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* Music/PetShopBoys: their 2024 single "Dancing Star" tells the life of Rudolf Nureyev. The music video consists mostly of archival film of the renowned danseur.
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** In 2020, Dylan released "Murder Most Foul", his longest song clocking in at 16:56, about the assassination of John F Kennedy.
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* "Uncommon Valor" by Music/JediMindTricks has a guest verse by R.A. The Rugged Man, who tells the true story of his own father who [[TheVietnamVet fought in Vietnam]] and came back poisoned by Agent Orange that caused birth defects for his children.
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* Music/LeftAtLondon's "The Ballad Of Marion Zioncheck," about a Washington senator from the 1930s who was institutionalized for mental health problems, then committed suicide shortly after he was released.
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* Music/LeftAtLondon's "The Ballad Of Marion Zioncheck," about a leftist Washington senator from the 1930s who was institutionalized for mental health problems, then committed suicide shortly after he was released. The song calls into question how the perception of mental illness has evolved overtime.
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* Music/LeftAtLondon's "The Ballad Of Marion Zioncheck," about a Washington senator from the 1930s who was institutionalized for mental health problems, then committed suicide shortly after he was released.
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* Music/{{Klaatu}} did "Sub-Rosa Subway", about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Ely_Beach Alfred Ely Beach]] and his failed attempt to build a subway in [[BigApplesauce New York]] in 1870, 34 years before the city formally built and opened its subway system.
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** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janousek Karel Janoušek]] ("Far from the Fame").
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** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni org/wiki/Lauri_Torni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janousek Karel Janoušek]] ("Far from the Fame").
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** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janou%C5%A1ek Karel Janoušek]] ("Far from the Fame").
to:
** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janou%C5%A1ek org/wiki/Karel_Janousek Karel Janoušek]] ("Far from the Fame").
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link still didn't work but fortunately Wikipedia has a redirect
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** ''The War to End All Wars'' has more songs about World War One figures, including UsefulNotes/FranzFerdinandOfAustria ("Sarajevo"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart Adrian Carton de Wiart]] ("The Unkillable Soldier"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium Albert I of Belgium]] ("Race to the Sea"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87 Milunka Savić]] ("Lady of the Dark").
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** ''The War to End All Wars'' has more songs about World War One figures, including UsefulNotes/FranzFerdinandOfAustria ("Sarajevo"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart Adrian Carton de Wiart]] ("The Unkillable Soldier"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium Albert I of Belgium]] ("Race to the Sea"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87 org/wiki/Milunka_Savic Milunka Savić]] ("Lady of the Dark").
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trying to fix unicode characters and a link, hope this works
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** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janou%C5%A1ek Karel Janou?ek]] ("Far from the Fame").
to:
** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janou%C5%A1ek Karel Janou?ek]] Janoušek]] ("Far from the Fame").
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** ''The War to End All Wars'' has more songs about World War One figures, including UsefulNotes/FranzFerdinandOfAustria ("Sarajevo"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart Adrian Carton de Wiart]] ("The Unkillable Soldier"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium Albert I of Belgium]] ("Race to the Sea"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87 Milunka Savi?]] ("Lady of the Dark").
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** ''The War to End All Wars'' has more songs about World War One figures, including UsefulNotes/FranzFerdinandOfAustria ("Sarajevo"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart Adrian Carton de Wiart]] ("The Unkillable Soldier"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium Albert I of Belgium]] ("Race to the Sea"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87 Milunka Savi?]] Savić]] ("Lady of the Dark").
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* Music/JoyElectric's "Nikola Tesla" is a tribute to the Serbian-American electrical genius and inventor. The lyrics include a quick overview of his inventions, then laments how he was "penniless at death, yet ignored" and has since fallen into obscurity compared to his contemporaries.
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** “[[Music/{{Nanobots}} Tesla]]” lists several of the notable inventions of UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla, along with a brief sketch of his life and death.
