Post the Best Song/Lyrics You've ever heard

[Pira C]

I honestly feel like being raised how i was, i have missed alot of musical beuty i guess u can say, and i wanted to get some other ppl in other situations idea of good music. I recently heard john lennons working class heroe:eek: that was exquisite, please partake in broadening my horizon

[iSaint]

Mr Wendal (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=82498416&s=143441&i=82498065) is one of my favorites.

Shower the People (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=888266&s=143441&i=888264) by James Taylor is simple but beautiful.

I'll think of more later.

[twoodcc]

i like this one:

BON JOVI
DRY COUNTY

"Across the border they turn Water into wine.
Some say it's the devil's blood
They're squeezing from the vine.
Some say it's a saviour
In these hard and desperate times.
For me it helps me to forget
That we're just born to die.
I came here like so many did
To find the better life.
To find my piece of easy street.
To finally be alive.
And I know nothing good comes easy
And all good things take some time
I made my bed I'll lie in it
To die in it's the crime
You can't help but prosper
Where the streets are paved with gold
They say the oil wells ran deeper here
than anybody's known
I packed up on my wife and kid
And left them back at home
Now there's nothing in this paydirt
The ghosts are all I know
Now the oil's gone
The money's gone
And the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hand
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive
In the blessed name of Jesus
I heard a preacher say
That we are God's children
And He'd be back someday
And I hoped that he knew
Something as he drank his cup of wine
I didn't have too good of a feeling
As I head out to the night
I cursed the sky to open
I begged the clouds for rain
I prayed to God for water
For this burning in my veins
It was like my soul's on fire
And I had to watch the flames
All my dreams went up in ashes
And my future blew away
Now the oil's gone
And the money's gone
And the jobs are gone
Still we're hangin' on
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hand
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive
Men spend their whole lives
Waiting praying for their big reward
But it seems sometimes
The payoff leaves you feeling
Like a dirty whore
If I could choose the way I'll die
Make it by the gun or knife
'Cause the other way there's too much pain
Night after night after night
Down in dry county
They're swimming in the sand
Praying for some holy water
To wash the sins from off our hand
Here in dry county
The promise has run dry
Where nobody cries
And no one's getting out of here alive"

[MattG]

I really like Elvis Costello's Indoor Fireworks (http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Elvis-Costello/Indoor-Fireworks.html)

[Dagless]

Anything from Bloodhoung Gang's Hooray for Boobies seems oddly intelligent. And make me giggle from time to time.

[twoodcc]

Anything from Bloodhoung Gang's Hooray for Boobies seems oddly intelligent. And make me giggle from time to time.

as far as funny/clever lyrics....i always liked nelly's from nellyville.

things like "sit down, you know you can't stand me" and such

[tobefirst]

Guys,

Rather than posting lyrics to entire songs (which likely aren't going to get read) or just posting links to songs that we like, I think it would make the thread a lot more interesting if we say more about *why* we like them, and which lines in particular grab us.

That said, I'm amazed to find an Arrested Development reference pretty much anywhere. (: Love Mr. Wendal!

[rockosmodurnlif]

As far as really good lyrics "Yesterday" by the Beatles is always a standout for me. Really just captures the essence of heartbreak. And "53rd and 3rd" by the Ramones, who took the essence of rock and reintroduced it to us after the over indulgences of the 60s and 70s.

Iron Maiden and Dio are great for epic stories as songs as well.

[LizKat]

I surprised myself by liking Delbert McClinton's "Down into Mexico" from his Cost of Living Album. I was ripping CDs belonging to one of my brothers into his ibook's iTunes library for him, just as a favor. I was listening to a few of them trying to figure why the hell he liked them. I ended up later buying from iTunes for myself that song and a few others I heard that night. Most of them I don't listen to very often but this one I keep on my iPods.

It's a classic tale of greed, scheming, stealing, getaway... and betrayal!

I like the lines of the denouement because up to then he's just got the whole thing laid out like clockwork, singing with a certain arrogance about pulling it off, and then...

Me and Cherie were countin' the money
When that little gun slid outta her purse,
Yeah that little gun slid outta her purse.
That's when she told me 'bout her lover
That's when i knew i was in a, a terrible mess!
She took the blame and he took the money
And I took a bullet in my chest!

[iSaint]

That said, I'm amazed to find an Arrested Development reference pretty much anywhere. (: Love Mr. Wendal!

I used to play it for my youth group and talk about. Now I play it for my English classes. I tell them I listen to rap, then play this song. Tennessee is great as well.

