Do you know a long song that doesn’t repeat itself and sort of tells a story through music (maybe without words)?
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1CPB-gBhcNVqwY0-fWgIdjnkPeMcfFFE David Bowie narrates Sergei Prokofiev’s ‘Peter And The Wolf’. The narrator tells a story and the orchestra illustrates by using different instruments to play a “theme” that represents each character in the story.
For modern stories I like The Curse. It’s about an archeologist that falls in love with a mummy that comes to life.
Dating myself a bit here, but Meatloaf’s Paradise By The Dashboard Light, and Billy Joel’s Scenes from an Italian Restaurant are 2 that need to be on this list.
Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Gurhtie. Actually, just about anything by Arlo Guthrie and his dad, Woody.
Indian Ira Hayes by Johnny Cash. It’s not very long, but a poignant story that shouldn’t be forgotten.A bunch of stuff in the classical realm fits that bill, holst’s the planets, a bunch of operas some with words some without many in other languages you wouldn’t understand. One modern song with words that I want to be in these comments is Albuquerque by weird Al. I’ll also mention Maggot brain by funkadelic
I had forgotten about maggot brain, such a great song! Thanks for reminding me.
Beethoven’s Symphonies come to mind. His 5th and 6th symphonies really do tell stories and are very engaging.
I actually had a music teacher that used the 5th as an example. It’s a story of dundundun duuuun
Variations on a theme of dundundun duuuun
Most of Coheed and Cambria’s albums follow along with a graphic novel written by Claudio, the lead singer. I’ve never read them and don’t know the story, but if you listen to an album start to finish, you can tell that it’s more than just lyrics.
Ten Speed of God’s Blood and Burial. Perfectly clear.
The Coheed and Cambria comics are awesome. They’re hard to get your hands on, after Umbrella Academy got popular, but worth it.
This is a pretty epic story telling song by a dude called Ren.
Arlo Guthree’s Alice’s Restaurant has you covered. I play it every Thanksgiving.
So does my family! I think it’s a New England thing.
City Hall by Tenacious D
Iron Maiden - Empire of the Clouds
Iron Maiden - Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Hell yeah
Iced Earth’s debut album was called Night of the Stormrider. It weaves a pretty dark tale of a mans betrayal by religion, subsequent turn to the dark side and final regrets over the course of nine tracks (46 minutes).
Queensryche’s (arguably) best album Operation: Mindcrime. It tells the tale of a young malcontent who becomes involved in an underground revolution as an assassin. This is another that is not just one song, but a story that spans fifteen tracks. One of the best rock operas that was ever pulled off in my opinion.
Manowar’s album The Triumph Of Steel has a first track called Achilles, Agony and Ecstasy in Eight Parts. It is essentially a telling of the tale of Hector and Achilles. It’s nearly 30 minutes over the eight unique sounding parts.
Ice Nine Kills has now (2) entire albums with tracks inspired by horror movies, but I wouldn’t call them long. Their song Meat & Greet would be a great example. It’s a retelling of “The Silence of the Lambs”.
Animals Without Leaders has a song called CAFO that I just adore. Its pretty long and although it speaks no tale, it’s so sonically unique that it feels like it does. Some of those ultra technical metal bands feel like that (to me at least).
The Decline - NoFX
Here you are, was definitely the first thing to come to mind.
I don’t know about without words (and only slight repetition for effect), but I really like The Mariner’s Revenge by The Decemberists.
If you want to get into older music, Der Erlkonig by Shubert is a good one.
Came here to say Mariners revenge. Love that song.
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The whole album Days of Future’s Past by the Moody Blues (with the London orchestra)
2112 by Rush
Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day
And almost anything by The Mars Volta
Green Day actually has quite a few, it would really be worth listening to their entire discography. They started out with a lot of teenage love songs (angst and longing) and over the years it faded but love is still a very common topic for Green Day!
Most recently, Father to a Son, from the album Saviors.
I’m not sure anything with Omar Rodriguez-Lopez can be said to have a narrative. You’ll go on quite a journey, but it’s not really a story.