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The person may be a BadAss, a villain, or neither; sometimes the song is to memorialize an important or tragic event that happened to them, for [[ProtestSong activist purposes]]; often, the songwriter just thinks the person's life makes for a good story and an interesting song.
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The person may be a BadAss, {{Badass}}, a villain, or neither; sometimes the song is to memorialize an important or tragic event that happened to them, for [[ProtestSong activist purposes]]; often, the songwriter just thinks the person's life makes for a good story and an interesting song.
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Usually has a CharacterTitle. Subtrope (of sorts) of OneManSong or OneWomanSong, as the case may be. May overlap with HorribleHistoryMetal.
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Usually has a CharacterTitle. Subtrope (of sorts) of OneManSong or OneWomanSong, as the case may be. May overlap with HorribleHistoryMetal.
HorribleHistoryMetal and MurderBallad.
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* "Music/StaggerLee" is an American [[MurderBallad folk song]] {{very loosely based|OnATrueStory}} on the life of "Stag" Lee Sheldon, infamous for shooting William "Billy" Lyons to death in 1895. DependingOnTheArtist, how the murder is portrayed can be subject to any amount of AlternateCharacterInterpretation.
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* Music/BobDylan: "[[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll]]": One of the activist variety, it recounts the story of a poor black woman who was killed by a wealthy white man, and the [[KarmaHoudini light punishment]] he received for it.
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* Music/BobDylan: Music/BobDylan's "[[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll]]": One of the activist variety, it recounts the story of a poor black woman who was killed by a wealthy white man, and the [[KarmaHoudini light punishment]] he received for it.
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** Amazingly, they did it again: "Ma Baker" [sic] is loosely based on the life of crime matriarch [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Barker Kate "Ma" Barker]].
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** Amazingly, they did it again: "Ma Baker" [sic] is loosely based on the life of (alleged) crime matriarch [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Barker Kate "Ma" Barker]].
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* Music/BillyJoel's "Ballad of Billy the Kid" details Billy's rise to infamy, his crimes throughout the American west, and his eventual death at the hands of a judge. Joel then compares himself to the outlaw in the final verse.
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* Music/BillyJoel's "Ballad of Billy the Kid" details Billy's rise to infamy, his crimes throughout the American west, West, and his eventual death at the hands of a judge. Joel then compares himself to the outlaw in the final verse.
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** Averted in "[[Music/TheElse The Mesopotamians]]": although it's sung from the point of view of the the historical figures Sargon, Hammurabi, and Ashurbanipal (as well as [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]], who may or may not be mythical), the song has nothing to do with their real biographies.
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** Averted in "[[Music/TheElse The Mesopotamians]]": although it's sung from the point of view of the the historical figures Sargon, Hammurabi, and Ashurbanipal (as well as [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]], who may or may not be mythical), the song has nothing to do with their real biographies.biographies.
----
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** Dylan also recorded "[[Music/{{Desire}} Hurricane]]" about the racially motivated conviction of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.]]
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* Music/BobDylan: "[[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll]]": one of the activist variety, it recounts the story of a poor black woman who was killed by a wealthy white man, and the [[KarmaHoudini light punishment]] he received for it.
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* Music/BobDylan: "[[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll]]": one One of the activist variety, it recounts the story of a poor black woman who was killed by a wealthy white man, and the [[KarmaHoudini light punishment]] he received for it.
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** "[[Music/FactoryShowroom James K. Polk]]" is a much more encyclopedic and factual rendition of the political emergence, policies, and deeds of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk 11th president]].
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** "[[Music/FactoryShowroom James K. Polk]]" is a much more encyclopedic and factual rendition of the political emergence, policies, and deeds of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk 11th president]].president]].
** Averted in "[[Music/TheElse The Mesopotamians]]": although it's sung from the point of view of the the historical figures Sargon, Hammurabi, and Ashurbanipal (as well as [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]], who may or may not be mythical), the song has nothing to do with their real biographies.
