JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Best Songs with surprise Twist Endings

I thought we'd throw this topic out and see what we catch.

What are your favorite song(s) with surprise twist endings.. and what are those twists? (in case we're not familiar with the song.)

Brian

For me, the best all time twist ending song is He Stopped Loving Her Today by Bobby Braddock. I'll never forget hearing it the first time. I was touring with Suzi Devereaux, we were on our way to Florida in the old blue Bluebird bus listening to a country radio station somewhere in Alabama, when the dj announced the new George Jones song. The very first line gives it away, but I didn't get it...he sang: "He said, 'I'll love you 'til I die,'" But by the time he sang "all dressed up to go away, first time I seen him smile in years" it just started dawning on me, then he sang, "He stopped loving her today, they placed a wreath upon his door, soon they'll carry him away, he stopped loving her today," I was floored. This wasn't a trick, clever, song with a cutesy pun for the hook. This was a human tragedy.

It evoked the kind of feeling in me that one gets when speaking of some great sadness with a little ironic laugh at life. I bought the tape when we stopped near a mall to eat. I'll bet we listened to that song two dozen times the rest of the way to the gig.

Mike



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Mike Dunbar Music

I also was going to talk about it but Mike did so I'l choose The Impossible. You don't realize it's actually a love song until the bridge. Just great!
Also, Three Wooden Crosses is awesome!

Juan

Yeah, first to my mind was 3 wooden crosses...you just have to listen to it 8x to understand the what the hell happened!

Good topic.

Two of my favorites are:
"I Guess You Had To Be There" by Barbara Cloyd
"Escape, Do You Like Pina Colada" by Rupert Holmes.

Duh, I guess I never caught on to "He Stopped Loving Her Today". Wow.

"Three Crosses" is good also.

Vondelle

Thanks Vondelle,
I don't feel quite so foolish anymore. I had just started listening to country music when He Stopped Loving Her Today was winning all the awards. (seemed like two years in a row at the time,...but must have been the different Country music associations)
Since the style of music was different from my usual choices, I can't say as how I listened all that closely to the song, and didn't catch the full story until after several listens.
But the Three Wooden Crosses, I got on the first listen. Beyond the twist at the end, I was immediately struck by the use of the word HOOKER. thinking it might draw some flack for crudeness. And then when they get to the part where it's her son's choice of words...........well okay........I lightened up.
Escape is another good one.
a much smaller twist comes in George Strait's The Chair. leaves you thinking ......wow what a great pickup line, but it won't work now, cause she'll see it coming.

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Harriet
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/harrietamesmusic.htm

"Lola" was pretty cool back in the day.

"Well I'm not the world's most masculine man
But I know what I am and I'm glad I'm a man
And so is Lola
La-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola
Lola la-la-la-la Lola la-la-la-la Lola....."

still makes me wanna sing.

How About Rory Lee's Chain of Love (cut by Clay Walker). We don't know the guy that fixed the flat and started the "chain of Love" was "Joe" until the very last line--total surprise and totally cool.

(Rory Lee/Jonnie Barnett)

He was driving home one evening,
In his beat up Pontiac
When an old lady flagged him down,
Her Mercedes had a flat
He could see that she was frightened,
Standing out there in the snow
'Til he said I'm here to help you ma'am,
By the way my name is Joe

She said I'm from St. Louis,
And I'm only passing through
I must have seen a hundred cars go by,
This is awful nice of you
When he changed the tire,
And closed her trunk
And was about to drive away,
She said how much do I owe you
Here's what he had to say

You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too
Someone once helped me out,
Just the way I'm helping you
If you really want to pay me back,
Here's what you do
Don't let the chain of love end with you

Well a few miles down the road,
The lady saw a small cafe
She went in to grab a bite to eat,
And then be on her way
But she couldn't help but notice,
How the waitress smiled so sweet
And how she must've been eight months along,
And dead on her feet

And though she didn't know her story,
And she probably never will
When the waitress went to get her change,
From a hundred dollar bill
The lady slipped right out the door,
And on a napkin left a note
There were tears in the waitress's eyes,
When she read what she wrote

You don't owe me a thing,
I've been there too
Someone once helped me out,
Just the way I'm helping you
If you really want to pay me back,
Here's what you do
Don't let the chain of love end with you

That night when she got home from work,
The waitress climbed into bed
She was thinkin' about the money,
And what the lady's note had said
As her husband lay there sleeping,
She whispered soft and low
Everything's gonna be alright, I love you, Joe

That's a great one, budtower, I don't know Rory Lee, but I knew Jonnie Barnett. Jonnie passed away last year, he was a great singer and performer as well as a songwriter. He was one of the singers in the Exit/In portion of Robert Altman's movie Nashville.