[sunfast]

Everything from MC Hawking (http://www.mchawking.com) is outstanding. Get some if you've never heard it - hard to convery the genius (and hilarity) in words. Some classics...

I'm from the streets, it's true
My homies are all dead
***** with me you'll join them too
I'll cap you in the head

***

In the beginning there was nothing, not even time
No planets, no stars, no hip-hop, no rhyme
But then there was a bang like the sound from my gat
The universe began and the ***** was phat

***

I roll straight pimping to the room of my lecture
Prepared to enrapture students with a mixture
Of hard ass science and smooth ass thymes
So phat you can't fit in my class some times

***

Dropping science like Gallileo and Pisa
Dropping punk b*tches everytime I squeeze a
Round from my gat
I'm sick like that
I tear through the track like ***** through a rat

[phillipjfry]

Anything from Bloodhoung Gang's Hooray for Boobies seems oddly intelligent. And make me giggle from time to time.

Their song "Right Turn, Clyde" really hits me too :)

[Killyp]

Joni Mitchell - People's Parties

All the people at this party
They've got a lot of style
They've got stamps of many countries
They've got passport smiles
Some are friendly
Some are cutting
Some are watching it from the wings
Some are standing in the centre
Giving to get something

Photo Beauty gets attention
Then her eye paint's running down
She's got a rose in her teeth
And a lampshade crown
One minute she's so happy
Then she's crying on someone's knee
Saying laughing and crying
You know it's the same release

I told you when I met you
I was crazy
Cry for us all Beauty
Cry for Eddie in the corner
Thinking he's nobody
And Jack behind his joker
And stone-cold Grace behind her fan
And me in my frightened silence
Thinking I don't understand

I feel like I'm sleeping
Can you wake me
You seem to have a broader sensibility
I'm just living on nerves and feelings
With a weak and a lazy mind
And coming to peoples parties
Fumbling deaf dumb and blind

I wish I had more sense ot humor
Keeping the sadness at bay
Throwing the lightness on these things
Laughing it all away
Laughing it alI away
Laughing it all away

Joni Mitchell in general writes some of the best lyrics IMO.

[Melrose]

I Can See Clearly Now ~ Jimmy Cliff.

This is just about my all-time favourite song. I know it's a bit silly, but every time I hear it it makes me smile and picks me up - and I've heard it a million times but it never changes (unusual for a song to continue to have that effect on me)

[wwooden]

I've always loved the opening (and the rest for that matter) to Bob Segers "We've Got Tonight".

I know its late, I know you're weary
I know your plans don't include me
Still here we are, both of us lonely
Longing for shelter from all that we see
Why should we worry, no one will care girl
Look at the stars so far away
We've got tonight, who needs tomorrow?
We've got tonight babe
Why don't we stay?

For me, it's the combination of the words and the way he sings them that grips me.

[jodelli]

I Am The Walrus. It doesn't make any sense but the lyrics are almost music themselves.

[Bfat567]

Society is a loaded weapon - Ill Nino - Start a War

You cannot kill what you did not create - Slipknot - Duality


Why does everyone feel like my enemy,
Don't want any part of depression or
Darkness, I've had enough
sick and tired, bring the sun, or I'm gone,
Or I'm gone

Mudvayne - World so Cold

Just to name a few

[MrSmith]

Ha ha ha, hee hee hee
"I'm a laughing Gnome and you can't catch me"
Ha ha ha, hee hee hee
"I'm a laughing Gnome and you can't catch me"

David Bowie
Pure genius. :cool:

[iriehigh]

Here's one from one of our local rock and roll heroes in my country; the song's entitle RAGE and the artist is THE JERKS.

"And the names and the faces of the tyrant change
but poverty stays and murder remains...
Go not gently into the night, RAGE! against the dying of the light
sing a song about this terrible sight, RAGE until the lightning strikes"

[apsterling]

The Girl's A Straight Up Hustler - All Time Low - Put Up Or Shut Up

Lipstick has a way of leaving more than just a mark on my sheets,
coloring my senses cherry red; at least for this week...
Kisses under starry night skies, talked about in song,
we play along, so bitter sweet by our design.
I'm sick and tired of writing songs about you,
This is it, this is the end...

Take off your makeup and put down the camera,
choke on the drama that makes me want to,
tear up the pictures, the pages you've saved,
creating a life of trends and make believe...

I've got no place in my heart for a criminal like you to dwell,
in this endeavor, make this last forever...
I'm just delirious,
You can't be serious,
You're so infamous for leaving me a mess...