** Averted in "[[Music/TheElse The Mesopotamians]]": although it's sung from the point of view of the the historical figures Sargon, Hammurabi, and Ashurbanipal (as well as [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]], who may or may not be mythical), the song has nothing to do with their real biographies.
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** "Rasputin" somehow mythologizes the life of an [[UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin infamous Russian mystic]] into an absolute disco banger.
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** "Rasputin" somehow mythologizes the life of an [[UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin infamous Russian mystic]] into an absolute a legendary disco banger.
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Created from YKTTW
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This is a song that recounts events in the life of a named [[HistoricalDomainCharacter historical individual]].
This isn't exactly an EducationalSong as such, in the sense that it's not done with the main purpose of inculcating children or others with facts, so it isn't by an act that mostly does educational music. Instead, this is where an act that performs songs about a variety of themes decides to dip into biography as the subject of one particular song.
The person may be a BadAss, a villain, or neither; sometimes the song is to memorialize an important or tragic event that happened to them, for [[ProtestSong activist purposes]]; often, the songwriter just thinks the person's life makes for a good story and an interesting song.
Accordingly, the accuracy can range from ShownTheirWork to ArtisticLicenseHistory to VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. Note, though, that the song must actually [[BasedOnATrueStory make some attempt to recount their life.]] A song that merely refers to a historical person--e.g. [[Music/GenghisKhan2016 a song named after a historical warlord where the name of the warlord is simply being used as a metaphor for jealousy]]--doesn't count.
Usually has a CharacterTitle. Subtrope (of sorts) of OneManSong or OneWomanSong, as the case may be. May overlap with HorribleHistoryMetal.
!!Examples:
* Music/BobDylan: "[[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll]]": one of the activist variety, it recounts the story of a poor black woman who was killed by a wealthy white man, and the [[KarmaHoudini light punishment]] he received for it.
* Music/BoneyM:
** "Rasputin" somehow mythologizes the life of an [[UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin infamous Russian mystic]] into an absolute disco banger.
** Amazingly, they did it again: "Ma Baker" [sic] is loosely based on the life of crime matriarch [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Barker Kate "Ma" Barker]].
* Music/GreatBigSea has "Captain Kidd" which covers the life of the famous pirate from a first-person perspective. He talks about his crimes, his RedemptionRejection, and his death. It ends by telling the audience to "shun bad company" so they don't end up like him.
* Music/JohnnyHorton: a number of his songs on historical themes were biographical, including:
** "Jim Bridger," about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bridger 19th-century mountain man and explorer]];
** "Comanche," about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche_(horse) only U.S. Army survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn]] (who happened to be a horse).
* Music/BillyJoel's "Ballad of Billy the Kid" details Billy's rise to infamy, his crimes throughout the American west, and his eventual death at the hands of a judge. Joel then compares himself to the outlaw in the final verse.
* Music/JoyDivision's "Warsaw" is a first-person account of the rise and fall of Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer of the Nazi Party. The song chronicles Hess' life from his involvement with the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 to his imprisonment by the British authorities after fleeing to Scotland in 1941.
* Creator/LinManuelMiranda originally performed "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0aX8Jy1tME Alexander Hamilton]]", a Hip-Hop song about the [[UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton United States Founding Father on the $10 bill]] growing up a destitute orphan in the Caribbean before immigrating to New York, told from the point of view of his repentant killer Aaron Burr, as a solo piece at the White House in 2009. This later became the opening song of ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' in 2015.
* Music/MartyRobbins: "Billy the Kid", the only cut from his ''Music/GunfighterBalladsAndTrailSongs'' album about an actual person, tells the true story of the notorious gunfighter who killed 21 men, with his first at the age of 12, then finally being shot himself by his former friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett.
* Music/StanRogers: "[=MacDonnell=] on the Heights" [sic] is about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Macdonell Lt. Col. John Macdonell]] and how his heroic death in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 was [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold overshadowed]] by that of General Brock shortly before.
