Songs about genuine historical figures/real people.

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Andy Smith, Oct 19, 2016.

  1. tim_neely

    tim_neely Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Central VA
    "Wolverton Mountain" by Claude King (Clifton Clowers was a real person who lived on the real Woolverton Mountain, as it's actually spelled, and he lived to the age of 102).
     
  2. samsondale

    samsondale Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tenafly, NJ, USA
    Doc Watson - Tom Dooley was a genuine historical figure. I have a vague recollection that one of the parties of interest was an ancestor to Doc (or maybe Frank Proffitt).
     
  3. Tommy SB

    Tommy SB Forum Resident

    Location:
    Santa Barbara, CA
    Andy Kaufman - "Man on the Moon" R.E.M

     
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  4. strummer101

    strummer101 The insane on occasion aren't without their charms

    Location:
    Lakewood OH
    Cat Stevens - My Lady D'Arbanville (Patti D'Arbanville, who found out she was his ex when she heard the song on the radio)
     
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  5. fatherofnight

    fatherofnight Senior Member

    Location:
    england
    Dylan..
    Lenny Bruce
    Ballad In Plain D - (Suze Rotolo & Carla Rotolo)
    Don't Think Twice - Suze Rotolo
    Boots Of Spanish Leather - Suze again.
    Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands - Mrs Dylan
    The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll - Hattie Carroll & William Zanzinger
     
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  6. Syd Avett

    Syd Avett Forum Resident

    Napoleon Bonaparte in ABBA's "Waterloo!"
     
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  7. audiotom

    audiotom I can not hear a single sound as you scream

    Location:
    New Orleans La USA
    Do you remember your president Nixon
    Do you remember the bills you have to pay or even yesterday?


    Quicksand also references Alistair Crowley, Himller, Garbo and Churchill

    All the Young Dudes - Beatles and Stones
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2016
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  8. the sands

    the sands Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    Barenaked Ladies "Brian Wilson"
    Teenage Fanclub "Gene Clark"
    The Flaming Lips with Neon Indian "Is David Bowie Dying?"
    The Brian Setzer Orchestra "Hey, Louis Prima"
    Patti Smith "Gandhi"
     
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  9. Tom Perry

    Tom Perry Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    "Eleventh Earl of Mar" - Genesis


    [​IMG]
     
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  10. audiotom

    audiotom I can not hear a single sound as you scream

    Location:
    New Orleans La USA
    the Stones

    Angie - Bowie's wife?
    Star Star - Steve McQueen
     
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  11. Anthology123

    Anthology123 Senior Member

    Sorry, it's not my intention to be a wet blanket regarding this song, but the lyrics have nothing to do with the famous
    British Royalty known as Henry VIII.
    The song is about a man named Henry, who proclaims he is Henry the 8th, because the woman he is marrying was a widow 7 times before marrying him, and each man she married was named Henry, which makes him the 8th Henry to marry this woman. All I can say about the story is that if 7 guys before him all died after being married to the same woman, there would likely be a Henry the 9th before long :D
     
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  12. Twittering Machine

    Twittering Machine Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Sexy Sadie - The Beatles.
     
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  13. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

  14. fatherofnight

    fatherofnight Senior Member

    Location:
    england
    Bob again...

    Went To See The Gypsy - Elvis Presley, supposedly
    Father Of Night - GOD
    Forever Young - "One Of My Babies"
    Billy 4 & Billy 7 - William H Bonney
    Who Killed Davey Moore? - Davey Moore
    Joey - Joey Gallo (Not sure if someone has already posted this)
     
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  15. detroit muscle

    detroit muscle MIA

    Location:
    UK
    Carly Simon - You're So Vain
     
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  16. Chance

    Chance Forum Resident

    Location:
    Morris County, NJ
    Which brings us to... "I Don't Like Mondays" - The Boomtown Rats (about 16 year old school shooter Brenda Spencer)
     
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  17. strummer101

    strummer101 The insane on occasion aren't without their charms

    Location:
    Lakewood OH
    Lou Reed - "Good Evening, Mr. Waldheim"
    (Kurt Waldheim, Jesse Jackson, with mentions of the pope and Louis Farrakhan)
    Not necessarily about, but directed at the above.

    and nice guitar too!
     
  18. DLD

    DLD Senior Member

    Location:
    Dallas, Tx
    Al Stewart - Nostradamus (as many historical references as any song I know)
    Randy Newman - Kingfish (Gov. Huey Long)



     
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  19. JRJ

    JRJ Forum Resident

    If not already mentioned.
    The Band, Night they drove old Dixie down, civil war and Robert E Lee, a real classic.
    Cheers;
    John
     
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  20. BeSteVenn

    BeSteVenn FOMO Resident

    Neil Sedaka - Oh Carol, written about Carole King before she was famous.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2016
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  21. fatherofnight

    fatherofnight Senior Member

    Location:
    england
    Mr Dylan once more...

    Sara - The Wife
    I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine - St Augustine:rolleyes:
    The Ballad Of Ira Hayes - Ira Hayes. Yup I know he didn't write it, Pete La Farge did if I remember correctly.
    Too many to mention about - Jesus Christ.
     
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  22. fatherofnight

    fatherofnight Senior Member

    Location:
    england
    Leonard Cohen - So Long, Marianne - Marianne Jensen R.I.P
    The Beatles - The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill - Richard A. Cooke III
    Neil Young - A Man Needs A Maid : Motion Pictures - Carrie Snodgrass, both partially anyway.
    Neil Young - Tonight's The Night - Danny Whitten & Bruce Berry.
    Neil Young - Cortez The Killer - Hernan Cortes.




     
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  23. dkurtis

    dkurtis sonoftheFather

  24. rockclassics

    rockclassics Senior Member

    Location:
    Mainline Florida
    The Song of Crazy Horse by J.D. Blackfoot

    A song about Chief Crazy Horse.
     
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  25. John54

    John54 Senior Member

    Location:
    Burlington, ON
    As well as Al Stewart, Justin Hayward also had a song called Nostradamus on his 1977 solo LP Songwriter.

    I'm fairly certain Living With Victoria Grey by Cleaners from Venus is commentary about Margaret Thatcher.

    Half Man Half Biscuit had a number of songs about various personalities but most of them would be known only to British fans.
     
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