To name a few....

'Roseanna' by Toto -- Roseanna Arquette was immortalized in this song after her breakup with a band member.

'You're So Vain' -- Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, James Taylor, it's anyone's guess who Carly Simon was referring to, but she's never denied that it was personal.

'Tears In Heaven' -- Eric Clapton penned this loving tribute to his son, Connor, after his tragic death in 1991.

'The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald' -- Gordon Lightfoot's haunting ballad in honor of the 29 lives claimed by the vessel that went down in 1975.

"We Didn't Start The Fire," Bily Joel's ode to fifty years of people, places and current events.

Originally posted by TJL
"We Didn't Start The Fire," Bily Joel's ode to fifty years of people, places and current events.
Where's my winking smilie? You're making me paranoid, lol.

"She's A Butterfly" recorded by Martina McBride this year was written about a girl named Katie Darnell. She had brain cancer and died in June of this year. She wrote a song called "Rescue Me" that Wynonna recorded on her album that was released in August. A story about her can be found here

http://www.wynonna.com/katiedarnell.htm

Candle in the Wind ~ Elton John

Originally posted by Janice
Where's my winking smilie? You're making me paranoid, lol.

Oh allright...

;)

"Silly Love songs" - Wings: Paul Mcartney wrote it as a response to a statement by John Lennon. John was asked what his thoughts were on Paul's band Wings and he said something like "Oh! Just writing a bunch of silly little love songs", Paul upon hearing this remark retaliated with this song.

"No one but you"- Brian May: Written in honor of the death of Freddie Mercury, I still cry every time I hear it.

"The Kiss of Kathleen Turner"- Tav Falco: Although I've never actually heard this song, i've read about it. He wrote it in honor of the actress Kathleen Turner. One of my favorite Actresses, and apparently Falco's as well.

Originally posted by HuntingtonM15
"She's A Butterfly" recorded by Martina McBride this year was written about a girl named Katie Darnell. She had brain cancer and died in June of this year. She wrote a song called "Rescue Me" that Wynonna recorded on her album that was released in August. A story about her can be found here

http://www.wynonna.com/katiedarnell.htm

God I love that song.

Ummm some I can think of off the top of my head...

"Masterpiece" by Carolyn Dawn Johnson was written about her Aunt, Uncle and Nephew.

"With You In Your Dreams" by Hanson was written about their Grandmother who passed away.

... That's all I can think of.

The NIght They Tore Old Dixie Down -- Robbie Robertson - The Band. Lead singer - Levon Helm.

It's a barely fictional story based on the fall of Richmond in the last days of the Civil War. Virgil Cain, an ex confederate soldier, tells the story through the voice of Levon Helm. George Stoneman, Major General in the Union Army and commander of the East Tennessee District, is a real character dipicted in the song. He commanded Union troops in destruction of the South, in the same way that General Shearman did in the Georgia Campaign.

David Gates of the group, Bread, had lost his father in the 70s, and wrote this song for him. I read once that, at concerts, he would dedicate the song to his father before he performed it.


Everything I Own

You sheltered me from harm.
Kept me warm, kept me warm
You gave my life to me
Set me free, Set me free
The finest years I ever knew
were all the years I had with you

I would give anything I own,
Give up me life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own,
just to have you back again.

You taught me how to love,
What its of, what its of.
You never said too much,
but still you showed the way,
and I knew from watching you.
Nobody else could ever know
the part of me that can't let go.

I would give anything I own,
Give up me life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again.

Is there someone you know,
you're loving them so,
but taking them all for granted.
You may lose them one day,
someone takes them away,
and they don't hear the words you long to say.

I would give anything I own,
Give up me life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own
Just to have you back again
Just to touch you, once again.

Here are the songs based on people and actual events:

1. "We Are the World" - USA for Africa
2. "Voices That Care" - Voices That Care
3. "It's A Small World" - The Disneyland Chorus
4. "What More Can I Gave" - Michael Jackson & Friends
5. "What's Going On" - Marvin Gaye
6. "That's What Friends Are For" - Dionne Warwick & the Gang
7. "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" - The Temptations
8. "Land of Confusion" - Phil Collins
9. "Give Peace a Chance" - John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band
10. "Mercy Mercy Me" - Marvin Gaye

Continuing the Beatle/Beatle-related route-

How Do You Sleep? is Lennon's well known anti- McCartney song.