* Music/{{Sabaton}}:
** ''Carolus Rex'' is about the lives of [[UsefulNotes/NotableSwedishMonarchs Swedish rulers]] Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII (the eponymous Carolus Rex). It primarily focuses on Charles' absolutism, participation in UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar, and his death on campaign.
** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janou%C5%A1ek Karel Janou?ek]] ("Far from the Fame").
** ''The Great War'' has numerous songs dedicated to prominent soldiers of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne and the roles they played during the war, including UsefulNotes/TELawrence ("Seven Pillars of Wisdom"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York Alvin York]] ("82nd All the Way"), RedBaron [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen Manfred von Richtofen]] ("The Red Baron"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Pegahmagabow Francis Pegahmagabow]] ("A Ghost in the Trenches").
** ''The War to End All Wars'' has more songs about World War One figures, including UsefulNotes/FranzFerdinandOfAustria ("Sarajevo"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart Adrian Carton de Wiart]] ("The Unkillable Soldier"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium Albert I of Belgium]] ("Race to the Sea"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87 Milunka Savi?]] ("Lady of the Dark").
** "White Death" (on ''Coat of Arms'') is about Simo Häyhä, the deadliest sniper in recorded military history, who killed over 500 Soviet soldiers during the [[UsefulNotes/FinnsWithFearsomeForests Winter War]]. "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The White Death]]" was the nickname given to him by the Soviet forces.
* Music/ASoundOfThunder: "Tomyris" is a HorribleHistoryMetal song recounting the life and conquests of this [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomyris 6th-century-BCE queen of the Massagetae]].
* Music/TheyMightBeGiants is [[MemeticMutation known for this trope out of proportion to how often they've actually deployed it]], but that has included the following:
** "[[Music/JohnHenry Meet James Ensor]]" is a poetic (and quite vague) retelling of the passage through fame and obscurity of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ensor Belgian artist of that name]].
** "[[Music/FactoryShowroom James K. Polk]]" is a much more encyclopedic and factual rendition of the political emergence, policies, and deeds of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk 11th president]].
This isn't exactly an EducationalSong as such, in the sense that it's not done with the main purpose of inculcating children or others with facts, so it isn't by an act that mostly does educational music. Instead, this is where an act that performs songs about a variety of themes decides to dip into biography as the subject of one particular song.
The person may be a BadAss, a villain, or neither; sometimes the song is to memorialize an important or tragic event that happened to them, for [[ProtestSong activist purposes]]; often, the songwriter just thinks the person's life makes for a good story and an interesting song.
Accordingly, the accuracy can range from ShownTheirWork to ArtisticLicenseHistory to VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory. Note, though, that the song must actually [[BasedOnATrueStory make some attempt to recount their life.]] A song that merely refers to a historical person--e.g. [[Music/GenghisKhan2016 a song named after a historical warlord where the name of the warlord is simply being used as a metaphor for jealousy]]--doesn't count.
Usually has a CharacterTitle. Subtrope (of sorts) of OneManSong or OneWomanSong, as the case may be. May overlap with HorribleHistoryMetal.
!!Examples:
* Music/BobDylan: "[[Music/TheTimesTheyAreAChangin The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll]]": one of the activist variety, it recounts the story of a poor black woman who was killed by a wealthy white man, and the [[KarmaHoudini light punishment]] he received for it.
* Music/BoneyM:
** "Rasputin" somehow mythologizes the life of an [[UsefulNotes/GrigoriRasputin infamous Russian mystic]] into an absolute disco banger.
** Amazingly, they did it again: "Ma Baker" [sic] is loosely based on the life of crime matriarch [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Barker Kate "Ma" Barker]].
* Music/GreatBigSea has "Captain Kidd" which covers the life of the famous pirate from a first-person perspective. He talks about his crimes, his RedemptionRejection, and his death. It ends by telling the audience to "shun bad company" so they don't end up like him.
