THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

242-Shel Silverstein-25 Minutes to Go.

1962-It has never been released as a single in the UK.

Best Bit-At 0.20. If your looking for a happy ending I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong song.

Shel Silverstein was born Sheldon Allan Silverstein on September 25th, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, United States, he died on May 10th, 1999, of a heart attack at the age of 68. Shel Silverstein had many strings to his bow, including being a celebrated songwriter, author, cartoonist, poet, and playwright. Possibly because of his success in other fields, his songwriting talent may have gone under the radar to a point. Shel Silverstein was a prolific writer for theatre, film. and television. In January 1959, ‘Look, Charlie: A Short History of the Pratfall,’ was a off-Broadway comedy staged by Silverstein and others, he would go on to write more than 100 one-act plays. As a children’s author, some of his most acclaimed works include ‘The Giving Tree,’ (1964) ‘Where the Sidewalk Ends,’ (1974) and ‘A Light in the Attic’ (1981.) His works have been translated into more than 47 languages and have sold more than 20 million copies. In 1949 Silverstein was drafted into the United States Army, where he served in Japan and Korea until 1955. In 1957, he became one of the leading cartoonists in the American men’s entertainment magazine ‘Playboy,’ which sent him around the world to create an illustrated travel journal with reports from many different locations, through until the mid 1970’s. Shel Silverstein never married, and according to the 2007 biography ‘A Boy Named Shel,’ he had sex with ‘hundreds, perhaps thousands of women.’ He was also a frequent presence at Hugh Hefner’s ‘Playboy Mansion’ and ‘Playboy Clubs.’ He did have a daughter named Shoshanna, who died of a cerebral aneurysm on April 24th, 1982, at the age of 11. Shel Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the ‘Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame’ in 2002, and was inducted into the ‘Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’ in 2014. He has had 18 official Albums released between 1959-2010, and many of his songs have appeared in films and television programmes. He also wrote all of the songs for the first two studio Albums recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show in 1971 and 1972, which include the major hits ‘Sylvia’s Mother’ (UK Number 2) and ‘The Cover of the Rolling Stone,’ (Billboard Number 6) he also wrote many more songs for that band through the course of their career. Shel Silverstein though will always (musically) be best remembered for writing ‘A Boy Named Sue,’ which would become a major hit for Johnny Cash (see also best songs 857-428 and 199) when reaching Number 4 in the UK, and Number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in America in 1969.

’25 Minutes to Go’ should be filed under the genre of ‘Country Music,’ it was written by Shel Silverstein for his second studio Album ‘Inside Folk Songs’ released in 1962. The song is about a prisoner awaiting execution by hanging. Each verse consists of two lines of which the first is humorous or poignant, and the second line is a minute by minute countdown to his death, you could say it is (literally) ‘Gallows Humour’ in it’s purest form. ’25 Minutes to Go’ was notably covered by Johnny Cash (1932-2003) on his 1965 Album ‘Sings the Ballads of the True West,’ and also on his 1968 live Album, ‘At Folsom Prison,’ which I would imagine sent a shiver up and down the spine of one or two of the inmates. Other notable artists to record the song include a 2011 live version by Lou Reed (1942-2013) (see also best songs 401-165-131 and 58) with the Canadian singer Emily Haines, for a concert to celebrate the life and music of Shel Silverstein called ‘Shelebration!’ The American Grunge/Rock band Pearl Jam (see also best songs 458) also recorded a live version in 2004, which appears on their Album ‘Live at Benaroya Hall.’

’25 Minutes to Go’ is considered to be a ‘Country Music’ song, but I would personally file it in the ‘Novelty Song,’ or even ‘Comedy Song’ genre. In this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list I also consider ‘Tenacious D,’ ‘Tribute,’ (see also best songs 500) and ‘Guy Marks,’ ‘Loving You Has Made Me Bananas’ (see also best songs 908) as ‘Novelty’ or ‘Comedy’ songs. A ‘Novelty’ song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humour, or a sample of popular culture. ‘Novelty’ songs partially overlap with ‘Comedy’ songs, which are more explicitly based on humour. Novelty songs first achieved great popularity in ‘Pop Music’ during the 1920’s and 1930’s, although they were a major staple of ‘Tin Pan Alley,’ (see also best songs 669-535-443 and 412) from its start in the late 19th Century. Dozens of ‘Novelty’ songs have reached the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and the UK singles chart over the decades, with several reaching Number 1, including, Kay Kyser, ‘Three Little Fishes,’ (Billboard-1939) The Coasters, ‘Yakerty Yak,’ (Billboard-1958) and Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers, ‘Monster Mash’ (Billboard-1962.) In the UK, there are many memorable standouts, including, Chuck Berry, ‘My Ding-a-Ling,’ (1972) Hale & Pace, ‘The Stonk,’ (1991) and the five consecutive UK Christmas Number 1’s by LadBaby between 2018-2022.

‘With my feet on the trap, and my head on the noose, 5 more minutes to go. Won’t somebody come and cut me loose, 4 more minutes to go. I can see the mountains, I can see the skies, with 3 more minutes to go, and it’s too dern pretty for a man that don’t want to die, with 2 more minutes to go. I can see the buzzards, I can hear the crows, 1 more minute to go, and now I’m swinging, and here I go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!’