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These songs will lead you through a story, fit with characters, a whole new world, and new emotions that listeners can immerse themselves in.

Not all stories are books. They come in different forms of art, whether it be through pages, through paint, or through music. Each story is set to catchy tunes, and whichever world, time, or experience you’re transported into, this wondrous playlist will accompany you through your journeys.

Places We Won’t Walk – Bruno Major

This emotional song carefully crafts two alternate universes within the song. One world with nostalgia and memory and the other with a melancholy and bittersweet touch. Altogether, the raw and emotional storytelling accompanied with its beautiful melody leaves the listener a glimpse of a nostalgic life.

Soldier, Poet, King – The Oh Hellos

Soldiers, poets, and kings. What more could you want in a fantasy world? With its jovial beat, you feel like you’ve jumped right into a medieval world, making you feel like a valiant knight, a clever poet, or a majestic king. If the Renaissance was one of your favorite time periods, you can relive its ambiance with this song.

En El Muelle de San Blas– Maná

Music in another language is enchanting, as it reveals the lifestyles of other cultures. With its wistful lyrics of longing and hope, this song tells a beautiful but tragic story of a woman patiently waiting for her love to come back from war. 

A Boy Named Sue – Johnny Cash

This old-timey song is a classic ballad that encompasses a story of a detestation of someone’s name, but later learns why he was named it. With western saloon type music that perfectly entwined with the lyrics, the song takes the listener through a journey of anger, to awareness, to appreciation.

no body, no crime (feat. HAIM) – Taylor Swift

A murder mystery set to music, this song takes you through a journey of murder, mystery, and a “whodunnit” feel. The mystery progresses throughout the song, each lyric revealing more and more clues for listeners to solve, and soon they’ll realize the plot twist.

American Pie – Don Mclean

This classic folk/rock ballad illustrates events of history in a chronicle-storytelling and lyrical way. The song’s cryptic style leaves its lyrics up to interpretation, a choice not commonly found in ballads. The lyrics weave many genres of music together as well as sprinkling in many pop-culture references, fitting for a storybook.

If I Killed Someone For You – Alec Benjamin

What lengths would you go to for someone you love? Would you sacrifice life for your love? The verses take you on a journey of death and killing, leaving listeners shocked. But as soon as the bridge arrives, the whole plot changes, becoming the epitome of a plot twist. Its captivating lyrics and melodic tune gets listeners hooked onto the story line.

Lemon Boy – Cavetown

With an acoustic and lo-fi beat, this sets up the story for listeners. Immediately, the lyrics take you into a world of friends and sweetness. Lemon Boy takes you through the story of meeting new friends and the feelings of sweetness, sourness, and bittersweetness that progress throughout the story with its raw lyrical lines and soft musical tones.

Story – NF

Immediately, you’re transported into a detailing of a story with NF’s rapid narrative lyrics. The key change manages to slow the flow of the song whilst heightening the tension in the story. This song makes listeners feel like they’re inside a movie, with its realistic elements of sound and creative storytelling.

Partners in Crime – Set It Off, Ash Costello

This catchy tune tells of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style story of two lovers embarking on journeys of crime together. The crescendo of the music heightens the buildup and tension of the story, alongside realistic sound effects. All these together weave and create the perfect heist story, making you root for the robbers.