Early 1970 rarish Ringo single that makes coy mention of the other 3. Great little song.

Dear Prudence- from the White Album- Mia Farrow's shy younger sister in India.

All Those Years Ago- Harrison. for John

Here Today- Paul. ditto

Hey Jude who *doesn't* know the story behind this one??

so many others...

Vincent & American Pie
Don McLean- 'Vincent' based on Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh & 'American Pie' based on practically every rock event from the late 50s to the late 60s.

Woodstock- CSN

Ohio Neil Young- the 1970 shootings at Kent State University.

Fire & Rain James Taylor- story about his girlfriend who died in a plane crash.

Originally posted by TJL
"We Didn't Start The Fire," Bily Joel's ode to fifty years of people, places and current events.


It's an ode to the events that had taken place during the Cold War. I found a web site months ago that explained everything he said in detail. http://uploader.wuerzburg.de/gym-fkg/schule/fachber/englisch/joel/songtext.html

Originally posted by Rickenbacker
Don McLean- 'American Pie' based on practically every rock event from the late 50s to the late 60s.
Yep, with the emphasis on Buddy Holly's demise.

Originally posted by Janice
'You're So Vain' -- Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, James Taylor, it's anyone's guess who Carly Simon was referring to, but she's never denied that it was personal.



Didn't she open up (a little) about this song earlier this year? I could swear I heard a minor news buzz about it.

Originally posted by Rickenbacker
Didn't she open up (a little) about this song earlier this year? I could swear I heard a minor news buzz about it.
Yes, she auctioned it off, but swore the winner to secrecy.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=78406&highlight=Youre+so+vain

I think Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 was based on an event. I remember reading about it somewhere. Here are the lyrics.

Yes...

I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes
And make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long...
'cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...

Broken bottles under children's feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I won't heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters
Torn apart

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

How long...
How long must we sing this song
How long, how long...
'cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...tonight...

Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
Oh, wipe your tears away
(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Oh, wipe your blood shot eyes
(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

And it's true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

(Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

The real battle just begun
To claim the victory Jesus won
On...

Sunday Bloody Sunday
Sunday Bloody Sunday...

Originally posted by Kitt
The NIght They Tore Old Dixie Down
Great song. I like Joan Baez's rendition the best.

'Isn't She Lovely' -- The birth of Stevie Wonder's daughter was the inspiration for this beautiful song. At the very end of the song, the baby crying is really his daughter.

'The Chain' -- Fleetwood Mac, in their heyday, had sort of revolving relationships within the band. I read that their song, The Chain, is about that era in their lives.

Buffalo Springfield's song "For What It's Worth" is based on the Vietnam War.

"Smoke On the Water" --Deep Purple

A song written about a pyromaniac with a flair gun who shot it into the ceiling of the venue where the band was opening for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and burned the place down, giving the band little time to record their album.

"Manhattan Project" --Rush

A song written about the development of the atomic bomb in Los Alamos and how the so-called solution to World War II would jeopardize humankind for decades after the fact.

"Jessie's Girl" - Rick Springfield.

Rick had it bad for a fellow art class student who was in a serious relationship at the time. The guy's actual name was Gary.

"Rio" - Duran Duran

A sort of 'love letter' to the U.S.

Originally posted by Rickenbacker


Hey Jude who *doesn't* know the story behind this one??




I don't. :confused:

Abraham, Martin And John
by Dion

Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.

Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free
Some day soon, and it's a-gonna be one day ...

Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.

Originally posted by Janice


Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.


I listened to that song this morning and I still couldn't figure out who he was referring to when he said Bobby.

Originally posted by Brian
I listened to that song this morning and I still couldn't figure out who he was referring to when he said Bobby.
Bobby Kennedy :(

Originally posted by Janice
Bobby Kennedy :(

Oh. I thought the song was made before he was assassinated.

