Partly inspired by Peter Doggett’s comment in the recent Word In Your Ear podcast – that you could create a sizeable compilation of songs CSN&Y and their coterie wrote about each other – I started to put together just such a compilation (playlist). However, in the end I decided to broaden it out to include other songs by artists about, er, other artists. Any other suggestions for songs warmly welcomed. This is a collaborative Spotify playlist so presumably anyone can add their contributions.
A few notes where the reference isn’t obvious:
‘Willy’ by Joni Mitchell is about David Crosby (William is his middle name)
‘Pretty Girl Why’ by Buffalo Springfield is about Stephen Still’s first wife, singer songwriter Nancy Priddy.
‘You Can Close Your Eyes’ by James Taylor is about Joni Mitchell.
‘Empty Garden (Hey Johnny Johnny)’ by Elton John is a tribute to John Lennon.
‘Au Contraire’ by They Might Be Giants is about David Bowie.
Songs about each other
by 118 Comments
One of my favourites is Nirvana by Juliana Hatfield (“makes me wanna go fuck shit up”).
The peerless Sweet Gene Vincent by Ian Dury.
Solid air by John Martyn about Nick Drake?
The Dream Academy’s Life In A Northern Town is also about Nick Drake.
I’ve read that as well but can’t quite get the reference.
Nor me
He lived in a village near Solihull in the West Midlands so lost on me as well.
According to Songfacts the song was dedicated to Nick Drake, rather than about him:
‘The song was not specifically about Nick Drake, as some suppose, but merely dedicated to his memory. Laird-Clowes recalled to Mojo magazine in a 2011 interview: “The song was created in a Southgate bedsit where Gilbert Gabriel had a room. We wrote it while sitting on a floor. Just two guitars – one nylon strung with just three strings on it, while the other was the same guitar that was on the cover of Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter. We had the idea, even before we sat down, to write a folk song with an African-style chorus. We started it and when we got to the verse melody, there was something about it that reminded me of Nick Drake, who I had been turned on to in 1972 by Roundhouse DJ Jeff Dexter. It was Jeff who first informed me what a brilliant record Bryter Layter was. He claimed, ‘I know where that guitar is and one day we’ll get hold of it.’
I was working at the RCA record factory in Ladbroke Grove at the time and bought Nick Drake’s guitar for £100. When the single was completed I dedicated it to Nick.”
‘The song’s subject matter was inspired by the time Laird-Clowes spent working on a music TV program that was produced in the north east England city of Newcastle. He recalled to Mojo: “The lyric emerged because I was an early presenter on The Tube and Geoff Wonfor, who went on to shoot The Beatles Anthology series, showed me the long lines of people unemployed and the shipyards that were closed down. That’s what ‘Life in Northern Town’ is really all about.”
I believe that John Lennon wrote “how do you sleep” about Paul McCartney.
….Van’s The Great Deception was about John Lennon.
Let Me Roll It Paul’s reply to John.
You could fill the thread of songs by members of The Beatles talking about each other.
What’s interesting is that they’re bloody good songs.
George wrote “Wah-Wah” about Paul and “Isn’t It A Pity” about the band as a whole.
Don’t forget Ringo (for completeness)!
Early 1970
Ringo has since sung 400 songs about The Beatles, Rory and the Hurricanes etc
Frank Zappa’s tribute to Eric Dolphy, one of the few jazz musicians he admired.
.
Jeff Beck plays Charles Mingus’s tribute to Lester Young.
.
Bill Laswell’s abridged remix of Miles Davis’s elegy for Duke Ellington.
I doubt whether anyone has sung more about other musicians than Eric Burdon. I’m sure everyone knows at least a few examples by him.
About twenty in Monterey alone.
Not to mention those groovin’ cops…
Mr. Burdon made a good start with “The Story Of Bo Diddley” (first track on the first Animals album) which is about The Animals and Bo.
Speaking of whom…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSFgPEjxCek
Great track from a great album.
Richard Thompson – Beeswing is about Anne Briggs as is Sandy Denny’s The Pond and the Stream. Thommo also has a few throwaways like I Agree With Pat Metheny (About Kenny G).
