John Hurt recorded the definitive version of Stagger Lee

It’s pretty rare these days that a song in popular music tells an entire story from start to finish, with defined characters and a decisive resolution. I think the reason for this is partially that story structure is inherently incongruous with writing a conventionally popular song; the backbone of pop music is the chorus, a familiar meme that gets repeated constantly throughout the song and which, by the nature of its repetition, weasels it’s way into your brain (Mmmmm bop, hippity dop bop doo wop…). And while this may be an effective tactic for making catchy music, you can imagine how annoying it would be to have the flow of a story you’re reading constantly interrupted by the same thing every twenty seconds.

This is not to say that story songs don’t exist — you can find them in the seemingly diametrically opposed genres of rap and folk music, both of which are less reliant on strictly defined song structures than pop music. What’s really interesting to me is that in both of these genres, there are certain tales that have endured over the years, becoming classics and even insinuating their way into mainstream culture. What makes certain story songs endure while others fade away? Why do they stay with us? In answering these questions, I think it’s useful to consider the ballad of Stagger Lee.

The full history of Stagger Lee is here, for those who are interested in all the morbid details, but the short version goes like this: “Stagger” Lee Sheldon was a black cab driver who in 1895 shot another dude named Billy Lyons after they had been drunkenly arguing and Billy had, “snatched Sheldon’s hat from his head.” According to the newspaper, after plugging Billy in the gut with his revolver, Stagger Lee, “picked up his hat and coolly walked away.” Well, Stagger Lee was later arrested for murder and died in prison. A fairly unremarkable crime, in the grand scheme of things, but somehow a song based on this drunken scuffle has gone on to become one of the most revered and covered songs in history, covered by everyone from The Clash and Bob Dylan to the Grateful Dead and Huey Lewis and the News. Why?

I maintain it’s because the character Stagger Lee, as portrayed in the song, represents something much more than just a drunken murderer. In the song, Stagger Lee becomes an extreme character, an unrealistic celebration of evil and violence. We as an audience tend to like extreme characters: extremely loving, extremely funny, extremely crazy, etc., and in something as short and immediate as a song, where every second is a plea for our attention, extreme and outrageous characters are important in drawing us in. There’s no room for subtlety; in every one of the hundreds of versions of Stagger Lee, one constant fact remains: Stagger Lee is a ridiculous bad ass.

Consider the original, “definitive” recording by John Hurt in 1928, below. It’s a subdued blues ballad, and Hurt’s winsome tone contrasts sharply with the gruesome murderer he describes. In setting the precedent for Stagger Lee, Hurt paints a terrifying picture of a “bad man” so cruel and evil that even the police are afraid to arrest him.

Lloyd Price re-recorded the song in 1958, and his version became a number one single (and would eventually go on to become one of Rolling Stone’s top 500 songs of all time). The tone of Lloyd’s version also contrasts with the song’s subject matter, but in a different way – Lloyd brought an exuberant dance beat and a 50’s doo-wop chorus to the story of Stagger Lee, giving his deeds a festive, wanton feel. Lloyd also expands on Stagger Lee’s evilness; he changes him to a gambler, and even gives Billy Lyons a moment to plead for his life by saying, “I’ve got three tiny children and a very sickly wife.” Of course, Stag blows him away regardless. Yeah. It was the first number one single ever to be censored.

And then oh my God, by far the darkest version of the song comes from Nick Cave off of his cheerful album Murder Ballads. Nick’s take on Stagger Lee has a sinister David Lynch vibe to it – it seems like it should be in a scene in Lost Highway. Stagger Lee in this version is basically Satan himself, committing horrific things that I can’t even describe in this post. Be warned if you watch this video, it may haunt your dreams.

Again though, what is the only thing that remains constant throughout all these versions? Stagger Lee is absolutely, uncompromisingly a “bad man.” In fact, Stag is in fine company, since many of the other enduring story songs are also about extremely psychotic characters: the vengeful son in “A Boy Named Sue,” the psychotic killer of the eponymous “Maxwell Silver Hammer,” the doomed gunslinger in “Rocky Raccoon,” even the crazy stalker in Eminem’s “Stan.” The extreme nature of these characters is necessary in making these songs memorable and durable. And while story songs may never be chart toppers, the characters in them can stay with you long after a catchy chorus drifts out of your head.