Jump
Jump
Jump


Redeem yourself
Jump
Don't disappoint me
Jump, jump for me
Jump
Don't disappoint me

"Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton

This song is a true story. Harry Green was a real person — a high-school classmate of Tom Petty’s who protected Tom from bullies. He was also gay and in the closet in a time when being anything bust straight wasn’t accepted in this country, especially in the South.

Harry’s life had a tragic ending.

DEv2RsXo6qY

"The Carroll County Accident" - Porter Wagoner
-OTa5J7lwR8?si=hSbk-FVgLi4ycdIh

Elton John's Candle in the Wind about Marilyn Monroe's life and death

Elton John's Candle in the Wind about Marilyn Monroe's life and death

Did he do another version or rerelease the same version about Princess Diana?

I forget if it's the same exact song but yes, he did that song for Diana also I think.

Search Assist

Yes, "Candle in the Wind" was originally written for Marilyn Monroe in 1973, and a rewritten version was performed as a tribute to Princess Diana in 1997.

"I Sang Dixie"-Dwight Yoakam

God bless you and him always!!!

Holly

Ode to Billie Joe. Billie Joe McGallister's suicide by jumping off the Tallahache bridge.

Here are some deaths you could argue are deserved:

Tom Dooley was not a nice person

:music: I met her on the mountain
There I took her life
Met her on the mountain
Stabbed her with my knife

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Hang down your head and cry (poor boy)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die :music:

And if you’re gonna cheat on Cher in ‘Dark Lady’ you pretty much deserve everything that’s coming to you

:music: And so, I sneaked back and caught her with my man
Laughing and kissing 'til they saw the gun in my hand
The next thing I knew they were dead on the floor
Dark lady would never turn a card up anymore :music:

Here are some deaths you could argue are deserved:

Tom Dooley was not a nice person

:music: I met her on the mountain
There I took her life
Met her on the mountain
Stabbed her with my knife

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley



Hang down your head and cry (poor boy)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die :music:

And if you’re gonna cheat on Cher in ‘Dark Lady’ you pretty much deserve everything that’s coming to you

:music: And so, I sneaked back and caught her with my man
Laughing and kissing 'til they saw the gun in my hand
The next thing I knew they were dead on the floor


Dark lady would never turn a card up anymore :music:

All Dooley's can't be good ! ( inside joke! You know what I mean, Opus) . :lol:

Here are some deaths you could argue are deserved:

Tom Dooley was not a nice person

:music: I met her on the mountain
There I took her life
Met her on the mountain
Stabbed her with my knife

Hang down your head, Tom Dooley


Hang down your head and cry (poor boy)
Hang down your head, Tom Dooley
Poor boy, you're bound to die :music:

And if you’re gonna cheat on Cher in ‘Dark Lady’ you pretty much deserve everything that’s coming to you

:music: And so, I sneaked back and caught her with my man
Laughing and kissing 'til they saw the gun in my hand
The next thing I knew they were dead on the floor
Dark lady would never turn a card up anymore :music:


Also on the line of these songs" The night the lights went out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence .

All Dooley's can't be good ! ( inside joke! You know what I mean, Opus) . :lol:

I doo (ley)

Also on the line of these songs" The night the lights went out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence .

A man framed and killed for a murder his sister committed. Heavy.

A man framed and killed for a murder his sister committed. Heavy.

Yep! " You see , little sister don't miss when she aims her gun" !!

I remember that song being popular playing on the radio, and thinking WOW, that's the lady from the Carol Burnett show, long before she played Mama! ;)

E89ogKeU9xk


KISS' 'Detroit Rock City' was a tribute to Detroit and a fan who died on his way to a concert.

Paul Stanley said in 2023, "'Detroit Rock City' is an interesting one, because Detroit really embraced us before any other city. We were an opening act everywhere else, and in Detroit we were a headliner. It started as a tribute to Detroit and then it kind of took a left turn because somebody coming to the arena was killed in an accident.