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Mike Dunbar Music

Regarding that Clay Walker song.. that story was circulated all over the internet via email about 4 years ago... and at the time I thought.. wow that would make a great song... (it's author was listed as "anonomous") But then I thought, nahhh, that would be cheating. I guess I was wrong and I've kicked myself a hundred times for not doing it because the lyric matches the story EXACTLY!!!!

I like 3 wooden crosses even though I didn't like it the first time I heard it (at workshop) because I didn't feel the word "hooker" would be accepted in a country song. it sounded like "3 preists and a duck walk into a bar" sort of thing .. haha

Even the artist said he had to listen to it 4-5 times before HE understood the punch line. Just goes to show you, just because ppl say " I don't get it" the very first time they hear it, doesn't mean you should re-write the dang song!!!! (I get that alot with my surprise ending songs).. LOL

Yup, it's brilliant. And I also like THE CHAIR as previously mentioned.

The Beaches of Cheyenne is another good one.

And who can forget ODE TO BILLY JOE? NOW THAT woman could write...... why she only wrote two dang songs I have no idea and I would love to know where the heck she is now. Seems after she wrote FANCY, she married a rich guy and retired. (just like the song hahhaha)

But what fantastic imagery in those two songs that I have yet to see since.

Great topic! oh and p.s. OL' RED.. has one HELL of a great twist..... !

How about "The Greatest" from Kenny Rogers or "The Little Girl" from John Michael Montgomery or "The Baby" from Blake Shelton...all great story songs with tidy endings that just make you say..."wow...thats good."...
At least that's what I said...

RLD

[This message has been edited by RLD (edited 06-18-2003).]

[This message has been edited by RLD (edited 06-18-2003).]

Here is the story that circulated around the internet.. so I have a hard time giving credit to the "writer's" for this song.
**************

Don't Let the Chain of Love end with You" Anonymous

He was driving home one evening, on a two lane road. Work, in this small Midwestern community, was almost as slow as his beat up truck, but he never quit looking. Ever since the factory closed, he'd been unemployed, and with the winter raging on, the chill had finally hit home.

It was a lonely road. Not very many people has a reason to be on it unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill, but he stayed on. After all, this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and knew the country. He could go down this road blind and tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights not working, that came in handy. It was getting dark, and the light snow flurries were coming down. He'd better get a move on.

You know, he almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His pickup was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill that only fear can put in you.

He said, "I'm here to help you ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Joe." Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for on old lady, that was bad enough. Joe crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire, but he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down her window and began to talk to him.

She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Joe just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been alright with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Joe never thought twice about money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there are plenty who had given him help in the past.
He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time that she saw someone who really needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Joe added, "...think of me."

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went into to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.

The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor, it didn't ring much. Her waitress came over and brought her a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.

After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get her change from the hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on a napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady had wrote.

It said, "You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too.
Someone once helped me out, the way I'm helping you.
If you really want to pay me back, here's what to do...
Don't let the chain of love end with you."

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.

That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could she have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lie sleeping next to her she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be alright; I love you Joe."


********* see how they condensed this story ?
but it's practically plagerism if you ask me.
That's why I DIDN'T WRITE IT! LOL

Red, that's a whole lot more than just condensing.
I certainly would not come close to calling it plagiarism. It's the same source as the song The Little Girl (John Micheal Montgomery..I think)
I've seen others attempt to put some of these stories into songform only to end up with several extra verses trying to include too many details.
Now if they had written this from a poem, it might be different. then again it depends on how close it was to the poem.
Of course I kicked myself when the song first came out. Because I had started and never finished a song very similar. I think it was called Help Someone Else(on down the road) or something like that. Always thought I'd get back to it. Probably won't now. (if I could find my notes)

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Harriet
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/harrietamesmusic.htm

Vondelle, totally for about ESCAPE..that is a GREAT SONG with a GREAT TWIST...i love that song......THE CHAIR is classic for sure, and the Clay Walker song is another good one.

OK Folks,

Here's one of the all-time GREAT SONGS of our generation, which I've always thought had a fantastic twist at the end.

That is, ...until tonight!

Actually, it really does, but after I looked up the lyrics on two different sites I found out I have been misunderstanding one line for years!

