My Favourite Story-Telling Songs Right Now
1. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Sara Barellies
First and foremost, I would like to begin with a classic song that has a secret, AMAZING cover of Elton Johns “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, performed by Sara Barellies.
The first time I heard this song, I replayed it over 15 times that same day. I. Could. Not. Stop. Listening.
For me, this song did the best thing music can do:
It became super-crazy-good-music-drugs.
Sara’s take on this song starts slow, suspenseful, and completely different from Elton John’s original version. Although the song begins pretty chill, Sara Bareilles keeps to the original tune while changing the energy and warping the melody. Even crazier, she altered when major and minor chords were being used, gifting the song a sort of “eerie” backdrop of a feeling. (Example, 0:53).
At 1:51, the song picks up and THAT is when the sparks ignite in my self-impending-brain-explosion. Bareilles’ vocals are standalone, and it definitely became clear to me here. It’s as if she’s saying, “I’m so good, I don’t even have to show off yet, because at this point you know what I can do.”
Phew. Well, I saw that clearly when the song hit 3:10.
After belting for 15 straight seconds, riffing, and exceptionally controlling her voice, Bareilles ends the song SO. WELL. As she sings that last “road”, you hear a note that she slowly, (and yes, very impressively) inches towards resolving.
It’s amazing.
And the part that makes me cry, weep, sob, and wail with how great this rendition is?
It’s a live recording. A live f-ing recording.
2. Hayloft II- Mother Mother
WARNING: Hayloft II is the predecessor of Mother Mother’s original song “Hayloft”, and the two songs are COMPLETELY different. (And I love it.)
The Vancouver Island band showed that it’s never too late to completely reimagine your own art, even when it’s your most successful song to date.
You might be wondering what the difference is between these two songs?
Well in a nutshell, Hayloft II is like the angrier, edgier, bass-ier cousin of Hayloft.
Instead of beginning with an electric guitar rift and the chorus, Hayloft II begins with a distorted intro and more bass/ “boom boom clap” sounding drums. Then begins a verse that contains lyrics describing a girl who got “lost in drugs”.
Before I could get over the sudden change in lyrics, (bringing a whole new meaning to the song), Mother Mother then ran over their old chorus’s melody with a dump truck. They changed the sound, the feel, the inflections, and EVEN MORE of the words.
Hayloft chorus:
My daddy’s got a gun/ My daddy’s got a gun/ My daddy’s got a gun/ YOU better run.
Hayloft II chorus:
My daddy’s got a gun/ My daddy’s got a gun/ My daddy’s got a gun/ I better run.
Before I try to wrap up my ramblings about how much a small alter to the lyrics can change the whole narrative, I absolutely have to mention Hayloft II’s added instrumental break and bridge, and outro.
The instrumental break at 1:54 includes faded screams and some of the coolest fast-tempoed rock/screamo-esque drums you’ve ever heard, all things that I personally feel are sure-fire adrenaline boosters.
As the bridge picks up at 2:32, you begin to hear two voices: one calm and one strained, overlay the same words:
“She’s not a bad kid, but she had to do it. She couldn’t crack, she had to kill Pop.”
At the end of the day, Hayloft was written about a girl warning her lover that her father would shoot him if they were discovered in the hay-loft.
Hayloft II tells the story of a girl whose lover was shot and killed by her father. She got “lost in drugs” and murdered her father.
The beauty of Hayloft II is that it shows Mother Mothers ability to not accept their music as “finished”, but to keep it alive and changing. This is an quality that so many artists struggle with, and their significant success on each version of Hayloft shows that there are so many great ways to tell a story.
Their ability to shift the narrative makes for a phenomenal song.
3. Coming Of Age- Olive Klug
As someone who quite compulsively listens to upcoming singer/songwriter Olive Klug, I knew I’d be including their music in my list.
Olive has such a magical a way with words, and it absolutely sucks me in. Their song Coming Of Age, (recently released might I add) is literal perfection.
