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shufflerofrocks @beehaw.org

Please suggest me songs that feel like a conversation

I've recently gotten into songs where the entire lyrics are the singer talking to someone. For example,

Sophie by The Altogether - https://youtu.be/k2KRDetyGhs

Dear McCracken by Bug Hunter - https://youtu.be/aWGolv2iqM0

Dance of the Dead by Iron Maiden - https://youtu.be/gG_JLYxbqpQ

Something Stupid - https://youtu.be/0f48fpoSEPU

GMF by John Grant - https://youtu.be/ekFWPsXXcg0

Angel of the Morning - https://youtu.be/K7Qfqle_2Bs

Mariner's Revenge Song by The Decemberists - https://youtu.be/iPAr7kL-mmg

Jolene by Dolly Parton - https://youtu.be/Ixrje2rXLMA

Genre is no bar - I just want the song to feel like a conversation.

Please help me scratch this itch. I know it sounds a bit vague, especially when there's a lot of songs that have some "talking" parts sprinkled in them, but that's not what I want.

If anyone could tell me what genre of music this is, I would appreciate it a lot. I guess a lot of ballads are similar to this style, but I'm not very sure

Edit: Thanks a lot everyone for your suggestions. I'm gonna take my time listening to each of these :)

69 comments

  • Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men is, lyrically, a conversation between two people.

    One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - George Thorogood is like a dude telling a story, with a bit of song in between the story.

    Same with Alice's Restaurant Massacree by Arlo Guthrie, but a funnier and longer story.

    I know a lot of love songs that sound like they are someone talking to a person, which is what I thought of seeing Jolene in your list. I don't think what you're after is a specific genre though, and given the examples I could probably just list every single song I have favorited on Spotify that isn't purely instrumental.

    • I loved your suggestions, thanks a lot

      Little Talks was cute, it reminds me of Anyone Else But You by The Moldy Peaches but with more energy

      George Thorogood's song is not the kind of music I usually listen to, but damn is he engaging and jivey

      I think Alice's Restaurant is my fav from your suggestions, but lol it's almost an audiobook with it's length

      Love songs seem to be the most common in this style - I also have a large number of such songs in my library. I prolly should've asked for non-love songs specifically tbh, but the current suggestions are pretty great so can't complain.

  • Some classics I didn't see here yet:

    Pink Floyd - Wish you were here (all the songs from that album, come to think of it, are in the second person and usually pretty specificially talking to Syd Barrett)

    Bob Dylan - Like a rolling stone

    Now for a completely different take on "feeling like a conversation", I have an instrumental recommendation: Bernstein and Brubeck - Dialogues for Jazz Combo and Orchestra

    Edit: just noticed that a lot of songs by Steely Dan are also in the second person, usually directed and criminal or tragic figures. Kid Charlemagne is my favorite in that format.

  • Clutch is a stoner rock band with some really unique lyrics - Neil Fallon has the manic poetry of someone who has seen The Truth and has lived to tell the tale. The first 3nsongs of their 2015 album Psychic Warfare are presented as the singer recounting a weird tale to the authorities after the fact.

    The Affidavit is spoken word opener where a cop or someone asks the singer to just write down everything that happened.

    X-ray visions launches into the tale pychi warfare, conspiracies and the vengeful spirits of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

    Firebirds continues the tale: the singer encounters a strange girl who demands classic automobiles and energy weapons or else.

    For extra credit a subsequent album revisits the same speaker years later trying to explain it all to his young son - In Walks Barbarella

    Probably most clutch songs have this storytelling style and I can't recommend them enough

    • Love clutch, the lyrics are certainly something that helps them stand out from the crowd

  • Here are some that came to mind for me, some might be closer to what you are expecting than others, but I feel like they fit the description decently.

    Father John Misty - Mr.Tillman

    • The entire song is from the point of view of a hotel front desk clerk asking a guest about his odd behavior during a previous stay.

    James and the Shame - Believe Me

    • Rhett McLaughlin of Good Mythical Morning fame's solo project where he details his struggle with his changing religious beliefs after a lifetime in the church and how he feels others see him now.

    Bo Burnham - FaceTime with My Mom (Tonight)

    • Part of Bo Burnham's comedic yet serious special, Inside, he filmed and produced all by himself during the Covid lockdowns.

    Head East - Never Been Any Reason

    • The singer asking trying to make up with his partner about being on the road for long durations and she feels like there is no reason to think about here when he is on tour.

    Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do

    A story telling describing drinking at a bar at noon during a workweek when the man sitting next to her starts a conversation.

  • maybe ME! (Brenden Urie and Taylor Swift, probably only kinda counts) and Just Give Me A Reason (P!nk and Nate Ruess)? I think Like I'm Gonna Lose You (Meghan Trainor, John Legend) might also work?

  • Arlo Parks - Caroline

    It's more so the singer narrating a conversation from the third person, but it's a delightful track.

69 comments