I'll put that line in bold and what I've been hearing and singing in it's place in brackets:

Eagles - Lyin' Eyes lyrics


City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile
A rich old man
And she won't have to worry
She'll dress up all in lace and go in style

Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess ev'ry form of refuge has its price
And it breaks her heart to think her love is
Only given to a man with hands as cold as ice

So she tells him she must go out for the evening
To comfort an old friend who's feelin' down
But he knows where she's goin' as she's leavin'
She is headed for the cheatin' side of town

You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes

On the other side of town a boy is waiting
with fiery eyes and dreams no one could steal
She drives on through the nice anticipating
'Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel

She rushes to his arms,
They fall together
She whispers that it's only for awhile
She swears that soon she'll be comin' back forever
She pulls away and leaves him with a smile

You can't hide your lyin' eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide you lyin' eyes

She gets up and pours herself a strong one
And stares out at the stars up in the sky
Another night, it's gonna be a long one
She draws the shade and hangs her head to cry

She wonders how it ever got this crazy
She thinks about a boy she knew in school
Did she get tired or did she just get lazy?
She's so far gone she feels just like a fool

My, oh my, you sure know how to arrange things
You set it up so well, so carefully

AIN'T IT FUNNY HOW YOUR NEW LIFE DIDN'T CHANGE THINGS

[>>>What I've always heard: ...Ain't it funny how you knew I didn't change things...<<<]

You're still the same old girl you used to be

You can't hide your lyin eyes
And your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes
Honey, you can't hide your lyin' eyes


Anyway, I still like my misunderstood version better! Ha, Ha!

Then the last line "Honey, you can't... also reveals that the singer is the same person as the "boy" with firey eyes earlier in the song.

...SOOOO COOL!!!

There, that's my contribution!

All my best to all,

Stan ;-)


[This message has been edited by LyricMosaics (edited 06-20-2003).]

When I read the idea for this thread the first song that popped into my head was Harry Chapin's 'The Mayor of Candor Lied'. The song is a bit too long to post in it's entirety here, but if any of you are familiar with Chapin you know that most of his songs play like short stories. This one involves a farmboy who has an affair with the mayor's daughter, who firmly opposes the relationship. It has a probably the best twist ending I've ever heard in a song. I won't go into it here, since I'd have to get into the story a bit, but if any of you would like to read the lyrics sometime let me know.

How about Harper Valley P.T.A. ??!?

l

ooooo i LIKE this thread! and it was so nice to read some of the lyrics, though i'm still curious about 3 crosses and escape - guess i'll have to look them up. the first song that came to my mind was this old jazz standard "i should care" by Nat King Cole
I Should Care
I should care, I should go around weeping
I should care, I should go without sleeping
Strangely enough, I sleep well
'cept for a dream or two
But then I count my sheep well
Funny how sheep can lull you to sleep

So I should care, I should let it upset me
I should care but it just doesn't get me
Maybe I won't find someone as lovely as you
But I should care
and I do

i don't know if that counts but i love it, regardless ciao, flo


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http://floanito.tripod.com

In the country genre, don't forget "A Boy Named Sue", and I think its called "Giddy Up Go" sang by Red ???? one thing a little boy remembered about his father's truck...ends up meeting him later in life.


Dontcha just love google

giddy up go
Red Sovine

The highways that wind and wander
Over mountains and valleys, deserts and plains,
I guess I've drove about all of them,
Because for the past 25 years the cab of a truck has been my home.
And it'd be kind of hard for me to settle down and not be on the go.

Why, I remember the first truck I drove,
I was so proud I could hardly wait to get home to show my wife and little boy.
And my little boy was so excited, like when he saw his first snow.
He wasn't old enough to say too many words,
He just kept hollering, "Giddy up, go, Daddy! Giddy up, go!"
So that's what I named the old truck: Giddy Up, Go.

Oh, things wasn't too bad;
of course, I was gone a lot
And after about six years, I got home one day
and found my wife and little boy gone.
I couldn't find out what happened. Nobody seemed to know.
So from that day on it's been me and old Giddy Up, Go.

I've made a lot of friends at all the truck stops
and some of them would kid me about my little sign.
Of course, they knew where I got the name
because I'd told them about that little boy of mine
And how his first word about the truck was "Giddy Up, Go!"

Today I was barreling down old 66
when up beside me pulled a brand-new diesel rig,
both stacks blowing black coal.
And as he pulled around and back in front of me
a big lump came in my throat
And my eyes watered like I had a bad old cold.
A little sign on the back of the truck that read Giddy Up, Go.

Well, I pushed old Giddy Up and stayed right on him
until the next truck stop where he'd pulled up.
I waited until he went in and offered to buy him a cup.
Well, we got to talking shop and I said,
"How did you come by the name on your truck, Giddy Up, Go?"
"Well," he said, "I got it from my pop."

"Dad used to drive a truck. That's what Mom talked about a lot.
You see, I lost Mom when I was just past sixteen,
and I lost all track of Pop.
Mama said he got the name from me."
I shook his hand and told him that I had something I wanted him to see.