The girl in Going to California who “plays guitar and cries and sings” is Joni Mitchell – Plant would sometimes add “Joni” or “…in parking lots” when singing it live. Carouselambra has Plant (allegedly) getting annoyed at Jimmy Page about his addictions and lack of support after Plant’s personal tragedies. Of course, there’s always Hats Off to Roy (Harper) as well, but that’s in title only.
Kate Bush’s Blow Away mentions Minnie Ripperton, Buddy Holly, Keith Moon, Marc Bolan and Sandy Denny. King Of The Mountain is about Elvis (lots of songs about him, come to think of it), and David Gilmour is one of Them Heavy People as he was instrumental in kick starting her career.
Bowie did Song For Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol and threw in a few pointed lines about Gary Numan in “Teenage Wildlife”
The Only Living Boy in New York is Paul Simon’s goodbye to Art Garfunkel. as is So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright
Nobody Home off the Wall is the sound of Roger Waters repeatedly kicking Rick Wright. Of course, the Floyd also sang about Syd Barrett a few times
Zappa’s We’re Turning Again references Mama Cass, Jimi Hendrix and Keith Moon
Sandy’s Stranger to Himself was written for and about Swarbrick.
The woman referred to in Paul Simon’s Graceland is Carrie Fisher.
And Carrie Fisher is also the subject of Hearts and Bones
She was a singer….?
If actresses are allowed, ‘One eye Fiona’ by Lyle Lovett is about Julia Roberts.
More Paul Simon – The Boxer is (apparently) aimed at Bob Dylan
Thommo’s prolific output is bound to spread the net wide. Even as far as Heaven, where Al Bowlly is. Then there is Here Comes Geordie, a less than oblique reference to Sting.
He mentions Scritti Politti in “Bone Thru’ Her Nose”
..and The Clash in Tear Stained Letter.
DONOVAN mentions Jefferson Airplane in “Fat Angel”.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono seemed to be constantly writing songs for and about each other.
More Kate – Delius is about, er, Delius, and Moments Of Pleasure notably references Alan Murphy (guitarist/collaborator), Bill Duffield (lighting engineer who tragically died during the Tour Of Life) and film director Michael Powell (although I rather like to think that when she sings “Michael, d’you really love me?” she is speaking specifically to ME).
Didn’t Graham Nash get the ‘Willy’ moniker?
I agree, as I have always understood that Willy was Graham Nash’s nickname.
I’ve never heard of it being connected to Crosby before.
While on the subject of Joni Mitchell, For The Roses is about James Taylor.
Yeah, it’s Nash. His middle name is William.
Doh. I misheard the attribution listening to the Peter Doggett podcast. It is, of course, Nash.
My favourite is the two big Feargal Sharkey singles in the mid 80s, A Good Heart and You Little Thief. A Good Heart was written by Maria McKee about her relationship with Benmont Tench, whilst You Little Thief was written by Tench, allegedly his side of the argument with McKee. Tench has since denied it was written about her, but nobody believes him, mainly because it spoils this little nugget of musical trivia!
Was going to be my next trivia question. Ruined!
whilst Real Gone Kid by Deacon Blue is also about Maria McKee
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo!
George Harrisons “All Those Years Ago” was his Lennon tribute,likewise McCartney wrote “Here Today”
Ian Hunter wrote “Michael Picasso” about Mick Ronson and “Dandy” is about Bowie.
Gillian Welch – Elvis Presley Blues
Bill Bragg – Levi Stubbs Tears
Van Morrison – Jackie Wilson Said
Nils Lofgren – Keith Dont Go
There’s a Bob Dylan song about Alicia Keys isn’t there?
Thunder On The Mountain.. although it would be a stretch to say it’s about AK… she gets a mention. He is wondering where in the world she could be and is crying.
Also, You’re So Vain – about Jim Bowen.
You stepped up to the oche like you were walking onto a yacht…
You stepped up to the oche like you almost won a yacht?
