My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb/ And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them

In my fiction writing workshop the other week, our professor passed around lyric sheets to three songs -- Patsy Cline's "He Called Me Baby, Baby"; Harry Chapin's "Taxi"; and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." All three are told with a first-person narrator.

One idea behind this lesson is that each of these songs tells a story. When you add the musical component, each song creates a mood. Imagine your character feeling the way that you do about a song -- any song -- and put that character's feelings onto the page. Lyrically, the Patsy Cline and Harry Chapin songs seem to spin a specific and familiar tale, of loves lost and loves unrequited. The Gnarls Barkley song refers to ambition and self-awareness. These are nebulous subjects, which are difficult for a character -- and an audience -- to work through.

I remember when/ I remember, I remember when I lost my mind/ There was something so pleasant about that phase/ Even your emotions had an echo in so much space/ And when you're out there/ Without care/ Yeah, I was out of touch, but it wasn't because I didn't know enough/ I just knew too much/ Does that make me crazy?

I think "Crazy" is a genuine classic. When this song came out, it was all over the radio in a way that I remember thinking was different from most hit songs. Rock stations, hip-hop stations, NPR. "Crazy" was everywhere. I remember thinking, I am going to be hearing this song for the rest of my life. I am surprised to read online (thanks, WikiPedia) that it came out in 2006 -- over five years ago. By and large, I think it has aged well.

"Crazy", like OutKast's "Hey Ya!" -- a smash hit of similar scope -- has made a smooth transition to the stage of You can play this at the wedding reception and even the old people might dance. It also lends itself well to covers and re-interpretation. Here are a couple of solid tributes by Cat Power, performing Gnarls Barkley with the Memphis Rhythm Band in Germany, and Shawn Colvin, live from somewhere, opening her show with it.

Cat Power "Crazy (Live in Berlin, 6.11.2006)"
Shawn Colvin "Crazy (Live)"
Gnarls Barkley "Crazy"
Old School "You're Crazy, Man"

I'd smoked my brain the night before/ On cigarettes and songs I'd been pickin'/ But I lit my first and watched a small kid/ Cussin' at a can that he was kickin'

R.I.P., John R. "Johnny" Cash. (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003). Here are a few favorites from the Man in Black.

Johnny Cash "Ain't No Grave"
Johnny Cash "Danny Boy"
Johnny Cash "Drive On"
Johnny Cash "I Hung My Head"
Johnny Cash "Sunday Morning Coming Down (Live in Amsterdam, 2.26.1972)"
Johnny Cash with Fiona Apple "Father and Son (Cat Stevens cover)"
Johnny Cash with Bob Dylan "Girl from the North Country"
Johnny Cash with Bob Dylan "I Walk the Line"
Johnny Cash with Willie Nelson "I Still Miss Someone"
Johnny Cash with Willie Nelson "Unchained"
Johnny Cash with Joe Strummer "Redemption Song (Bob Marley cover)"
Johnny Cash with U2 "The Wanderer"