I took him out to the old truck
and brushed off some of the dirt so the name would show,
And his eyes got big and bright as he read Giddy Up, Go.
Oh, we had a lot of things to talk about
and, buddy, I felt like a king,
And now we've just pulled back on old 66
and he handled that rig better than any gear-jammer that I'd ever seen.
Well, now the lines on the highway have got a much brighter glow,
As we go roaring down the road,
and we stare at that little sign that reads Giddy Up, Go.



[This message has been edited by John Voorpostel (edited 06-21-2003).]

Hmmm, tough question, how about David Gates's song about a Diary, The Little Girl, and hmmm... All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You. That's the best I can think of!

Wendell

count me in for David Gates "the diary" also... that was awesome!

HEy Guys,

These are great songs, and I'm happy to say that I'm familiar with both of them...It took me until the last post to think of onw myself. How about Cat's In the Cradle?



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Keep posting,
Ashleigh
www.mp3.com/Ashleigh_Wehmeyer

"If You Could See Her Through My Eyes", from the musical, "Cabaret."

The cabaret owner in Nazi-era Germany, while strolling onstage with someone in a gorilla suit, sings about the many virtues of his new love, and how people who see them together are taken aback.
Naturally, the audience thinks the public's intolerance towards the couple is because he's dating a gorilla. But the last line of the song is,

"But if they could see her through my eyes,
She wouldn't look Jewish at all!"

An ostensibly funny number that, in the end, highlighted a horrible reality of the times. Brilliant.

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www.mp3.com/crisisrocks
www.dianatyler.com

"Riding With Private Andrew Malone"... maybe that's the name... by David Ball. I don't know who wrote it but the song is brilliant. Absolutely fantastic writing.

I'm not 100% sure of the title, but there is a current country hit called either One More Time or One Last Time. On first listen, I passed it off as another love song about divorce. But when I heard it again, I was bought when I heard the line "as the pilot tried to pull out of the dive - one more time". Knowing it was taken from something that really happened, and reading the story, I was absolutely floored.

yes, that song is called ONE LAST TIME. Pretty kewl isn't it?

has anyone also just been floored by the great last line of THEN THEY DO?

Man that song is perfectly written, melodically and lyrically. THAT'S the kinda song I want to write!!!!

ONE LAST TIME and also THEN THEY DO... what artist are these by?

The country song just a few years ago...uh... "Wish You Were Here"? Is that the name? Seems like a postcard says 'wish you were here' and the guy is on vacation or something but he dies in a plane crash. What the heck am i thinking about.

As songwriters, I think we should all be "aware" of not only who the artists are singing our favorite songs, but who the WRITER'S are! I look them up on google all the time and so should you. (smile)

THEN THEY DO - Artist Trace Adkins
Writers: Jim Collins, Sunny Russ

ONE LAST TIME - Artist Dusty Drake
Writer: I believe he wrote this one

WISH YOU WERE HERE - Artist Mark Wills
Writer: Debbie Moore

Did anyone mention ALMOST HOME? wow NOW IS one great song!!!! Artist/writer Craig Morgan.... if you haven't heard it, look it up on the net it is just wonderful .. and get this.. it runs an amazing 4:38 !!!!!

so much for all songs have to be 3 minutes.. hahhaa Just depends on how good it is. (as always).


[This message has been edited by redwriter1 (edited 06-24-2003).]

How 'Saganaw, Michigan' sung by Lefty Frizzle. Bill Anderson was co-writer who put the twist ending.

Aw, c'mon guys, I can't believe nobody's mentioned the greatest surprise twist ending of all - "My Girl Bill" by Jim Stafford!! Through the whole song you think he's singing the praises of some guy named Bill (pretty gutsy for 1974, I must say!), and then at the end you find out the rest of the story!

My Girl Bill
Jim Stafford

Bill walked me to my door last night
And he said, 'Before I go...
There's something about our love affair
That I have a right to know...'
I said, 'Let's not stand out here like this
What would the neighbors think?
Why don't we just...step inside
And I'll fix us both a drink'

Chorus:
My girl, Bill
My, my, girl, Bill
Can't say enough about the way I feel
About my girl
(My girl my girl)
My girl Bill

William's hands were shaking
As he took his glass of wine
I could see we both felt the same
When his eyes met mine
I said, 'Who we love and why we love
It's hard to understand
So let's just sit here on the couch
And face this, man to man'

Chorus

Bill, you know we just left her place
And we both know what she said
She doesn't want to see your face
And she wishes you were dead
Now, I know we both love her
And I guess we always will
But you're gonna have to find another
'Cause she's my girl...Bill

My girl Bill
My, my, girl Bill
Can't say enough about the way I feel
About my girl
(My girl my girl)
Talkin' 'bout my little girl
My girl, Bill

Chorus (To fade)


I still remember the first time I heard that song I thought it was one of the most clever pieces of writing I'd ever run across!

Diane
www.mp3.com/diane