Songs About Other Musicians

[Bonochick]

I was listening to the Ryan Adams tune "Song for Keith", and I just love it so much. I get such a kick out of it. He also did a song about Alanis Morissette called "Alanis". It got me wondering as to what other songs are out there that are about other musicians. So...if you know some, share them. If you have the lyrics, please post those as well...as I will do. A thank ya!

~~~

"Song for Keith"

Sitting 'round, thinking 'bout Keith all day long
Getting stoned, thinking 'bout how he played the guitar
Ain't nothing like getting stoned to The Rolling Stones
Can't find my copy of Goat's Head Soup
Think it's under my clothes

Having drinks, taking some pills and playing in A
Dressing up, pretending it's 1973
Ain't nothing like getting stoned to The Rolling Stones
Go get my copy of Let It Bleed
I got some papers and weed
Goddammit, where are my smokes?

This ain't nothing but a song for Keith
This ain't nothing but a song for Keith
This ain't nothing but a song for Keith

Ronnie Wood back when he had his Own Album To Do
Was pretty good, but dammit I love Mick Taylor too
Ain't nothing like getting high, spinning Love You Live
Making out with some movie star
I'd rather listen to Exile

This ain't nothing but a song for Keith
This ain't nothing but a song for Keith
This ain't nothing but a song for Keith

This ain't nothing but a song for Keith
This ain't nothing but a song for Keith
This ain't nothing but a song for Keith

~~~~~~~

"Alanis" (only performed live, so these lyrics may vary)

Here comes the sun
She's playing guitar
And I wanted you to want me somehow
So here comes the moon
Soft silhouette
And I wanted you to love me, did you forget?

Go on and ask me to dance
Go on and ask me to dance
I just might
I just might for you
Alanis, ragdoll marionette

Hello, can you hear me?
Hello, can you hear me?
Alanis, Alanis

So here comes the part
The part with the strings
Broken hearts laid on old wooden machines
So here comes your girl
Pretty as fuck
Her eyes, they're universes that the galaxies forgot

So go on and ask me to dance
Go on and ask me to dance
And I just might
I just might for you
Alanis, ragdoll marionette

Hello, can you hear me?
Hello, can you hear me?
Hello, can you hear me?
Alanis, Alanis, Alanis

 

[~LadyLemon~]

Elvis Has Just Left the Building--Frank Zappa



Elvis has just left the building --
Those are his footprints, right there
Elvis has just left the building --
To climb up that heavenly stair


He gave away Cadillacs once in a while;
Had sex in his underpants,
Yes, he had style!
Bell-bottom jump-suits?
That's them in a pile,
But he don't need'em now,
'Cause he's makin' Jesus smile!


Elvis has just left the building --
Those are his footprints, right there
Elvis has just left the building --
To climb up that heavenly stair


The Angels all love him,
He brings them relief
With droplets of moisture
From his handkerchief!
Cher'bim 'n ser'phim
Whizz over his head --
Jesus, let him come back!
We don't want Elvis dead.


Elvis has just left the building --
Those are his footprints, right there
Elvis has just left the building --
To climb up that heavenly stair


So what if he looks like a wart-hog in heat?
He knows we all love him --
We'll just watch him eat,
So take down the foil
From his hotel retreat,
And bring back The King
For the man in the street!


Elvis has just left the building --
Those are his footprints, right there
Elvis has just left the building --
To climb up that heavenly stair
He's up there with Jesus, in a big purple chair

 

[Squid]

Pavement has a song on the 1993 No Alternative CD called "Unseen Power of the Picket Fence", which is about R.E.M., and apparently the Civil War as well...

Some bands I like to name check,
And one of them is REM,
Classic songs with a long history
Southern boys just like you and me.
R - E - M
Flashback to 1983,
Chronic Town was their first EP
Later on came Reckoning
Finster's art, and titles to match:
South Central Rain, Don't Go Back To Rockville,
Harbourcoat, Pretty Persuasion,
You were born to be a camera,
Time After Time was my least favourite song,
Time After Time was my least favourite song.
The singer, he had long hair
And the drummer he knew restrait.
And the bass man he had all the right moves
And the guitar player was no saint.
So lets go way back to the ancient times
When there were no 50 states,

And on a hill there stands Sherman
Sherman and his mates.
And they're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
They're marching through Georgia,
we're marching through Georgia,
marching through Georgia
G-G-G-G-Georgia
and there stands REM

 

[joyfulgirl]

DIAMONDS AND RUST by Joan Baez (about Bob Dylan)

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

 

[Bono's shades]

Alanah Myles - Black Velvet (about Elvis Presley)

Stray Cats - Elvis on Velvet (I was listening to this song when I opened this thread! )

Passengers - Elvis Ate America

U2 - Elvis Presley and America

Man, that's a lot of songs about Elvis! I'm sure there's tons more I forgot about, too.

