Some of the most interesting songs come in story-form, and some artists have penned such wonderful narratives, their songs could be turned into Oscar-winning movies if a script was based on the lyrics. The movies could be based on songs that are autobiographical, like Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” or in third person, like Everlast’s “What It’s Like.”
Now, while there’s an endless list of story songs, we consider 10 of them true standouts for the way their lyrics are perfect springboards for a script to be written, since the films could answer questions for those who are still in the dark about certain aspects of the song.
Jack & Diane, John Mellencamp
America’s Heartland, two teenagers with their entire lives in front of them, and Tastee Freez chili dogs. The whole scene fills your mind within the first few seconds of John Mellencamp’s 1982 single “Jack & Diane.”
You can almost feel the youthful excitement of a hopeful and lust-filled Jack, as it’s easy to envision his dreams of becoming a football star and running off to the city with Diane. She seems to be the wiser of the two, since she tries to extinguish his fear of missing out.
The classic cut ends with the couple doing their best to hold onto their youth before getting swallowed up by the responsibilities of adulthood. Just imagine a film that would show how the 16-year-old couple came to be, how they ended up, and if Jack ever convinced Diane to hightail it to the city.
Stan, Eminem, Featuring Dido
Co-director Dr. Dre did a superb job of bringing Eminem’s song “Stan” to life in the music video. There’s also a documentary on Em’s relationship with his fans called “Stans,” but a movie written solely about the song’s character would give us even more insight into the behavior of an obsessed fan.
Think about it, we’d get to see how Stan arrived at the dangerous, emotional place that Eminem rapped about, and witness how Stan’s well-being was attached to Em acknowledging his existence.
It would also be interesting to see what Stan experienced in between Eminem’s verses, because in the first, the character takes Em’s non-response in stride, but he grows angrier and more desperate later in the song. So, a full-on background story on Stan could make for an epic film.
You Belong With Me, Taylor Swift
Some of the best love stories are about one’s perfect match being right under their nose, and that person not realizing it. The familiar premise could be turned into a heartwarming, romantic film, ideal for teens and young adults who’ve pined for someone. But it would have to be done with a unique approach.
Clearly, You Belong With Me has all the elements of an entertaining story on the big screen: an unassuming protagonist that movie-goers can cheer for, the girl she’s competing against, who they can boo and young, budding love, which always makes for an interesting tale.
Just imagine the tension one would feel seeing the main character be friends with the guy that she’s secretly in love with, just waiting for him to see their potential as a couple.
Jeremy, Pearl Jam
Why Jeremy’s father never gave him affection, and why his mother was indifferent about it would be excellent questions that a movie based on Pearl Jam’s 1992 song could answer.
It would also be insightful to get a closer look at Jeremy’s coping mechanisms outside of drawing pictures of mountain tops and pretending that he’s the wicked ruler of the world, who would eventually take bloody revenge on the classmates that bullied him.
The song was written years before school shootings became an epidemic in the United States, and perhaps a film on Jeremy and his parents could be educational.
Da Art Of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1), OutKast
OutKast’s 1999 single, “Da Art of Storytellin’ (Pt. 1),” tells the story of two friends, Suzy Screw and Sasha Thumper. Both rappers do a wonderful job of breaking down their interaction with the women, as Big Boi relays a rather risqué tale about Suzy, and André 3000 tells a tragic story about Sasha.
Some background information on the women and how they came into OutKast’s orbit could make for a fascinating film. Especially Sasha, who met Andre during childhood, since he kind of predicted her fate.
“We on our back staring at the stars above / Talking about what we gonna be when we grow up / I said ‘What you wanna be?’ She said, ‘Alive’ / It made me think for a minute, then looked in her eyes / I could’ve died,” raps Andre.
Seeing OutKast’s lyrics come to life in a 90-minute film would be nothing short of stupendous.
Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
Wanting more out of life and yourself. A lot of us can relate to that, which is why Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” taps into our desire to not only dream bigger but to move faster and with more intention to achieve those dreams.
In the 1988 single, Chapman expresses a desire to get back some of the life she lost by taking care of her alcoholic father. The song is truly begging for a script, one that could show the protagonist’s childhood and detail her living situation, including the moment when her fed up mother took off.
A movie could also show the troubled couple getting to their desired destination in the fast car and what it was like. Maybe it could also give more detail about the man in the relationship, who wasn’t able to get his life together, despite his partner’s efforts to improve their situation.
Cleopatra, The Lumineers
Yes, it’s true that The Lumineers have a 24-minute visual album for their LP Cleopatra directed by Isaac Ravishankara, but a full-length film would do the beautifully written song even more justice.
The cut is based on a true story, and it follows a taxi driver named Cleopatra, as she reminisces about losing the love of her life, which happened because she didn’t accept his marriage proposal.
Then, once you fast-forward to the end of the song and Cleopatra is an old woman, she does her best to convince a nurse in a senior living facility that she lived an interesting life filled with excitement and sorrow.
You can almost see songwriters Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites helping with the script and celebrating the Oscar win when the film wins an award.
N—-s Bleed, The Notorious B.I.G.
If The Notorious B.I.G.’s song “N—– Bleed” was made into a movie, it would stand next to some of Hollywood’s most entertaining crime sagas. Just imagine seeing Biggie play someone sent by his bosses to complete a major drug deal, but he decides to rob the customers instead.
Things only get more interesting from there when Biggie and his friend Ron, the career criminal, get to the meeting place and engage in a hotel shootout.
The film could be Carlito’s Way meets Heat, meets New Jack City. The only thing the scriptwriter would need to do is follow the rapper’s lyrics and add some background information on Ron, Biggie’s character, and those on the other end of the shootout.
Hands Of Time, Margo Price
From a toddler watching her father’s farm get taken away, to working tirelessly at different jobs, to joining a band in the city, Margo Price’s “Hands Of Time” has all the ingredients of an excellent film.
Hands Of Time makes a wonderful movie title as well and if it were made, it would have to cover Price’s whole life, from her younger years of struggle to discovering music.
Price specifies in the song that even though she became a big city musician, strumming a guitar brought her more trouble in the way of too much alcohol consumption and meeting the wrong men.
She also sings about getting married, having children, but losing her firstborn to a rare heart ailment. However, a sense of resilience is found in the lyrics, so the film could be a coming of age story with a musical twist. Maybe it could be a modern-day Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta Lynn’s 1980 biopic.
Johnny Was, Bob Marley & The Wailers
If this 1976 cut were made into a film, it could easily focus on Johnny’s mother, what her life was like before her son Johnny’s death, and what she experienced after his life was taken by a stray bullet.
The film could also explain what made Johnny such a good person, something Marley details in the chorus. It’s possible that Johnny was a solid family man, or just a hard worker, or maybe he was a peaceful guy. Maybe he was all of those things.
Marley also says in the song that he comforted the grief-stricken mother after the shooting, so the film could show that interaction and what he experienced from his vantage point. The entire film could be focused on that one tragic event as well, and show the characters getting to the bottom of the crime, while trying to find the shooter.
Plus, was it really a stray bullet that killed Johnny or did someone have it in for him? That could also be answered in the film.
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