And I thought how bizarre that somebody on their way to something so life affirming loses their life. So there's a juxtaposition in that song about singing about how great Detroit is, and actually about someone going to the show who doesn't make it."




The original studio recording began with a news broadcast of the accident.

In Detroit, a Pontiac, Michigan youth was reported dead at the scene of a head-on collision on Grand Avenue this morning.
The youth was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the boulevard when he struck a delivery truck and was catapulted through the windshield of his car.
The driver of the truck is reported to be uninjured.
The identities of both men are being withheld by local police.

George Jones: He Stopped Loving Her Today

......I went to see him just today
Oh but I didn't see no tears
All dressed up to go away
First time I'd seen him smile in years

He stopped loving her today
They placed a wreath upon his door
And soon they'll carry him away
He stopped loving her today...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xswGSAj_uQE&list=RDxswGSAj_uQE&start_radio=1

XjbxRc6bk7U


Ozzy said it was about the alcohol-related death of AC/DC's Bon Scott.

Where the Wild Roses Grow by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue

They call me the wild rose
But my name was Elisa Day
Why they call me it I do not know
For my name was Elisa Day

From the first day I saw her I knew she was the one
She stared in my eyes and smiled
For her lips were the color of the roses
That grew down the river, all bloody and wild

When he knocked on my door and entered the room
My trembling subsided in his sure embrace
He would be my first man, and with a careful hand
He wiped at the tears that ran down my face
...
On the second day he came with a single red rose
He said, "Give me your loss and your sorrow"
I nodded my head, as I lay on the bed
"If I show you the roses, will you follow?"
...
On the third day he took me to the river
He showed me the roses and we kissed
And the last thing I heard was a muttered word
As he knelt above me with a rock in his fist

On the last day I took her where the wild roses grow
She lay on the bank, the wind light as a thief
And I kissed her goodbye, said, "All beauty must die"
And I lent down and planted a rose 'tween her teeth

They call me the wild rose
But my name was Elisa Day...

The sheriff and deputy in I Shot The Sheriff.

Ring around the Rosie. The old nursery rhyme song is about the Great plague of London. " Ashes, ashes we all fall down" (dead )!

Sounds like Neil Young has been up to no good

:music: Down by the river
I shot my baby
Down by the river

Dead, ooh, ooh, shot her dead, ooh :music:

Sounds like Neil Young has been up to no good

:music: Down by the river
I shot my baby⅗
Down by the river

Dead, ooh, ooh, shot her dead, ooh :music:

Also according to Jimi Hendrix , Joe wasn't a good guy either.

" Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand"? " I'm going to shoot my old lady , you know I caught her messing around with another man" . " So I gave her the gun! I SHOT HER" !!

Even The Beatles got in on the act


:music: Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Came down upon her head
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer
Made sure that she was dead :music:

"Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash

When I was just a baby, my mama told me, "Son
Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns"
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowin', I hang my head and cry

Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody

:music: Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead :music:

A tribute number just released by Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society:

Ozzy's Song.

Ode to Billie Joe. Billie Joe McGallister's suicide by jumping off the Tallahache bridge.

It's McCallister actually.

Ed.

Honey by Bobby Goldboro. The narrator of the song's young wife dies, I suppose you could argue she's his girlfriend because the song doesn't specifically call her his wife, but I prefer to think they're married instead of just boyfriend-girlfriend.

Ed.

A tribute number just released by Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society:

Ozzy's Song.

Sammy Hagar’s tribute song to Eddie Van Halen



6ax4ZkwrXc4?si=X1blqEIDKfQhCo6h
https://youtu.be/6ax4ZkwrXc4?si=X1blqEIDKfQhCo6h

Lie Lie Lie by Serj Tankian

588KWuXVAFA



About a guy who convinces his lover that they are siblings and now both have to die in order to free themselves of the sin of incest.

They go to a cliff and instead of jumping off together he lets her go and says "lie lie lie!"