There were clouds in my bitter, clouds in my bitter
What ever happened to all the speedboats that were prizes? Poor things. One surreptitious trip on the Grand Union, and then? . . .
hurrrrrr
Jim Bowen: made me chuckle, that one, young Celebration!
The Jean Genie is Iggy Pop
Waterboys’ London Mick is that rarest of things, a tribute to a musician is alive and well.
Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) is Steve Harley having a pop at the original Cockney Rebel
Bitch!
Steve Harley, I mean.
Currently being used to advertise Viagra. Somebody has a sense of humour, clearly….
Suede’s The Big Time is about the sacking of Justine Frischmann… who of course is also the absent presence in Blur’s Tender and No Distance Left To Run.
On the same album, confusingly, Damon lost his girl to the Rolling Stones.
An obvious one: Dexy’s “Geno” is about Geno Washington. Less obvious: I think the Chameleons’ “Here Today” is about John Lennon being shot, though I’m not sure about that one.
Dave Gilmour’s Murder certainly is.
Billy Preston by Miles Davis :
He Loved Him Madly, an elegy for The Duke, same album. Brian Eno’s favourite track.
….not to mention Jeru and John McLaughlin. (whoever he is)
Torturing James Hetfield is a delightful ditty by Chumbawamba, that also manages to mention Simply Red and reference themselves. It is based on the tactic of playing loud Metallica music to break the resolve of political prisoners.
Not to mention Ratatatay off the same album, about George Melly. (I very nearly wrote Roger Melly there.)
Oasis’ Cast No Shadow is about Richard Ashcroft of The Verve.
Loudon, Rufus and Martha have written songs about each other, families and friends forever. I believe I could quote 464 examples.
Haha….Martha’s ‘Bloody Motherf***ing Asshole’ is about her dad.
Rufus is a Tit Man…. well he grew out of that, din’t he?
Think you need to have a look at the Posting Guidelines and then a jolly good look at yourself. There is no room for smutty homophobic jibes in here. Hold on, I’m in the wrong pub. Carry on..
We had a special arrangement me and Rufus. I took over the tits, he took over the singing in a silly voice.
Stevie Wonder has form for this
Masterblaster – Bob Marley
Happy birthday – Martin Luther King
Sir Duke – Duke Ellington
Sleeps With Angels – Neil
There Goes My Hero – Foo Fighters
Kurt Cobain – Veroncia Maggio
Sticking my neck out here but I think all 3 are about Kurt Cobain.
As is ‘Let Me In’ by REM.
Or maybe River Phoenix?
When she sang about Angels by the Go-betweens is about Patti Smith singing about Kurt Cobain… but Robert wishes it was Tom Verlaine.
And if you want oblique references, try this and see how many you get, the glorious Edwyn Collins:
So who is the above about?
“Don’t try so hard to be different
The cracks are beginning to show
You drift like a cloud through the festival crowd
In a frock coat from Seville row
You’ve just been to a all night party
Where I have to admit it takes pluck
To go out on the floor and proclaim, ?What a bore?
In a T-shirt that reads, ‘Disco Sucks’
Yes, here he comes, the not so young
Pretender to the throne
He’s singing rag, momma, rag
Won’t you give that poor dog a bone?
And he’s wondering why we can’t connect
When he’s sworn to us that he’s totally wretch
On the rustic charm that he affects
On a public schoolboy whim
With a raggle taggle plastic gypsy
Robert Zimmerframe
With a synthesized accordion
A scramblin’ up my brain
With a fiddle dee dee, a fiddle on high
Excuse me folks while I kiss the sky
Or at any rate give it one more try
Before I die, before I die
The overrated hit the stage
Overpaid and over here
And their idea of counter culture’s
Momma’s charge account at sears
And they’re wondering why we can’t connect
With the ritual of the trashed guitar
One more paltry empty gesture
The ashes of a burned out star
Yes, here they come, both old and young
A contact low or high
The gathering of the tribes descending
Vultures from a caustic sky
The rotting carcase of July
And ugly sun hung out to dry
Your gorgeous hippy dreams are dying
Your frazzled brains are putrefying
Repackaged, sold and sanitized
The devil’s music exorcised
You live, you die, you lie, you lie, you die
Perpetuate the lie, perpetuate the lie,
Perpetuate the lie, just to perpetuate the lie
Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival
The truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival
The truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival
The truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival
The truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival
The truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, it’s the summer festival
The truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival
Truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival
Truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival
Truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival
Truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival
Truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival
Truly detestable summer festival
Yes, yes, yes, summer festival”
My guess may be Mike Scott??
