Top Ten Songs About Saints - By ROA Staff

10. St. Vincent by Joe Fletcher

Keith Says: Invoking the spirit of Edna St. Vincent Millay in order to make your ex come back paints a particular image.  But then, this is a particular song about a very particular emotion... and that's what makes it great.

Brian Says: I am a huge fan of Joe Fletcher.  I love singer-songwriters.  I am a fan of clever lyrics and unique cadence in songs.  Joe Fletcher does that as well as anyone.  "When He sits down upon his knee, I'm gonna tell God how you treated me.  You're a criminal with a capital C.  I knew it from the start."  Make your own interpretation from the song.  It has "saint" in the title and it's Joe Fletcher.  That's how it made my list.


9. Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys

Brian Says: Is this song really about Santa's sleigh transformed into a hot rod?  They lyrics are pretty ridiculous and simple when just read them on paper.  How does that still hold up in 2014?  I'll tell you how - it's Brian Douglas Wilson.

Keith Says: One of the all-time "car" songs and it's not even about a car.  The Beach Boys penned a ditty so airtight that it has survived cover versions by Captain & Tennille, Sugar Ray, and even Hanson.

Misty Says: I prefer classic holiday music over Billboard charting holiday tunes.  Except The Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" because, well, THE BEACH BOYS.  Brian Wilson's genius idea to create surfer Christmas music with killer harmonies means The Beach Boys win Christmas every year.


8. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine by Bob Dylan

Keith Says: In typical Dylan fashion, we get the familiar themes of Universal wrongness and anti-establishmentarianism shrouded in heavily internalized lyrics that leave themselves open to numerous interpretations.  My interpretation recommends viewing The Green Mile immediately before listening to this particular song.

Brian Says; Did I mention I love singer-songwriters?  Bob Dylan is one of those.  You may have heard of him.  This one is on John Wesley Hardin, which was a return to acoustic roots-type music for Bobby D.  It is one of the best on the album.


7. St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) by John Parr

Misty Says: Who hasn't felt like a prisoner trying to break free?  According to every coming-of-age movie made during the Reagan era, we are all prisoners of society's expectations and our failure to meet those expectations.  With "St. Elmo's Fire," John Parr delivers an anthem of hope for surviving the 80's.

Brian Says: Remember when I told you I was a fan of singer-songwriters?  Well, with that being the case, I am not a big fan of 80's pop music.  When it was bad, it was REALLY bad.  However, sometimes your brain just can't deny cleverly crafted synth-filled goodness.  This is one of those times.  Short of the number one song on this list, I am not sure that there is more well-known "saint" song.  I'm glad it made the list, if for nothing else than the rad video.

Keith Says: Somewhere, someone is wearing a headband and training (possibly montage-style) to beat the evil preps or jocks or prep-jocks.  And this song is most certainly playing in the background.


6. St. Augustine in Hell by Sting

Keith Says: Leave it to Sting to write a pop song - a love song no less (at least, I think it's a love song) - built around a keyboard jazz riff.  In an unfriendly time signature.  About a philosopher from the Dark Ages.  With a Luciferian monologue in the middle.  And yet, it works soooo well...

Brian Says: Boo me now if you must, but I'm just not a Sting guy.  Call me uncultured if you will.  It isn't that I don't get that the man is brilliant.  I know he is, and I can listen to a song and confirm that fact.  It just isn't the type of music I prefer to listen to.  That said, after listening to this song, I told myself, "Dude, you should really listen to Sting more."  I'm going to do that, but first I think I will watch Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels again.  Baby steps.

Misty Says: Okay, so I ran out of time to construct my brilliant argument for why every music lover needs to know this song.  Allow me at least to submit an exhibit list for the defense.  Exhibit 1: Sting - at his solo career peak.  Exhibit 2: 7/8 time signature.  Exhibit 3: Vincent Price-esque soliloquy.  Exhibit 4: Theme - homicidal ideation.  Exhibit 5. That organ solo!


