Music can address societal issues in different ways. Sometimes a song will tackle a big issue head on. But more often than not, issues are addressed through personal stories or observations. One important societal issue that occasionally appears in popular song is the problem that so many of our fellow humans live without a home. Below are some examples of some songs that address homelessness to varying degrees.
In 2011, singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran released ‘The A Team’ as the lead single of his first album +
“Ain’t Got No Home” is a folk song that was made popular by Woody Guthrie: “Just a wandrin’ worker, I go from town to town. / And the police make it hard wherever I may go / And I ain’t got no home in this world anymore.”
Among others, Rosanne Cash has also performed “I Ain’t Got No Home”.
Greg Trooper’s “They Call Me Hank” is about a homeless man named Bill. The song appeared on Trooper’s album Upside-Down Town
Here Trooper performs the song at Music City Roots live from the Loveless Cafe in June 2014.
One of the more famous songs about homelessness is “Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins. The song appeared on his 1989 hit album But Seriously
Collins asks us to think twice about living another day in paradise, but a lot of critics thought that the song seemed disingenuous coming from someone as rich as Collins.
The great songwriter Guy Clark recorded a song called “Homeless.” The song appears on Clark’s 2006 album The Dark
Like several other songs by Clark, he talks us through much of the story with a memorable chorus.
Finally, another famous song that is about a homeless person is the Christmas song “Pretty Paper,” which was a hit in an excellent recording by Roy Orbison. The song about a person who in the midst of holiday shopping sees a homeless person was written by a young songwriter who would later go on to have a pretty successful career himself.
So here is that songwriter, Willie Nelson, singing his version of the song he wrote.
Other songs with homelessness themes include Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung,” Ralph McTell’s “Streets of London,” and “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” by Crystal Waters.
Music, of course, cannot solve problems but it can help educate us. More than 60,000 people sleep in homeless shelters each night in New York City alone. Homelessness continues to be a problem across the U.S., and in particular, the number of homeless LGBT youth on the streets continues to rise due to a lack of support for them.
A number of organizations around the country work to help the homeless, and this website lists a number of ways that you can help the homeless (besides writing a song).
What other songs are there about homelessness? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
you missed TVZ’s Marie
Thanks for the addition. Townes Van Zandt’s “Marie” certainly is one of the saddest songs ever written. “Summer wasn’t bad below the bridge / A little short on food that’s all;/ Now I gotta get Marie some kind of coat;/ We’re headed down into fall.”
Steve Earle included a good version of the song on his “Townes” tribute album, and Willie Nelson covers it on the “Poet” tribute collection. Here is the link for Townes performing “Marie”: