A few songs I've been considering, in no particular order:
"Reprehensible" by They Might Be Giants (music|lyrics) This song is about a guy who has apparently done horrible things for thousands of years, and -- this is the important part -- he finds out every night, and then forgets in the morning. I sometimes wonder if he's meant to be the same guy as the megalomaniac dictator/businessman in their other song "Kiss Me, Son of God," but the song stands alone easily.
"I Left The Wolves Behind That Night" by The Tiger & Me (impressive one-take walking music video|music & lyrics) There's a lot of weird melancholy symbolism in this song. I have no idea what's actually meant to be going on but the images are very vivid, at least. I think the most intriguing part is "The old man took me by the hand / And he led me to the well. / I said, 'I am not a killer or a thief / But there are other pathways to Hell.'"
"Thomas the Rhymer," traditional, but my favorites are the Steeleye Span versions (one of their three versions?|various lyrics|Wikipedia entry) tl;dr the queen of Elfland has a crush on Thomas, abducts him, and insists that he serve her for seven years, thinking this will totally win him over! Spoiler: it doesn't. He goes home afterwards, because the seven-year term has been met. As a "reward" she "gifts" him with the ability to only tell the truth. I love Child ballads but I think this one is my favorite.
"Down in the Street Below" by The Divine Comedy (music|lyrics) At the beginning of the song the main character seems to be coming home, and then it segues to people "praying to the gods of their religions / That they might be spared a little longer" and people fantasizing about being spies, and then suddenly the main character is at this ritzy party full of famous people and it's like a very shiny nightmare. There is a lot going on, is what I'm saying.
"Boo" by Pinback (music|lyrics) Apocafic? Disaster fic? Taken literally this song is about a guy on a sinking submarine who has no hope left. It's also got creepy vintage voiceovers of people desperately radioing for help and getting no answers, which I'm a sucker for.
"Billy the Kid's Dream of the Magic Shoes" by The Mountain Goats (music|the lyrics don't really capture this, it's a very short song) "They're gonna fill me full of holes! They're gonna fill me full of holes! I don't give a rat's ass, you rat bastards! I got special shoes on!" Defiance in the face of death, now with extra special footwear. It's just so ridiculous.
"White Unicorn" by Wolfmother (music|lyrics) Either everyone in this song is extremely high at an anachronism-heavy renfaire or everyone in this song is extremely high in a lush fantasy world. But either way, there are probably drugs involved.
I have no idea how I am going to narrow these down, but hopefully someone's interest will be piqued.
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"Reprehensible" by They Might Be Giants (music|lyrics)
This song is about a guy who has apparently done horrible things for thousands of years, and -- this is the important part -- he finds out every night, and then forgets in the morning. I sometimes wonder if he's meant to be the same guy as the megalomaniac dictator/businessman in their other song "Kiss Me, Son of God," but the song stands alone easily.
"I Left The Wolves Behind That Night" by The Tiger & Me (impressive one-take walking music video|music & lyrics)
There's a lot of weird melancholy symbolism in this song. I have no idea what's actually meant to be going on but the images are very vivid, at least. I think the most intriguing part is "The old man took me by the hand / And he led me to the well. / I said, 'I am not a killer or a thief / But there are other pathways to Hell.'"
"Thomas the Rhymer," traditional, but my favorites are the Steeleye Span versions (one of their three versions?|various lyrics|Wikipedia entry)
tl;dr the queen of Elfland has a crush on Thomas, abducts him, and insists that he serve her for seven years, thinking this will totally win him over! Spoiler: it doesn't. He goes home afterwards, because the seven-year term has been met. As a "reward" she "gifts" him with the ability to only tell the truth. I love Child ballads but I think this one is my favorite.
"Down in the Street Below" by The Divine Comedy (music|lyrics)
At the beginning of the song the main character seems to be coming home, and then it segues to people "praying to the gods of their religions / That they might be spared a little longer" and people fantasizing about being spies, and then suddenly the main character is at this ritzy party full of famous people and it's like a very shiny nightmare. There is a lot going on, is what I'm saying.
"Boo" by Pinback (music|lyrics)
Apocafic? Disaster fic? Taken literally this song is about a guy on a sinking submarine who has no hope left. It's also got creepy vintage voiceovers of people desperately radioing for help and getting no answers, which I'm a sucker for.
"Billy the Kid's Dream of the Magic Shoes" by The Mountain Goats (music|the lyrics don't really capture this, it's a very short song)
"They're gonna fill me full of holes! They're gonna fill me full of holes! I don't give a rat's ass, you rat bastards! I got special shoes on!" Defiance in the face of death, now with extra special footwear. It's just so ridiculous.
"White Unicorn" by Wolfmother (music|lyrics)
Either everyone in this song is extremely high at an anachronism-heavy renfaire or everyone in this song is extremely high in a lush fantasy world. But either way, there are probably drugs involved.
I have no idea how I am going to narrow these down, but hopefully someone's interest will be piqued.