5. St. Stephen by The Grateful Dead

Keith Says:  When I think of The Dead, I think of jangly and loose psychedelic-folk acoustic guitars .  And those are definitely here.  I would not have called the freaky organ breakdown, but it does not come a surprise.  What does come as surprise (to great effect) is the shift that happens when an overdrive pedal gets stomped and power chords ring out.  Put that alongside some well-timed gutteral howls and "St. Stephen" is a very unique beast indeed.

Brian Says: I can take The Grateful Dead in small doses.  The ones I like, I really like, and this is one of my favorite Dead songs.  I love lyrics and "Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills / One man gathers what another man spills" are good lyrics.  The song just drives, man.  I mean you get get lost in the groove.  Wikipedia says: "The song also makes reference to the last days and the trial of the first century AD saint, Stephen, the first martyr  of the New Testament of the Bible, who was stoned to death."  Wow, man.  That's heavy.

Misty Says: While I will readily admit this is not a song to convert the non-Deadhead (the Undeadhead?), "St. Stephen" delivers the psychedelic, genre-bending sound that has made The Grateful Dead one of the most beloved bands with a fan base bordering on zealots (but in a good way).  "St. Stephen appears on Aoxomoxa, but if you are listening to the studio version then you have missed the point of The Grateful Dead.  Most Deadheads agree that the earlier live performances (1968-1970) are the best.


4. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City by Bruce Springsteen

Keith Says: The build on this song is amazing.  It begins with a simple acoustic guitar chord and a snare drum.  But just like the best Dusty Springfield tunes, they give you a feeling that something great is about to happen.  Next comes some nasty R&B vamping on the piano and it all goes up another notch.  And then we get the first line of the song and there's no turning back.  "I had skin like leather and the diamond-hard look of a cobra."  The sermon has begun; let us all say, "Amen!"

Brian Says: In 1972, Bruce Springsteen took a handful of songs to Columbia and Clive Davis.  This was one of those songs.  This is one of the songs that launched The Boss' career.  It isn't one of Springsteen's best songs, but given what this list is, and what the song represents historically, it belongs here.  Also, I'm a Springsteen fanboy (stay tuned for that).  So, if I have an opportunity to put Springsteen on a list, I'm going to do it.  If John Prine had a "saint" song, I would have lobbied for his inclusion too.  Have I mentioned I like singer-songwriters?


3. St. James Infirmary Blues by Various Artists

Brian Says of the White Stripes Version: This is a classic song.  I love depressing, and, by George, it doesn't get much more depressing than death.  I was to review the Jack White Version.  Jack White is a brilliant mad scientist.  That is all.

Misty Says of the Cab Calloway Louis Armstrong Version: I had this really cool idea that each of us take a particular version of this song to review.  I was supposed to review the Cab Calloway version.  I had trouble finding Cab's rendition on Youtube, so I clicked on Louis Armstrong's just to check it out.  GAME OVER.  Instantly, I regretted being at a computer surrounded by fluorescent light.  This song is meant for a dark, smoky room and a shot of bourbon.  Louis gives his trumpet a heart only  to break it, and each heart within earshot.

Keith Says of the Van Morrison Version: Stemming from the same cycle of folk songs as "Streets of Laredo," we get another classic tale of dying too young.  In some versions, it's due to a life of gambling and drinking; others paint a less dignified picture.  "St. James Infirmary Blues" has been covered by everybody from Josh White to Jack White.  But for my money, it's almost impossible to beat Van Morrison when he sinks his teeth into something he likes.


2. St. Cajetan by Cracker

Misty Says: I confess.  I have a crush on David Lowery.  But it is Johnny Hickman's red hot love affair with his Les Paul in the opening minute and a half of "St. Cajetan" that creates the very thirst David laments within the lyrics.  Cracker then sends our parched musical palette into a slow, cool, thirst-quenching groove, thereby satisfying the need they themselves created.