Anyway I did some online research and I came across what U2 was talking about in "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

http://larkspirit.com/bloodysunday/

On January 30, 1972, soldiers from the British Army's 1st Parachute Regiment opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilian demonstrators in the Bogside, Derry, Ireland, near the Rossville flats, killing 13 and wounding a number of others. One wounded man later died from illness attributed to that shooting.
The march, which was called to protest internment, was "illegal" according to British government authorities. Internment without trial was introduced by the British government on August 9, 1971.

The British-government-appointed Widgery Tribunal found soldiers were not guilty of shooting dead the 13 civilians in cold blood.

Originally posted by Brian
Oh. I thought the song was made before he was assassinated.
Abraham, Martin And John came out in 1968, a few months after Bobby Kennedy's assasination.

"Layla" by Derek & The Dominoes
Guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton was desperately in love with George Harrison's then-wife Patti. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

"Hurricane" by Bob Dylan
This time around, no names have been changed!

"American Skin (41 Shots)" by Bruce Springsteen
About the murder of Ahmed Diallo, the unarmed man who New York police shot 41 times in 1999.

Originally posted by Rickenbacker


Vincent & American Pie
Don McLean- 'Vincent' based on Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh & 'American Pie' based on practically every rock event from the late 50s to the late 60s.
.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/american-pie/

Originally posted by Brian
I don't. :confused:


Assuming this hasn't already been pounced on, it was McCartney's way of consoling a very young Julian Lennon over his parents' divorce. The working title was "Hey Jules".

Originally posted by AKA
"Layla" by Derek & The Dominoes
Guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton was desperately in love with George Harrison's then-wife Patti. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Eric Clapton wrote the song, Wonderful Tonight, for his then-wife, Patti Boyd.

Paul McCartney has said that every love song he ever wrote was for Linda.

I know there's a story behind the Beatle's song, Something, but I can't recall it.

'Garden Party'

From imdb:
When Rick Nelson appeared at The Rock Revival at Madison Square Garden in 1971, he was unaware that he was to appear in clothing from the era of the height of his popularity. Not aware of this he appeared in contemporary clothing and was booed because of this. Afterwards, and as a result of this, he wrote the hit song, "Garden Party".

Woodstock
by Joni Mitchell (1969)

I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
When I asked him, "where are you going?"
This he told me

I'm going down to Yasgur's farm
Gonna join a rock and roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
And try and get my soul free

We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
I feel just like a cog
In something turning

Well maybe it's the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who I am
But life is for learning

We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

By the time I got to Woodstock
They were half a million strong
Everywhere there was song and celebration

I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
Turning into butterflies above our nation

We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden

"The Trooper" by Iron Maiden was based on the Crimean War.

She's A Butterfly

She remembers when she first got her wings
And how she opened up that day
she learned to sing
Then the colors came, erased the
black and white
And her whole world changed
when she realized

[Chorus:]
She's a butterfly, pretty as the crimson sky
Nothing's ever gonna bring her down
And everywhere she goes
Everybody knows she's so glad to be alive
She's a butterfly

Like the purest light in a darkened world
So much hope inside such a lovely girl
You should see her fly, it's almost magical
It makes you wanna cry, she's so beautiful

[Chorus]

God bless the butterfly,
give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
God bless the butterfly,
give her strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground

[Chorus]

God bless the butterfly,
give her the strength to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground
God bless the butterfly,
give her the strenght to fly
Never let her wings touch the ground

"Number of the Beast" by Iron Maiden was based on a frightening dream that bassist Steve Harris had about the Book of Revelation in the Bible coming true and the mark of the Beast (the Devil) being issued to all mankind.

And people thought Iron Maiden were being evil.:rolleyes: The song is a WARNING.

'Needle And The Damage Done' -- Neil Young wrote this song for his Crazy Horse bandmate, Danny Whitten, who died of a heroin overdose.


Needle And The Damage Done

I caught you knockin' at my cellar door
I love you, baby, can I have some more
Ooh, ooh, the damage done.

I hit the city and I lost my band
I watched the needle take another man
Gone, gone, the damage done.

I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand
Milk-blood to keep from running out.

I've seen the needle and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's like a settin' sun.

"Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel...wasn't that written about Christie Brinkley? :confused:

~Lauren

:sheep

"What's Love Got To Do With It? -- I'm not positive, but I think the song is about Tina Turner's marriage to Ike Turner.

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
"Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel...wasn't that written about Christie Brinkley? :confused:
It was. Christie starred in the music video as well. :)

Originally posted by Janice
It was. Christie starred in the music video as well. :)

That's cool! I've never seen the music video, but I'm assuming it's been locked in the "music video vault" never to be shown again. :o Is there a channel that shows older videos like that?

~Lauren

:sheep

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
That's cool! I've never seen the music video, but I'm assuming it's been locked in the "music video vault" never to be shown again. :o Is there a channel that shows older videos like that?

Oh, I'm so old, lol. That video was soooo popular in the 80s. Christie Brinkley is dressed to the teeth, gets out of a limo, guys falling at her feet. She wears this big hat, strutting her stuff.
I don't know if it's shown anywhere. Like I said, I'm old. I thought it was superfamous to everyone. :)

It probably is super-famous to everybody, Janice! I'm only 13, so I wouldn't know. I'm sure you're not old! :D At first I was gonna say "old videos," but I decided to go with "older videos" because I didn't want to make anybody feel bad! :p

~Lauren

:sheep

Originally posted by david&maddie4ever
It probably is super-famous to everybody, Janice! I'm only 13, so I wouldn't know. I'm sure you're not old! :D At first I was gonna say "old videos," but I decided to go with "older videos" because I didn't want to make anybody feel bad! :p

No no, lol. I didn't mean anything by it, honest.

Hopefully, VH1 or MTV will run a classic video marathon one of these days, and you'll catch Uptown Girl.

13--I've got shoes older than you, lol. You really appear older and more mature than 13. <------------- compliment :)

Originally posted by Janice
No no, lol. I didn't mean anything by it, honest.

Hopefully, VH1 or MTV will run a classic video marathon one of these days, and you'll catch Uptown Girl.

13--I've got shoes older than you, lol. You really appear older and more mature than 13. <------------- compliment :)

Hey, a compliment! :D Thanks! :thanks:

~Lauren

:sheep

Sorry...double post! :o

Originally posted by Janice


Hopefully, VH1 or MTV will run a classic video marathon one of these days, and you'll catch Uptown Girl.




There is a channel called VHI Classic. It's available on Digital Cable in my area. The channel has music videos from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Originally posted by Brian
There is a channel called VHI Classic. It's available on Digital Cable in my area. The channel has music videos from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. That's what I hate about this site. Just when you think you're going to give someone advice or answer a question, someone beats you to it, lol.

Brian is right Lauren. :wave: That's what I was going to tell you.

Rock And Roll Heaven

The Righteous Brothers


If you believe in forever,
Then life is just a one-night stand.
If there's a rock and roll heaven,
Well you know they've got a hell of a band, band, band.

Jimmy gave us rainbows,
And Janis took a piece of our hearts,
And Otis brought us all to the dock of a bay.
Sing a song to light my fire, Remember Jim that way,
They've all found another place, another place to play.

If you believe in forever,
Then life is just a one-night stand.
If there's a rock and roll heaven,
Well you know they've got a hell of a band, band, band.

Remember bad bad Leroy Brown,
Hey Jimmy touched us with that song.
Time won't change a friend we came to know.
And Bobby gave us Mack the Knife,
Well look out, he's back in town.
They'll all be there together
When they meet in one big show.

If you believe in forever,
Then life is just a one-night stand.
If there's a rock and roll heaven,
Well you know they've got a hell of a band, band, band.

There's a spotlight waiting
No matter who you are
Cuz everybody's got a song to sing,
Everyone's a star
(Everybody's got to be a star).
Chorus, repeat and fade out

Originally posted by Brian
There is a channel called VHI Classic. It's available on Digital Cable in my area. The channel has music videos from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Originally posted by Kitt
That's what I hate about this site. Just when you think you're going to give someone advice or answer a question, someone beats you to it, lol.

Brian is right Lauren. :wave: That's what I was going to tell you.

Thanks a lot, guys. :D I knew about that channel, but I never knew I had it! Yay! :yippee:

:thanks:

~Lauren

:sheep