 

[u2popmofo]

Stray Cats - 'Gene and Eddie'

-That song is pretty much just a huge tribute to all their favorite early rockers

 

[MrBrau1]

Alex Chilton-The Replacements

If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
If he was from Mars, wouldn't that be cool?
Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file?
Hangin' down in Memphis all the while.

(chorus

Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round
They sing "I'm in love. What's that song?
I'm in love with that song."

Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice.
Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice.
Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face.
Checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's place.

(chorus)

I never travel far, without a little Big Star

Runnin' 'round the house, Mickey Mouse and the Tarot cards.
Falling asleep with a flop pop video on.
If he was from Venus, would he meet us on the moon?
If he died in Memphis, then that'd be cool, babe.

 

[MrBrau1]

U2-Angel Of Harlem

 

[Popmartijn]

R.E.M. - Let Me In (about Kurt Cobain)

Yeah, all those stars drip down like butter,
Promises are sweet,
We hold out our pans, lift our hands to catch them
We eat them up, drink them up, up, up, up

Hey, let me in
Hey, let me in

I only wish that I could hear you whisper down,
Mister fisherman, to a less peculiar ground
He gathered up his loved ones and he brought them all around
To say goodbye, nice try

Hey, let me in. Yeah, yeah, yeah
Hey, let me in, let me in

I had a mind to try to stop you. Let me in, let me in
I've got tar on my feet and I can't see
All the birds look down and laugh at me
Clumsy, crawling out of my skin

Hey, let me in. Yeah, yeah, yeah
Hey, let me in
Hey, let me in. Yeah, yeah, yeah
Hey, let me in

---

Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell

Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, "This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem."
I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

Well, I heard the hoot owl singing
As they were taking down the tents
The stars above the barren trees
Were his only audience
Them charcoal gypsy maidens
Can strut their feathers well
But nobody can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

See them big plantations burning
Hear the cracking of the whips
Smell that sweet magnolia blooming
(And) see the ghosts of slavery ships
I can hear them tribes a-moaning
(I can) hear the undertaker's bell
(Yeah), nobody can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

There's a woman by the river
With some fine young handsome man
He's dressed up like a squire
Bootlegged whiskey in his hand
There's a chain gang on the highway
I can hear them rebels yell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

Well, God is in heaven
And we all want what's his
But power and greed and corruptible seed
Seem to be all that there is
I'm gazing out the window
Of the St. James Hotel
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell

---

And for some more vitriol

John Lennon - How Do You Sleep? (about Paul McCartney)

So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise
You better see right through that mother's eyes
Those freaks was right when they said you was dead
The one mistake you made was in your head
Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?
You live with straights who tell you you was king
Jump when your momma tell you anything
The only thing you done was yesterday
And since you're gone you're just another day
Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

A pretty face may last a year or two
But pretty soon they'll see what you can do
The sound you make is muzak to my ears
You must have learned something in all those years
Ah, how do you sleep?
Ah, how do you sleep at night?

---

Carly Simon - You're So Vain (rumored to be about ex-husband James Taylor)

You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't You?

You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't You? Don't You?

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't You?

Well I hear you went up to Saratoga and your horse naturally won
Then you flew your lear jet up to Nova Scotia
To see the total eclipse of the sun
Well you're where you should be all the time
And when you're not you're with
Some underworld spy or the wife from a close friend
Wife from a close friend, and...

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't You? Don't you?

You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you
You're so vain, I'll bet you think this song is about you

---

And in the novelty section...

The Androids - Do It With Madonna (and about a whole lot of other pop stars)

You know Christina's got the body
She really likes to spin and twirl
But when she's flirting with the camera
You know she's just a little girl
Now Pink is cute but still a baby
And she talks with attitude
She has some spunks for a young lady
But what I'd really like to do
I'd love to do it with Madonna
She's what a woman's supposed to be
Oh Madonna can you do it with me?

