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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.
