I got a new computer a few months back, after my old laptop finally expired, and then I spent many hours ripping all my CDs to the hard drive. It was a real pain, but now I can burn discs with everything I want and nothing I don’t. Nifty. So the other day I told a writer friend I would make one for her, and I asked her what tracks she wanted, and this is what she said:
“Narratives.”
“OK,” I said.
And this is what I came up with:
1. Bruce Springsteen, “The River.” 2. Ben Folds, “Landed.” 3. The White Stripes, “Little Ghost.” 4. Ryan Adams, “New York, New York.” 5. Janis Joplin, “Me And Bobby McGee.” 6. Sufjan Stevens, “Casimir Pulaski Day.” 7. Bill Morrissey, “Robert Johnson.” 8. Counting Crows, “Round Here.” 9. Dave Matthews, “Gravedigger.” 10. Mary-Chapin Carpenter, “This Shirt.” 11. Bob Dylan, “Man In The Long Black Coat.” 12. Dire Straits, “Romeo & Juliet.” 13. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” 14. Simon & Garfunkel, “Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.” 15. Ben Harper, “Diamonds On The Inside.” 16. Willie Nelson, “Pancho And Lefty.” 17. Aimee Mann, “That’s How I Knew This Story Would Break My Heart.”
A couple are not true narratives, but they’re close enough.
How about it, folks? What did I miss? What are the world’s greatest narrative songs?
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