Mike Scott and then Pearl Jam, I’ve always assumed.
He really doesn’t like summer festivals.
The Slits’ “Instant Hit” is about Sid Vicious, as is, um, “Sid Vicious is Dead” by Some Product. “Julian said how was the gear” in The Fall’s “Two Steps Back” refers to a pre-fame Julian Cope, apparently.
Do you remember Rick Astley?
He had a big fat hit, it was ghastly…
Kings Lead Hat by Eno [Talking Heads]
Seconds by The Human League [Lennon]
Drake by Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man [Sir Francis 🙂 ]
Seconds was about JFK wasn’t it?
Yes. See also Adam & The Ants’s magnificently tasteless Catholic Day.
I always assumed Peter Gabriel’s Family Snapshot was too, but it’s about George Wallace.
PS. I’ve just discovered that that song features both Dave Gregory (that one) and Dick Morrissey (that one). Crikey!
Oh yeah, so it is. I wonder why I thought it was about Lennon? It wasn’t an assumption, I acquired it from somewhere. That’s gonna bother me…
Phish have a track called “David Bowie” – complete lyrics: “David Bowie…. UB 40!!”.
And from The Nits (another band nobody here knows) there’s “Nick In The House Of John”, about Nick Drake in John Lennon’s former home.
Veruca Salt’s With David Bowie wins the double by appearing on the album Eight Arms to Hold You, a nicely obscure Fabs reference.
I’ve always been fond of Syd Barrett’s Bob Dylan Blues, principally because he’s taking the piss rather than worshipping:
Roam from town to town
Guess I get people down
But I don’t care too much about that
‘Cause my gut and my wallet are fat
That nasty bitter song ‘Poles Apart’ I presume is about Roger Waters although some say the first verse is about Syd. I’m sure RW is a difficult person to get along with but that song seems to be unduly vitriolic.
‘The Winner Takes It All’ has Agnetha possibly singing about her divorce from Bjorn with the words put into her mouth by Bjorn himself.
Polly Samsom made it pretty clear that Poles Apart is about the two Rogers. Lost for Words is unmistakably about Waters.
He wouldn’t appreciate the Judaic reference, but Waters in his advancing years is like a Golem crafted from Satan’s shite. I bet Polly Samsom could make that sound a little more poetic.
Thanks Moose – TDB is an album I find hard to love, or even care for…
Crow, by Jim Carroll, is about his buddy Patti Smith:
It must be strange to just fall from the stage
And snap a bone that is so close to the brain
And be attended to by so many down below
I saw a doctor tie you up from so far above
And you start singing just like light through a black floor
You start sliding like burned skin to a side door
But crow, when you throw yourself under
Singin’s hard when you can’t lose control
They don’t know, to them in the dark you don’t whisper nothin’
And they’re all gonna try and rip the wind from your soul
It must have been hard to be a cashier in a bookstore
And to be surrounded by the history of your true loves
And you’d get naked between the deep shelves in the backroom
And have your brain get tan by sharp fluorescent light tubes
And you start spinning like the pillars in the temple
You’d start screaming just like Sister Aimee Semple
But Crow, when you throw yourself under
The streets are hard when you cannot lose control
They don’t know, to them the dark don’t whisper nothin’
And they’re all gonna try and rip the wind from your soul
Crow
It was so sweet when you brought donuts to the junkies
Hey, you’d give us something we’d go slip into our coffee
And we’d start reading lines from poems that didn’t matter
You covered me with blankets in the Chelsea Hotel lobby
And I’d start reachin’ for the scar along your belly
They’d start takin’ us ’cause winning is their hobby
But crow, when you throw yourself under
Singin’s hard when you can’t lose control
They don’t know, to them in the dark you don’t whisper nothin’
And they’re all gonna try and rip the wind from your soul
“I Saw Her Again Last Night” was written about shenanigans in the Mamas And The Papas camp.