Take off your makeup, put down the camera,
choke on the drama that makes me want to,
tear up the pictures and pages you've saved,
creating a life of trends and make believe...

She gets what she wants and she breaks what she gets,
get out while you can or she'll tear you to pieces /
"Are you having a good time sweetheart?"

Take off your makeup, put down the camera,
choke on the drama that makes me want to,
tear up the pictures and pages you've saved,
creating a life of trends and make believe...

Carry on home,
I'll be waiting miles and miles away,
leaving you to be forever seventeen,
cleaning up the messes that you've made.


The song came at the perfect time to be relevant to me, and there's so much good lyric work that it's insane. It's just a high energy song in general

[robanga]

This one ranks pretty high;

1. How Can I Keep From Singing?
There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough?
How amazing is Your love?
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You see me through
And sing the songs You give

How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough?
How amazing is Your love?
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And I fall down again

I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer

I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne

How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough?
How amazing is Your love?
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart
I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart
I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
I can sing

[calculus]

Joni Mitchell in general writes some of the best lyrics IMO.

I absolutely agree with this.

For me her lyrics on the whole of The Hissing of Summer Lawns album are just about as good as things get...

[skunk]

Crimson flames tied through my ears
Rollin' high and mighty traps
Pounced with fire on flaming roads
Using ideas as my maps
"We'll meet on edges, soon," said I
Proud 'neath heated brow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth
"Rip down all hate," I screamed
Lies that life is black and white
Spoke from my skull. I dreamed
Romantic facts of musketeers
Foundationed deep, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Girls' faces formed the forward path
From phony jealousy
To memorizing politics
Of ancient history
Flung down by corpse evangelists
Unthought of, though, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

A self-ordained professor's tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
"Equality," I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My pathway led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I'm younger than that now.You know it makes sense.

[Plymouthbreezer]

Hallelujah (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/leonardcohen/hallelujah.html) anyone?

Such a sad song.

[Demosthenes X]

^ Agreed. I recently discovered this cover (http://www.bowjenkins.com/index.php) - just heartbreaking.

I'm quite partial to a lot of Coldplay - they have some of the best lyrics in modern music, imo - but I think A Rush of Blood to the Head is particularly striking:

He said I'm gonna buy this place and burn it down
I'm gonna put it six feet underground
He said I'm gonna buy this place and watch it fall
Stand here beside me baby in the crumbling walls
Oh I'm gonna buy this place and start a fire
Stand here until I fill all your hearts desires
Because I'm gonna buy this place and see it burn
Do back the things it did to you in return
Ah,ah,ah
He said oh I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war
If you can tell me something worth fighting for
Oh and I'm gonna buy this place, that's what I said
Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head

[chris200x9]

skewbald/grand union -song1


something hurts inside my head I don't know what it is I don't know where it is it's tearing me apart I'm sorry for what I did I'm sorry for what I didn't do I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry for you how could I face my friends to many feelings in the blend they could never understand they could never know I'm sorry for what I didn't do I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry for you should I just ignore it or will that make them hurt how the **** should I react every thing's going black I'm sorry for what I did I'm sorry for what I didn't do I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry sorry for you you just changed for the same the same the same you just changed for the same the same the same old ****ing thing the same old ****ing thing the same old you just changed for the same the same the same you just changed for the same over and over and over again

[twistedlegato]

"Broadripple is Burning" and "Tall as Cliffs" by Margot & the Nuclear So and So's

[bobr1952]

Green Day did a nice job with this but nowhere near like the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njG7p6CSbCU

[rpaloalto]

Many songs come in go. That move me, or have a special place in my heart. As my new or current favorite. But Neil Young's Heart Of Gold. Always will be right back on top, the moment I hear it.

I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.
It's these expressions
I never give
That keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

I've been to Hollywood
I've been to Redwood
I crossed the ocean
for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind,
it's such a fine line
That keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

Keep me searching
for a heart of gold
You keep me searching
for a heart of gold
And I'm growing old.
I've been a miner
for a heart of gold.

[WinterMute]

Leonard Cohen has been responsible for some of the most striking lyrical work, but then, he's a poet in his day-job.

A thousand kisses deep

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat.
You win a while, and then it’s done –
Your little winning streak.
And summoned now to deal
With your invincible defeat,
You live your life as if it’s real,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
You lose your grip, and then you slip
Into the Masterpiece.
And maybe I had miles to drive,
And promises to keep:
You ditch it all to stay alive,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

Confined to sex, we pressed against
The limits of the sea:
I saw there were no oceans left
For scavengers like me.
I made it to the forward deck
I blessed our remnant fleet –
And then consented to be wrecked,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

I’m turning tricks, I’m getting fixed,
I’m back on Boogie Street.
I guess they won’t exchange the gifts
That you were meant to keep.
And quiet is the thought of you
The file on you complete,
Except what we forgot to do,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

And sometimes when the night is slow,
The wretched and the meek,
We gather up our hearts and go,
A Thousand Kisses Deep.