Pretty much everything by SKYND. She's not for everyone as most of her songs are about true crime cases / murders.


Michelle Carter

Wadc6wpqhFE

About the 2014 case where Michelle Carter encouraged the suicide of her lover, Conrad Roy. Song lyrics are composed of the actual text messages.





Jim Jones

MZjvGiT0fWo

1978 Jonestown massacre. Lyrics composed of quotes from the "Death Tape".





Armin Meiwes

3Z6LT8iA_0c

Voluntary cannibalism/murder case from Germany in the early 2000s. Lyrics composed from the internet discussions where Meiwes found his victim.





Heaven's Gate

d1_R3l92Ppg

References the beliefs of the Heaven's Gate cult that resulted in the 1997 mass suicide.





Aileen Wuornos

TxAogoL8Hqg

About the troubled life of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos who was executed in 2002.

Rainbow, ‘Stargazer’. Many died in service of the wizard.

:music: In the heat and the rain
With whips and chains
To see him fly
So many died
We built a tower of stone
With our flesh and bone
To see him fly
But we don’t know why :music:

Maybe the Wizard Of Oz song is sad if you’ve seen the Wicked movies and feel they retroactively humanized her

:music: Ding-dong! The Witch is dead
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding-dong! The Wicked Witch is dead :music:

The deaths of Johnny Ace and John Lennon.

HJra4plhU54

Shooting star by Bad company, talks about death from a drug overdose.:(

I know that's a sad song but it's also a great song

zOVHCOOqJyo

The Cable boys killing Lucius Clay in The Charlie Daniels Band "The Legend Of Wooley Swamp"

:music: Then they all went crazy and they beat the old man
And they picked him up off the ground
Then they threw him in the swamp and they stood there and laughed
As the black water sucked him down :music:

I nominate Shannon by Henry Gross.

I nominate Shannon by Henry Gross.

Yeah. Sad song . :(

The last game of the season ( Blind man in the bleachers) David Geddes , 1975

Depending how you listened to it though, when the blind man died, it was the first time he could see his team play , from up in heaven .

Rocky from 1975 , by Austin Roberts about a young wife and mother who dies.

I am ashamed of myself for not acknowledging this song sooner. John Foster wrote it and it is about losing his best friend in a car accident on December 31, 2022.

efLqlb_nMLI

God bless you and him and the family of his friend always!!!

Holly (a girl who loves him more every day)

Clementine in the song My Darling Clementine.

Ed.

Baby killing in Neil Young’s ‘Rocking In The Free World’

:music: I see a woman in the night
With a baby in her hand
Under an old street light
Near a garbage can
Now she puts the kid away
And she's gone to get a hit
She hates her life
And what she's done to it
There's one more kid
That will never go to school
Never get to fall in love
Never get to be cool :music:

Seasons in the sun by Terry Jacks. Sad song from the early 70's. Either the guy was about to commit suicide or he was dying from cancer or another major illness.:(


A long time ago, I heard the song was about a condemned man that was to be executed for his crime. This was determined by these lyrics:

Goodbye papa, please pray for me
I was the black sheep of the family
You tried to teach me right from wrong
Too much wine and too much song
Wonder how I got along

Goodbye papa, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky
Now that the spring is in the air
Little children everywhere
When you see them, I'll be there


It changes your view on the whole song ........

Long, long story song over 20 minutes long
2112 - RUSH

(...)
I wish that it might come to pass
Not fade like all my dreams
Just think of what my life might be
In a world like I have seen!

I don't think I can carry on
Carry on
this cold and empty life
Oh no!

My spirits are low, in the depths of despair
My lifeblood
Spills over (...)

This song had DARK AND CREEPY LYRICS written by Rupert Holmes

It was intentionally written to be controversial and was indeed banned
by some radio stations due to its dark lyrics, but it still became a hit,
peaking at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.

