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The storiefiEHlNDhe songs
BY MACON MOREHOUSE
THEY ARE SOME of the most intriguing
“mystery” songs of our times: A young
man who has no money but lots of love
prepares to become a dad for the first
time. A fan of a rapper turns into a stalker. A
horse breaks out of its stall, a girl chases it, and
both are lost forever.
Each song’s “mystery” is locked in lyrics that
remain ambiguous, leaving listeners with the clear
question: Is this based on reality?
USA WEEKEND Magazine tracked down the an
swers. Here are the real stories behind five classic
“mystery” songs:
Danny’s Song by Kenny Loggins (i 972)
The mystery: About to become a father, the narrator is
blissful but poor. Was the impending child real? And what
happened to him?
The real Story: Loggins wrote Danny's Song about his
older brother, Danny, who had fallen in love. “He was hav
ing a baby, and he wrote me a letter
about it,” says Loggins, who’s latest
a ' DUm ' s About Now. “It was
Ktghf probably the happiest time
ln A lot of the lines
in taken
Colin, is now grown, lives in New E ng
land and has a CD coming out this fall.
Danny, who went on to become a successful record com
pany exec, is retired now.
Stan by Eminem (2000)
The mystery: A crazed fan “stalks”
the singer with increasingly angry
letters, then dies in a car crash. Was
Stan real? Or is he a composite of
many Eminem fans?
The real story: Eminem has said
that Stan is fictional, but the song is
inspired by real fans who have rattled
him with their devotion. “People try
12
USA WEEKEND • Sept. 14-16,2007
Me and Bobby McGee by Kris Kristofferson (1970)
Thß mystery: Is Bobby a woman, a
man or a guitar?
The real story: Sine , the song cre
ated a stir in the early 19705, Bobby
has been rumored to be a woman
(she was, in Kristofferson’s version),
a man (yep, in Jams Joplin’s version)
and, according to some speculation, a
guitar. Definitely not that last one,
co-writer Fred Foster says. The real
Bobby McGee was Barbara McKee,
Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks (1974)
The mystery: Jacks sings about his pending death. Did
he die in real life?
had gotten bad news. “He was get- f
ting bad headaches, and he said that 1
he had leukemia,” Jacks says. “He died
four months later.”
ing to kiss my hand, dudes crying,” he
once explained to a reporter. The song,
says Rolling Stone contributing editor '
Christian Hoard, turned Eminem into
a major artist “It is the ultimate exam- 1
pie of a song you can’t not pay attention
to,” Hoard says. “It shows that Eminem
really understands his fan base: angsty
disaffected teenagers like
Stan but who aren’t that
messed up.”
The real story: Jacks is alive and
well. The original song, Le Mori
bund by Flench singer Jacques Brel,
was about a man who was dying
from a broken heart. Jacks was in
spired to record an English version
far more heart-breaking
after playing golf
with one of his
best friends, who jfl
lACKS
a woman who worked in an office
below' Fbster. After he visited her
office four times on business, some
one cracked that Fbster was going
there to see McKee, whose nick
name was Bobbie. “Oh,” he joked
back, “have you heard about me
and Bobbie McKee?” As soon as he
said it, Foster says, he knew he had
something. “It had the rhyme in it,”
the songwriter says. “That struck
a chord in me.”
ffe 1
Wildfire
by Michael Martin Murphey (1975)
The mystery: A winter
storm leads to the death
of a horse and a girl.
Were they real? Is the
narrator haunted by
their ghosts?
The real story: This
classic has enjoyed a
rebirth, thanks to recent
exposure on The Late
Show with David Letter
man. Murphey’s grand-
father told him stories)
■P about a ghost mustang;
that jumped off a cliff to)
avoid being captured. The song-1
writer later had a dream about a j
ghost horse, leading to inspire-j
tion. “I woke up at 3 am.,” says !
L Murphey, whose new album, |
E? HeaHland Cowboy , includes)
two new versions of the song.;
“I was in a sleeping bag on'
the floor. I started writing it I
■1 down on a yellow pad.” These;
days, the songwriter keeps;
(j a pad by his bed to jot down [
his dreams. C 3
ll
Is
MURPHEY
KWSTOf rERSON. LOGGINS: MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVE S/GETTY IMAGES: EMINEM: KEVIN MAZUR. WIRE IMAGE.