Captain Sensible disses Adam Ant in “Wot”
The Byrds mocked The Monkees with “So You Want To Be A Rock’n’Roll Star”
Nick Lowe’s “Bay City Rollers We Love You” was not exactly a glowing tribute to the tartan terrors.
Nick Lowe also had a pop at Rick Astley in All Men Are Liars.
During a bout of chore-deferral I’ve added most of the songs suggested above to the ‘Songs About Each Other’ playlist.
I’m not sure how you make a suggestion to the moderators but how about creating a Playlist category on the Afterword site, ie similar to Nights In, Nights Out, Podcast etc. Seems quite a bit of fun to be had in contributing to and discussing playlists (probably Spotify as that seems the most used)?
Horslips recorded a single as “Lipstick” – “Come Back Beatles” bw “The Fab Four-Four”.
Barenaked Ladies recorded a song about Brian Wilson, called, err “Brian Wilson”.
Fatima wrote: Barenaked Ladies recorded a song about Brian Wilson, called, err “Brian Wilson”.
As did John Cale, except his was called ‘Mr. Wilson.’
“The new groups are not concerned
With what there is to be learned
They got Burton suits, ha, you think it’s funny
Turning rebellion into money”
Apparently about Mr Weller and his two then-chums
… and apparently, when performing ‘Away From The Numbers’ live, Weller would sing “Away from the numbers, away from Joe Strummer.”
Ben Lee (who?), when he was 14, wrote ‘I Wish I Was Him’ about Evan Dando.
Lucinda Williams wrote ‘Drunken Angel’ about Blaze Foley (who?).
Ben Lee – dibble dibble bout shoe
Didn’t he end up writing songs for the IASARH’s solo album?
Next best thing, you might say..
He did. ‘All My Life’ is a favourite of mine.
Blaze Foley didn’t get too much chance to get famous, because as Lu points out he was a drunk and he got shot dead.
However Ethan Hawke made a film about him, released last year:
Have you seen this?
I have Amazon Prime and Netflix, but it’s not on either. It is on the US version of Prime.
I haven’t seen it.
I have been hoping it might turn up as a special showing at a local arthouse cinema, because I can’t see it ever getting a general release.
Otherwise I guess it is wait for the DVD.
I appreciate that a simple namecheck does not mean the song is about you (don’t you? don’t you?) but, to the tune of Agadoo :
“Hüsker Dü-Dü-Dü
Captain Beefheart, ELO
Chris de Burgh
Sun Ra
Del Amitri
John Coltrane”
“How Long” by Ace is about their bassist Terry “Tex” Comer being poached from the band by The Sutherland Brothers & Quiver. He later returned to resume his bass duties with Ace.
I think this qualifies. Ray Charles told Joe Tex “the kids want to dance” and here’s his reply.
If only…..
even better
As I understand it, The Waterboys’ “A Girl Called Johnny” is about Patti Smith.
Richard Thompson’s “That’s All, Amen, Close the Door” is about Sandy Denny.
And Robyn Hitchcock’s “Listening to The Higsons” is (obliquely) about that bloke off The Fast Show.
Jeff Lynne wrote Mr Blue Sky about Michael Fish following a Birmingham Musicians Union meeting in 1976/7.
Michael was the guest speaker at the meeting held at the Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston.. His talk was on the possibility of climate change and the increasing chance of more stormy weather for the UK in future decades.
It was entitled “Hey There Mr Blue”
Steve Harley’s Mr Soft is actually a tribute to Kevin Ayers.
One of Michael Marra’s finest songs has a few namechecks within. You’ll need to bear with him through a lengthy intro. Not really about those artists, but still..
Marra often wrote songs about other musicians. Peerie Willie Johnson, Dr. John and Dougie McLean spring to mind.
I forgot that Neil Young’s Thrasher is (at least in part) about Crosby, Stills and Nash.