Brian Says: This song begins with a great acoustic riff, some sweet leads on an electric, and a subtle hi-hat.  Then, with a cool drink of water, Cracker punches you in the face.  When this happens, I dare you not to bob your head forward with just a touch of aggression.  I love this song.  There is nothing musically superior about it, but it is simple, raw, dirty, and mean.  It is my favorite song on the list.  Also, Keith once texted me "this room is hot and all I want is a cool drink of water."  I was listening to this song.  I swear to you, it was creepy.

Keith Says:  What do you get when you filter the blues through Cracker's unique punk rock / alt. country aesthetic?  Pure bliss, that's what.


1. When the Saints Go Marching In by Various Artists (but, c'mon, we all know we're talking about the Louis Armstrong version)

Brian Says: I am  pretty sure there isn't anything that can be said about this song that hasn't been said before.  I had this really funny joke about how this used to be the theme song for Family Matters before they switched it to that godawful one.  Then I realized I was confused.  It was Louis Armstrong, but it was "What a Wonderful World."  Ah, hell, I'm going with it.  So, what DID happen to the youngest daughter?  I mean she just disappears, and NO one seems to discuss it.  I had to google what happened to her.  I had to know what she is doing now.  Do yourself a favor and do the same.  Ahhh, those wacky child actors.  (Note: This wasn't the original joke, but after I googled her, the joke changed."

Keith Says: My favorite memory of New Orleans is wandering the streets of the French Quarter and perpetually coming across a brass band blaring this song.  It never got old because this is one of those songs that reaches deep into our souls and finds that shiny magic spot.  It is a NOLA tradition to play "The Saints" as a slow dirge on the way to a burial, and then play it as a triumphant swing number on the way back from the funeral.  I can't imagine a better way to go.

Misty Says: "When the Saints..." not only makes our countdown, but it holds the number one spot because it is the quintessential Gospel song.  Gospel music, at least as I define the genre, ignites the spirit within and every rendition of the song I ever experience lifts my spirit, quells my uncertainties and sparks my joy.  From the foot-stomping Holiness church of my youth to the local dive bar stage, and everywhere in-between (including, of course, the streets of New Orleans), this song always sets my hands to clappin' and my hips to shakin'.

It Has to Start with Chuck Berry

It has to start with Chuck Berry.  There are no two ways about it.  Chuck Berry is the nexus, the convergence of all the music that came before him - blues, R&B, jazz, country, folk and even bluegrass.  He is the epicenter and the inspriation of soooo many musical ideas that followed.

First off, there's the sound.  Granted, there had been melodic guitar lines before in the blues and in country, but the guitar riff was officially born in 1955 when slender fingers danced across the neck of a Gibson ES and pounded out the opening notes of Maybellene.  After that, he turned it into an art form.  It can be easy to forget how different Chuck Berry sounded than anyone else, because so many guitarists sound like Chuck Berry in his aftermath.  He wrote in odd keys.  He took the established blues progression and shifted it slightly, yet definitively.  And his songs still hold up.  I cringe every time I hear Rock around the Clock because it has not stood the test of time well.  I, however, will still get up and dance (or at least boogie in my seat) whenever I hear Roll Over Beethoven. 

And then, there are the lyrics.  The man always has a story to tell, and usually in a very folksy sort of way.  Just listen to the what's going on in the song Memphis, Tennessee.  Tutti Fruitti, it ain't.  There are also usually a whole lot of syllables jammed in to boot.  They always just flow out, but if you stop and count them, there are a LOT of sounds coming at you.  Promised Land is a great example.

And then, there is the showmanship.  Chuck Berry introduced the world to the idea of a "signature move."  His onstage antics drove co-headliner Jerry Lee Lewis to set his piano on fire.  A decade later, they led Jimi Hendrix to set his guitar on fire like a sacrificial lamb and pray to the gods of rock and roll.  To put it briefly, the world has never been the same since Chuck Berry first duck-walked across the stage during a solo, and we're all better off for it.  Of course, that spectacle isn't just limited to the live show.  You can hear it on the record.  There is a genuine swagger in the sound of Nadine.

Chuck Berry is the event horizon for modern popular music.  Chuck Berry is the alma mater.  It has to start with Chuck Berry.