When Britney sings it sounds amazing
I like her belly and her butt
But how would you like to be with her?
She's always hanging with her mum.
I'd rather do it with Madonna
She's what a woman's supposed to be
The only girl I'll ever need
Madonna do it with me
I'd rather do it with Madonna
She's really got me on my knees
The only girl I'll ever need
Madonna, do it with me
Oh Madonna Ooooo Ooooo Oooooo Madonna,
I'd really like to be with Kylie
I think she's really really hott
I wonder if I could get Kylie
To wanna do it with Madonna
I'd rather do it with Madonna
She's really got me on my knees
Oh Madonna won't you do it with me?
I'd rather do it with Madonna
She's what a woman's supposed to be
Oh Madonna come and do it with me
I'd rather do it with Madonna
She's really got me
Have you seen her where she's wearing the cowboy hat and she's kicking the dirt
I wanna do it with
Oooo Madonna

 

[Niamh_Saoirse]

Too Cool Queenie
Stone Temple Pilots ( Song about Courtney Love)

There was this girl
Who lived not too long ago
As a matter of fact I think
She lives still
She knew she could do no wrong
Just singin' those songs
That we all knew

She would always crash the party
It was no surprise
It was for her

Too Cool Queenie

There was this boy
He played in a rock-n-roll band
And he wasn't half-bad,
At saving the world
She said he could do no right
So he took his life
His story is true

It's ok cause what goes around, comes around
It's all right cause what goes around, comes around

And now this girl,
Yeah she got real famous
And she made lots of money and
Some of his too
But still she thinks she can do no wrong
Just playing those songs
She's all too cool

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Tori Amos's song "Professional Widow" is rumored to be about Courtney Love.

 

[HelloAngel]

Tori Amos's song "Professional Widow" is rumored to be about Courtney Love.

Boys For Pele has many many interesting stories. Many of which are true. "Professional Widow" is fascinating. "Caught a Lite Sneeze" especially so.


To add to the list, "Chelsea Hotel" by Leonard Cohen is about Janis Joplin. "I Know" by Fiona Apple is for David Blaine. "Crush With Eyeliner" by REM is also about C.Love. Much of the White Stripes' "Elephant" is about Marcie Bolan from the Von Bondies.

 

[yertle-the-turtle]

I AGREE WITH PAT METHENY
by Richard Thompson

I agree with Pat Metheny
Kenny's talents are too teeny
He deserves the crap he's going to get
He overdubbed himself on Louis
What a musical chop suey
Raised his head above the parapet

Well Louis Armstrong was the king
He practically invented swing
Hero of the twentieth century
He did duets with many a fella
"Fatha" Hines, Bing, Hoagy, Ella
Strange he never thought of Kenny G

A meeting of great minds, how nice
Like Einstein and Sporty Spice
Digitally fused in an abortion
Kenny fans will doubtless rave
While Satchmo turns inside his grave
Soprano man's bit off more than his portion

Oh brainless pentatonic riffs
Display our Kenny's arcane gifts
But we don't care, his charms are so beguiling
He does play sharp, but let's be fair
He has such lovely crinkly hair
We hardly notice, we're too busy smiling

How does he hold those notes so long?
He must be a genius. Wrong!
He just has the mindlessness to do it
He makes Britney sound like scat
If this is jazz I'll eat my hat
An idle threat, I'll never have to chew it

So next time you're in a rendezvous
And Kenny's sound comes wafting through
Don't just wince, eliminate the cause
Rip the tape right off the muzak
Pull the plug, or steal a fuse, Jack
The whole room will drown you in applause

Yes, Kenny G has gone too far
The gloves are off, it's time to spar
Grab your hunting rifle, strap your colt on
It's open season on our Ken
But I await the moment when
We lay off him and start on Michael Bolton

I agree with Pat Metheny
Kenny's talents are too teeny

 

[joyfulgirl]

I almost mentioned Professional Widow but when asked directly about it in one interview Tori said, "It's about my own experience," Amos said. "I've never met Courtney Love. It's based on that part of myself that's Lady Macbeth, and if you have any Lady Macbeth in yourself, whether you're Andy or Tori, that song can be about you."

To me, though, that's really neither a denial nor a confirmation.

 

[HelloAngel]

To me, though, that's really neither a denial nor a confirmation.

She never really answers anything head on, so it's not a surprise. I love her, but those dang faeries and girls in her head get in the way sometimes!

 

[joyfulgirl]

She never really answers anything head on, so it's not a surprise. I love her, but those dang faeries and girls in her head get in the way sometimes!

Too true.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

Yeah, that's why I went ahead and mentioned that it was "rumored" to be about Courtney Love. I had recently read a whole thing about it on a fan site, where the "evidence" made it hard to make a call one way or the other. Food for thought, though...

 

[IWasBored]

dropkick murphys--'get up'

about the almighty stiff little fingers.

 

[Cute Irish Bono]

Does an actor count? Madness does a song called "Michael Caine."

 

[indra]

"This Is It" by The Church was inspired by Michael Hutchence's death.

He had a room in the best part of town
He got a chocolate on his eiderdown
Staring out over roofs at the Cross
Suppose he must have felt somewhat at loss

This is it, oh
This is it
And this is it, oh baby
And this is it

You couldn't say he was feeling very vibed
What had the quack in London prescribed
You couldn't really say he seemed to care
Sometimes he acted, he wasn't anywhere

This is it, oh baby
This is it
This is it, oh
This is it

Watching things you put up start to crash
Even though you've got a fistful of cash
Watching the future it bursts on through
I was one of those who used to envy you

I knew a wise man who didn't own a thing
I knew a happy man who made me feel sad
You never know what the other guy is thinking
Too bad

Sometimes you come upon a fork in the road
What was waiting there he never could have known
Split-second difference, one tiny percent
Yeah, he came and he went

This is it, oh baby
This is it
This is it, oh
This is it

(The lyrics are unofficial, Kilbey doesn't put them on the albums)

 

[Saracene]

Dandy Warholes - Cool as Kim Deal

Here's what I feel
ba ba ba ba
Just want a girl
as cool as Kim Deal

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

DIAMONDS AND RUST by Joan Baez (about Bob Dylan)
/B]

I heard Joan do this on the Rolling Thunder Review!
Bob came out after the song, looking rather embarrased,
and they both did a set together.
Very intense!

 

[RockNRollDawgie]

The Rolling Stones "StarStar"
Song about groupies and one line about Steve McQueen.

 

[alia612]

Er, "Numb" by the Cure is apparently about Kurt Cobain as well. And isn't "A Day Without Me" (U2, of course) inspired by Ian Curtis's death?

 

[pax]

"Be My Yoko Ono" by Barenaked Ladies (hint: it's not about John) is one. And I've often thought their song "Helicopters" was about Bono, but I could be wrong ("The world that loves its irony must hate the protest singer...")

There's a song at the end of India Arie's first album about Stevie Wonder, but I forget the name of it.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I heard Joan do this on the Rolling Thunder Review!
Bob came out after the song, looking rather embarrased,
and they both did a set together.
Very intense!

Wow, that must've been amazing. It's a great song and the best record Joan ever made, imo. Not that I'm a huge fan or anything but in '75 when that record along with Dylan's Blood on the Tracks were both released, they occupied quite a bit of my music-listening time (yes, I'm that old. ). I still can't walk past Washington Square in NYC without looking up at that 'crummy hotel.'

 

[HelloAngel]

And isn't "A Day Without Me" (U2, of course) inspired by Ian Curtis's death?

If it is, that would make an EXCELLENT song analysis for the Interference Zine!!!

 

[Sweet Tart]

i think that cast no shadow by oasis was supposedly written for or about richard ashcroft...

Here's a thought for every man
Who tries to understand what is in his hands
He walks along the open road of Love & Life
surviving if he can

Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
Chained to all the places that he never wished to say
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
and as faced the sun he cast no shadow

As they took his soul they stole his pride
As they took his soul they stole his pride
As they took his soul they stole his pride

Here's a thought for every man
Who tries to understand what is in his hands
He walks along the open road of Love & Life
surviving if he can

Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
Chained to all the places that he never wished to say
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say
and as faced the sun he cast no shadow

As they took his soul they stole his pride
As they took his soul they stole his pride
As they took his soul they stole his pride

And as he faced the sun he cast no shadow

 

[HeartlandGirl]

i think that cast no shadow by oasis was supposedly written for or about richard ashcroft...

I heard that somewhere, too.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

And isn't "A Day Without Me" (U2, of course) inspired by Ian Curtis's death?

i'd heard it was about bono essentially wondering aloud if he'd be missed were he to die or kill himself. it could be about ian, but i'd be surprised if the band had managed to write, record, and master a song back then in three months.

stuck in a moment was written about michael hutchence, right?

duran duran wrote a song about michael hutchence too, although it was written before his death.

the police have a song called peanuts which is about rod stewart, back when he was in his disco days.