In Coming Of Age, Olive uses these little (really relatable) lines and quips to make the song feel SO personal to its listeners. Instead of talking about the generic pieces of childhood that bind us, Olive captures the feeling of being a young adult but really not feeling like it. (Personally I think this is a VERY relatable topic.)
During the chorus at 0:36 Olive says,
“I’m a toddler running through the bank/ they told me I’d grow out of all this adolescent angst”.
I mean, who thinks of that?
Now, the ultra-mega-craziest-best-est part. The bridge.
Disclosure: I am a SUCKER for bridges that build. (Not actually physically building bridges, [although, hey! That’s cool if that’s your thing!] but musical bridges that build in suspense and volume.) At 2:17, Olive introduces the songs bridge. Starting at at a slow lull and growing in tempo and energy, the bridge absolutely sucks you in.
Personally, I can’t get enough of it.
ALSO, Olive’s lyrics are SO original. For example, near the end of the song she says, “Cause Kierkegaard’s a little dense” (Kierkegaard is the “father of existentialism”.)
Like, WHAT? Who comes up with that? The answer is: only Olive Klug. That right there is what makes a singer/songwriter, and Olive definitely has an overflowing pool of originality to pull from.
Anyways, at the end of the day, Olive Klug blows my lid off, and the only way I can describe their music is that, well, you just HAVE to listen to it.
Specifically, I would recommend Coming Of Age.
4. Big Shot- Philip Labes
First of all, Big Shot creator Philip Labes is a writing machine. He released FOUR albums in 2022, each one representing a season. What makes each album so unique is that they each involve a full blown orchestra, which adds so much depth to his music.
Although all of his music is wonderful, I find his fall album to be the most dynamic. The sound centers around a very jazzy feel, and myself, (and every single person I’ve ever showed his music to) cannot get enough of it.
Now, for the song itself:
After the most slinky and killer opening, I learnt that Big Shots title is quite literal. It is about a middle aged man who genuinely believes and tries to act like a big shot, even though he’s not a very good dude.
During the first verse, the man is in a lobby waiting for his “first affair” when he “yells at the clerk.” Philip included lines such as, “plugs in his hair.”
In the chorus, Philip infers that this affair is so that the man feels like he is “somebody.” The choppy sound created during the choruses makes the song feel sassy throughout, and it fits the theme so well.
At 2:09, the swingy, jazzy, most-awesome-ever instrumental break begins, and it’s SO GOOD.
THEN.
As you’re (obviously) swept up in the break, Philip yet again begins telling his story. As the orchestra is aggressively building at 2:28, (my FAVOURITE part) Philip describes how at this man’s funeral, no one will be calling him a “big shot.” Essentially saying that all the man cares about is his reputation, and since he wasn’t even kind no one will remember him for it. Philip’s voice shines so brightly here, and it’s SO amazing. He puts so much emotion and frustration into his words, and in my opinion it ends the song perfectly.
5. The Food Truck Blues- The Arcadian Wild
Ohhhhhhh god, do I ever love The Arcadian Wild.
It all started in September 2022 when I discovered (and religiously listened to) their album Finch In The Pantry.
Once The Food Truck Blues was inevitably played, I was hooked.
Now I must admit, I am a stone-cold sucker for fiddle, and this song is full of it. AKA, I might be a little bit biased as I begin to talk, but fiddle or not this in an amazing piece of work..
WARNING: This song is SO CREATIVE!!!!!!
Beginning with some absolutely killer fiddle, (of which I am a sucker for) The Food Truck Blues tells a story of a boy who “left home at 18/… went to bible college and then up and joined a band”. As the boy is waiting for his band to get their big break he begins work at a food truck, which I feel is such a fun topic.
The second verse at 1:14 is my personal favourite. It talks about cooking fries and burgers, burning your eyebrows off, and the, “soccer mom who wants a gluten free bun.” It’s genius.
The rest of the song follows this upbeat, fiddle filled, foot-stompy vibe, and I cannot recommend listening to it enough. It’s really just three minutes of your time, sooooooo you might as well!
The Arcadian Wild using such a fun analogy to describe the life of a starving artist really deserves some recognition.