The song:

TIMOTHY by The Buoys (2:47 long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGbJeUuZLyU

See if you can guess what it was about?

Here is a old, old sad song by Pat Boone

MOODY RIVER with lyrics (2:41 long)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zeRdkV-_VY

From posts 28 - 31 on this thread a conversation between TheLittlePiggy and Stevea on Elton John's
"Candle In The Wind"

The song: Lady Diana - Candle In The Wind"
also became later known as "Goodbye England's Rose"
same tune but totally different lyrics

Lady Diana - Candle in the wind
(Goodbye England's rose) - Elton John - Lyrics in text (3:57 long)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OefdqK3jKi0

UeKItlX50I8


Ozzy's song 'Latimer's Mercy' is about the 1993 mercy killing incident where Robert Latimer killed his 13-year-old severely physically/mentally disabled daughter, Tracy Lynn Latimer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Latimer


Another day, another full seizure
Another pill, you spiral down deeper
Another cut by a surgical butcher
It's just a way of prolonging the torture

I won't say I don't know what I'm doing
I won't say that I'm sorry (that I'm sorry)

I can't bring you back
I can't leave you helpless (helpless)
I'll make the pain rest in peace (rest in peace)
I'll turn off the lights
And swallow your last breath (last breath)
So close your eyes, fall asleep (close your eyes)

I'll never hurt you (hurt you)
I'll never hurt you (hurt you)

The sun shines on this deadly new morning
The church bells ring an early warning
Your eyes shine as I turn on the motor
The tears fall as the mercy gets closer

"The Killing of Georgie" - Rod Stewart

Out of a darkened side street came
A New Jersey gang with just one aim
To roll some innocent passer-by
There ensued a fearful fight
Screams rang out in the night
Georgie's head hit a sidewalk cornerstone
A leather kid, a switchblade knife
He did not intend to take his life
He just pushed his luck a little too far that night
The sight of blood dispersed the gang
A crowd gathered, the police came
An ambulance screamed to a halt on fifty-third and third
Da da da da da da duh
Da da da da da da duh
Da da da da da da duh
Georgie's life ended there.

"Ride Captain Ride"

HqFFjoRnltg?si=vDOsuUgebAFXs0xg

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry-B J Thomas

The Last Farewell- Roger Whittaker

Strange Fruit, recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939, about the lynchings in the Old South.


Web007rzSOI

Tupac Shakur referenced the 1991 killing of 15-year-old Latasha Harlins in many of his songs:

Keep Ya Head Up (dedicated to her)
Something 2 Die 4 (Interlude)
Thugz Mansion
I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto
White Man's World
N.I.G.G.A. (Never Ignorant, Getting Goals Accomplished)

Janie kills dad in Aerosmith’s Janie’s Got A Gun.

But in this case dad deserved it

:music: What did her daddy do?
It's Janie's last I.O.U
She had to take him down easy and put a bullet in his brain
She said, "'Cause nobody believes me, the man was such a sleaze"
He ain't never gonna be the same :music:

I wonder if Dolly Parton ever wanted to exterminate that :censored: Jolene.

My Immortal by Evanescence has the lines:

Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams,
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me

Sam Stone by John Prine

The Who, ‘Pictures Of Lily’

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

Lily’s been dead the whole time

:music: And then one day, things weren't quite so fine
I fell in love with Lily
I asked my dad where Lily I could find
He said, "Son, now don't be silly
She's been dead since 1929" :music:

Here’s one in which the singer, himself, dies.

Freddie Mercury was gravely ill when he laid down his vocal for this track and never finished it. Brian May sang the final verse after Freddie’s death.

You can feel the frailty of a dying man — who was once vibrant and strong — and then the finality of his passing, in this track.

ckip5XeMp9k

And here’s a tribute song for Freddie the remaining members of the band recorded and released in 1997. This was the last Queen project with the participation of Queen bassist John Deacon, who has since retired from public life.

oLKyaOLb2Fs