* Music/JohnnyHorton: a number of his songs on historical themes were biographical, including:
** "Jim Bridger," about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Bridger 19th-century mountain man and explorer]];
** "Comanche," about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche_(horse) only U.S. Army survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn]] (who happened to be a horse).
* Music/BillyJoel's "Ballad of Billy the Kid" details Billy's rise to infamy, his crimes throughout the American west, and his eventual death at the hands of a judge. Joel then compares himself to the outlaw in the final verse.
* Music/JoyDivision's "Warsaw" is a first-person account of the rise and fall of Rudolf Hess, Deputy Führer of the Nazi Party. The song chronicles Hess' life from his involvement with the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 to his imprisonment by the British authorities after fleeing to Scotland in 1941.
* Creator/LinManuelMiranda originally performed "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0aX8Jy1tME Alexander Hamilton]]", a Hip-Hop song about the [[UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton United States Founding Father on the $10 bill]] growing up a destitute orphan in the Caribbean before immigrating to New York, told from the point of view of his repentant killer Aaron Burr, as a solo piece at the White House in 2009. This later became the opening song of ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' in 2015.
* Music/MartyRobbins: "Billy the Kid", the only cut from his ''Music/GunfighterBalladsAndTrailSongs'' album about an actual person, tells the true story of the notorious gunfighter who killed 21 men, with his first at the age of 12, then finally being shot himself by his former friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett.
* Music/StanRogers: "[=MacDonnell=] on the Heights" [sic] is about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Macdonell Lt. Col. John Macdonell]] and how his heroic death in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 was [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold overshadowed]] by that of General Brock shortly before.
* Music/{{Sabaton}}:
** ''Carolus Rex'' is about the lives of [[UsefulNotes/NotableSwedishMonarchs Swedish rulers]] Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII (the eponymous Carolus Rex). It primarily focuses on Charles' absolutism, participation in UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar, and his death on campaign.
** ''Heroes'' is full of biographical songs, including Creator/AudieMurphy ("To Hell and Back"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Pilecki Witold Pilecki]] ("Inmate 4859"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_Allen_(soldier) Bull Allen]] ("The Ballad of Bull"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni Lauri Törni]] ("Soldier of Three Armies"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Janou%C5%A1ek Karel Janou?ek]] ("Far from the Fame").
** ''The Great War'' has numerous songs dedicated to prominent soldiers of UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne and the roles they played during the war, including UsefulNotes/TELawrence ("Seven Pillars of Wisdom"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_York Alvin York]] ("82nd All the Way"), RedBaron [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen Manfred von Richtofen]] ("The Red Baron"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Pegahmagabow Francis Pegahmagabow]] ("A Ghost in the Trenches").
** ''The War to End All Wars'' has more songs about World War One figures, including UsefulNotes/FranzFerdinandOfAustria ("Sarajevo"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart Adrian Carton de Wiart]] ("The Unkillable Soldier"), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_I_of_Belgium Albert I of Belgium]] ("Race to the Sea"), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milunka_Savi%C4%87 Milunka Savi?]] ("Lady of the Dark").
** "White Death" (on ''Coat of Arms'') is about Simo Häyhä, the deadliest sniper in recorded military history, who killed over 500 Soviet soldiers during the [[UsefulNotes/FinnsWithFearsomeForests Winter War]]. "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The White Death]]" was the nickname given to him by the Soviet forces.
* Music/ASoundOfThunder: "Tomyris" is a HorribleHistoryMetal song recounting the life and conquests of this [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomyris 6th-century-BCE queen of the Massagetae]].
* Music/TheyMightBeGiants is [[MemeticMutation known for this trope out of proportion to how often they've actually deployed it]], but that has included the following:
** "[[Music/JohnHenry Meet James Ensor]]" is a poetic (and quite vague) retelling of the passage through fame and obscurity of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ensor Belgian artist of that name]].
** "[[Music/FactoryShowroom James K. Polk]]" is a much more encyclopedic and factual rendition of the political emergence, policies, and deeds of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk 11th president]].
