10 classic rock songs that tell a story

11 August 2024, 18:00

In December 1971, Deep Purple saw the Montreux Casino burn down – and wrote a song about it. What other great songs tell great stories and long and convoluted tales?

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1. Dire Straits – Sultans Of Swing (1978)

   Mark Knopfler was inspired by a jazz combo playing in an abandoned pub in Deptford and their ironically exotic name. The rest of the story was the product of the songwriter’s vivid imagination.

   

   Dire Straits – Sultans Of Swing (Official Music Video)

   
   
   

2. Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven (1971)

   Some critics have tried to accuse this Zeppelin classic of having a “subliminal satanic message” in its grooves, but Robert Plant’s imaginative lyrics were partly inspired by The Lord of the Rings and the book Magic Arts In Celtic Britain.

   

   Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven (Official Audio)

   
   
   

3. Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water (1972)

   The British rock band was in Montreux, Switzerland in December 1971 to record their later album Machine Head in the nearby casino. During a Frank Zappa gig at the venue, however, a torch caught fire and the entire building burned down to the ground. The clouds of smoke over Lake Geneva inspired the musicians to write one of the best songs in rock history.

   

   Deep Purple – Smoke On the Water (Official Music Video)

   
   
   

4. The Police – Message in a Bottle (1979)

   Is he really on a desert island or is the whole thing a metaphor for the loneliness of the big city? If you know Sting, the answer is probably yes. A chart-topper in the UK in 1979.

   

   The Police – Message In A Bottle (Official Music Video)

   
   
   

5. John Cougar Mellencamp – Jack and Diane (1982)

   “Oh yes, life goes on, even when the thrill has long since faded.” Mellencamp’s hit is based on Tennessee Williams’ 1959 play “Sweet Bird Of Youth” about the relationship between a drifter and a former movie star.

   

   John Mellencamp – Jack & Diane

   
   
   

6. J Geils Band – Centrefold (1981)

   “My blood runs cold, my memories have just been sold.” Frontman Peter Wolf tells the story of a high school love that ends up in an “adult magazine” in this unforgettable song, which reached number 3 in the UK charts.

   

   J. Geils Band – Centerfold (Official Music Video)

   
   
   

7. Rod Stewart-Maggie May

   Based on a formative experience, Rod the Mod hosted a jazz festival in 1961 – if you know what we mean – the singer named the character in his song after the old Liverpool folk song. The single topped the charts in the summer of 1971.

   

   Rod Stewart – Maggie May (1971)

   
   
   

8. David Bowie – Life on Mars (1971)

   After a domestic dispute, a young girl leaves the house and finds solace in the cinema. One of Bowie’s greatest compositions.

   

   David Bowie – Life on Mars? (Official Video)

   
   
   

9. Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell (1977)

   Operatic rock courtesy of songwriter Jim Steinman, written as the ultimate “motorcycle crash song” originally intended for a rock musical version of the Peter Pan story.

   

   Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (PCM Stereo)

   
   
   

10. Squeeze – Up to the Crossroads (1979)

    “I never thought this would happen to me and the girl from Clapham” – a man’s life story (from the bar to the street to the bookie), perfectly summed up by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook.

    

    Squeeze – Until the Crossroads