Actually the full title of this thread should be Songs about or referencing (with the exception of rap music) celebrities, historical figures, famous characters or anyone else we might know of but that would be too long a title.

Por ejemplo:

Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs - about L S Lowry.

American Pie - Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens

Self-Obsessed and Sexxee - Courtney Love (even if Sonic Youth deny it)

carly simon's lovely "you're so vain" is s'posed to be about mick jaggar, innit? like that one...

i also like "jimmy carter says yes" from the american song-poem anthology. but not as much as i adore "human breakdown of absurdity" from the same, which refences no particular human by name.

New Age - The Velvet Underground (Kim Novak, Robert Mitchum)...there's a VU song that namedrops Henry VII(?) and Mary Queen of Scots too...can't recall the name

Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks (Terrence Stamp, Julie Christie)

The Old Man's Back Again - Scott Walker (Joseph Stalin)

Stalin Wasn't Stallin' - The Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet

The Hitler Song - Leadbelly ("We're going to tear Hitler down...")

You're So Vain - Carly Simon (who is that about?)

Song to Ché - Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra

I'd Rather Cut Cane For Castro - Third World War

Dangerous - Sonic's Rendezvous Band (Karl Wallenda)

Rock n' Roll Nigger - Patti Smith (Jimi Hendrix, Jackson Pollock, Grandma?)

Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear

Billy The Kid - Bobbi Gentry

Any song about Jesus...

I thought You're So Vain was about Warren Beatty.

jimmy spako wrote:carly simon's lovely "you're so vain" is s'posed to be about mick jaggar, innit?

Warren Beatty

Cranius wrote:Rock n' Roll Nigger - Patti Smith (Jimi Hendrix, Jackson Pollock, Grandma?)

I know she meant well... and the song sucks on its own merit, not because of the n-word... and maybe she was going for a Lenny Bruce...

Shellac - Doris

Boombats wrote:Lenny Bruce...

There must be a song about Lenny Bruce.

Also:

Jim Dean of Indiana- Phil Ochs

and Chords of Fame - Phil Ochs ( Bob Dylan)

i believe nick cave's "black hair" and "west country girl" (from "the boatman's call.") are both about a polly jean harvey.

i heard somewhere that shellac's "didn't we deserve a look at you the way you really are" is about courtney love. steve will of course come in to say whether that's a lie or not.

i think the ex's "henry K" is about kissinger. and "frenzy" may or may not be about karl marx.

i'm sure i know of others that are hiding in my head somewhere.

Cranius wrote:There must be a song about Lenny Bruce.

Nico - Eulogy To Lenny Bruce