Performed by Elvis Presley, released the year after his huge "comeback" special, in the "white jumpsuit" phase of his career, one might be tempted to dismiss this song as a bit sappy. But I challenge you to find a more heartfelt, even poetic, description of generational poverty and despair. 

There is supposedly some mystery surrounding this song, but it's always been obvious to me what the song's narrator and Billie Joe McAllister were throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge that day.

There was always a line in this song that stuck with me.  "The dream has gone, but the baby is real."  I found it so incredibly sad.  And I was very surprised to hear that line many years after I first heard the song, in a film called A Taste of Honey, a British movie, based on the play of the same name, that was part of the "Kitchen Sink Realism" movement of the early 1960s. Watching it, I could easily see how the story, setting, characters and cinematography influenced Morrissey's view of the world.  It's not completely clear what is happening in this song - the imagery is somewhat abstract. But the feelings of loss and regret are tangible.

The title pretty much says it all.  And although the song ends on a somewhat happy note of resignation, you just know that things aren't going to get any easier for this family.

Loretta Lynn visited this same theme in some other songs, most notably "One's On the Way" and "The Pill", as well as singing about her daddy raising eight kids on a miner's pay in the autobiographical "Coal Miner's Daughter", so I think it's safe to say that she knows this subject matter pretty well. 

Ladies and gentlemen, you are now entering the camp portion of our program. Over-the-top teen melodrama in the tradition of Leader of the Pack and Teen Angel, this is the story of Joey and Julie. Joey gets Julie pregnant, which enrages Julie's father, who beats up Julie and comes after Joey with a gun. Julie tries to intervene, and is accidentally shot by her own father. No wonder Joey now suffers from nightmares! This song is so kitschy, it was even covered in an episode of Glee! Still, I think it speaks to the very real fear that most any teenager would feel about parents finding out about a pregnancy.

Like In the Ghetto, this song begins and ends with a birth, continuing the cycle of poverty, especially among a group of people considered as "the other" by "respectable" society. 

Update:  My brother-in-law, who knows just about every song ever written, just now told me about this one, and I have to include it. Absolutely haunting. Thanks, Bill.

Madonna at her absolute cutest. The song and video seem to send mixed messages. Some criticized it and felt that it encouraged teenage pregnancy. (If it ends happily for Madonna, it'll work out for me too!) Others were just glad she defiantly decided to "keep my baby". While I think the video is beautifully done, I wish that we could see this fictional couple five or ten years later. This perky little girl with her "Italians Do It Better" t-shirt and her Catholic school uniform, and her hunky mechanic boyfriend with the artfully-placed grease smudges. Starting out with a baby to take care of before you even finish high school and a husband with a minimum-wage job is not exactly glamorous.  To quote the song, maybe they'll be alright, with some sacrifice, but the odds are against it.  

(Note:  The clip below only contains the audio for the song, as I can't embed the original video. If you want to see that (you'll have to watch an ad first), and get a real blast from the '80s, click here.)

Some really strong imagery in this song.  "Six a.m.  Day after Christmas. Smell of cold. Car seat is freezing. The world is sleeping."  "Now that I have found someone, I'm feeling more alone, than I ever have before." And the chorus is...perfect.

Ben Folds describes the song this way:  "People ask me what this song's about... I was asked about it a lot, and I didn't really wanna make a big hairy deal out of it, because I just wanted the song to speak for itself.  But the song is about when I was in high school, me and my girlfriend had to get an abortion, and it was a very sad thing.  And, I didn't really want to write this song from any kind of political standpoint, or make a statement. I just wanted to reflect what it feels like. So, anyone who's gone through that before, then you'll know what the song's about."

In the end, I think that's probably the strongest statement of all.