Jesse with the long hair/Robert Earl Keen
Peoples Limousine/Coward Bros
and, of course, Lily, Rosemary etc/Bob Dylan
All these songs are long narratives with simply addictive bass lines, and a certain stylistic similarity that I am a sucker for.
Another REK one is Road goes on forever, but can't for the life of me remember the name of the protagonists off the top of my head, but it's a cracker from an under-rated and undervalued singer/songwriter. (Ditch the comedy, tho', as it became tiresome when it took over the serious stuff)
And, where can I find more about "Blackie" Farrell, nowt to do with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, who aren't bad, but the author of Sonora Death Row, a happy ditty covered by the abovementioned REK and by Dave Alvin, amongst others.

in Isaac Hayes' version of By the Time I get to Phoenix. He tells this fantastic story of what he thinks the Jimmy Webb song is about, taking ten minutes before he starts to sing. The final track clocks in at 18.42. Its like Greek Drama.

I always enjoy "VFD" by Michelle Shocked ("that's the Volunteer Fire Department..") - the story of how she and her friend called Eddie burn a barn down by accident - bit where she says "we never mentioned it to this day - then my friend went and told her mother - Jesus can you believe that?" Fantastic.

I'm not sure about the Gift. I'm all for Tom Waits' "Frank's Wild Years". A complete life story running in at a very reasonable 1:53.

I go and have a listen ot "By the Time I get to Phoenix" now and again too. Great stuff.

Never could stand that dog...

(I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I think it's still pertinent to this thread).

I am sure that everyone has, at one time or another, listened to Twisting The Night Away, in which Sam Cooke describes the colourful cast of characters who have assembled at an undisclosed location in the New York area, in order to dance the twist. But have you ever wondered about the mysterious man in evenin' clothes?

"Here's a man in evenin' clothes, how he got here, I don't know," croons Sam at the beginning of the second verse. Even he doesn't know how this guy got there and he's the singer!

Through long and diligent research I have at last been able to track down this elusive figure in rock history and put to him the question that has been on everyone's lips: How did you get to the club that night?

"I came on the bus! People didn't realise it, but there was a bus route that terminated one block east of the club where we all used to go and dance the twist. It was used mainly by workers from the nearby soap factory, so a lot of people from the club scene didn't know about it.

"If there was no-one on the bus, I used to slip down to the back and change into my evenin' clothes right there! Sometimes the driver would be eyein' me in his rear-view mirror and sayin': "Now son, I hope you're not changing into your evenin' clothes back there, because it's against regulations."

I would always reply: "No Sir!"

I used to wear a long raincoat so he never knew whether I had changed or not. If he had have been smart he would have looked at my shoes when I got off the bus, because I wore different shoes when I went to dance the twist.

"That man in evenin' clothes who you saw shaking hands with President Reagan at the White House is a phony. There's about four or five guys goin' round all claimin' to be the man in evenin' clothes, but I'm the genuine article. I never made a big deal of it. It was nice of Sam to recognise me in his song. It takes a big man to admit that he didn't know how I got to the club that night. To me that's Sam saying that he doesn't have all the answers, God rest his soul."

Had a bit of a thing for characters in his songs - either real or imaginary. I am thinking of Caroline Says, Stephanie Says etc plus Sweet Jane and of course Walk on the Wild Side about drag queen Candy. Conveyed so much about their lives with admirable economy I feel. An good example to those who think their lengthy 'poetry' is going to be so fascinating to us all.

Silly me, entirely forgot about almost the entire canon of trad arr.....
How about Tam Lin, Matty Groves and Widow of Westmorland as starters for ten million.