The ponies run, the girls are young,
The odds are there to beat…


If it be your will

If it be your will
That I speak no more
And my voice be still
As it was before
I will speak no more
I shall abide until
I am spoken for
If it be your will

If it be your will
That a voice be true
From this broken hill
I will sing to you
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing
From this broken hill
All your praises they shall ring
If it be your will
To let me sing

If it be your will
If there is a choice
Let the rivers fill
Let the hills rejoice
Let your mercy spill
On all these burning hearts in hell
If it be your will
To make us well

And draw us near
And bind us tight
All your children here
In their rags of light
In our rags of light
All dressed to kill
And end this night
If it be your will

If it be your will.

[Mattaut]

This is real hip-hop lyricism, not that bulls**t on the radio now a days.
Wu-Tang Clan - Triumph

[Inspectah Deck]
I bomb atomically, Socrates' philosophies
and hypotheses can't define how I be droppin’ these
mockeries, lyrically perform armed robbery
Flee with the lottery, possibly they spotted me
Battle-scarred shogun, explosion when my pen hits
tremendous, ultra-violet shine blind forensics
I inspect view, through the future see millenium
Killa B's sold fifty gold sixty platinum
Shacklin’ the masses with drastic rap tactics
Graphic displays melt the steel like blacksmiths
Black Wu jackets queen B's ease the guns in
Rumble with patrolmen, tear gas laced the function
Heads by the score take flight incite a war
Chicks hit the floor, diehard fans demand more
Behold the bold soldier, control the globe slowly
Proceeds to blow swingin’ swords like Shinobi
Stomp grounds and pound footprints in solid rock
Wu got it locked, performin’ live on your hottest block

[creator2456]

Fall Into Sleep by Mudvayne. Listen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBpL0TlMdLo)

I just think that it is a good commentary on the world situation right now. People who can make a difference are not heard because the louder voices have the power.

dreams of fidelity,
dreams of inner peace,
dreams of loyalty,
dreams of unity,
...all gone.

fall into sleep,
fall into me,
i have a dream,
but nobody cares,
nobody wants to listen.
fall into sleep,
fall into me,
hang onto a dream that nobody wants,
nobody cares anymore.

[Surely]

Bob Dylan's Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat) from the album Street Legal:


There's a long-distance train rolling through the rain, tears on the letter I write.
There's a woman I long to touch, and I miss her so much, but she's drifting like a satellite.
There's a neon light ablaze in this green smoky haze, laughter down on Elizabeth Street
And a lonesome bell tone in that valley of stone where she bathed in a stream of pure heat.
Her father would emphasize you got to be more than street-wise but he practiced what he preached from the heart.
A full-blooded Cherokee, he predicted to me the time and the place that the trouble would start.

There's a babe in the arms of a woman in a rage
And a longtime golden-haired stripper onstage
And she winds back the clock and she turns back the page
Of a book that no one can write.
Oh, where are you tonight?

The truth was obscure, too profound and too pure, to live it you have to explode.
In that last hour of need, we entirely agreed, sacrifice was the code of the road.
I left town at dawn, with Marcel and St. John, strong men belittled by doubt.
I couldn't tell her what my private thoughts were but she had some way of finding them out.
He took dead-center aim but he missed just the same, she was waiting, putting flowers on the shelf.
She could feel my despair as I climbed up her hair and discovered her invisible self.

There's a lion in the road, there's a demon escaped,
There's a million dreams gone, there's a landscape being raped,
As her beauty fades and I watch her undrape,
I won't, but then again, maybe I might.
Oh, if I could just find you tonight.

I fought with my twin, that enemy within, 'til both of us fell by the way.
Horseplay and disease is killing me by degrees while the law looks the other way.
Your partners in crime hit me up for nickels and dimes, the guy you were lovin' couldn't stay clean.
It felt outa place, my foot in his face, but he should-a stayed where his money was green.
I bit into the root of forbidden fruit with the juice running down my leg.
Then I dealt with your boss, who'd never known about loss and who always was too proud to beg.
There's a white diamond gloom on the dark side of this room and a pathway that leads up to the stars.
If you don't believe there's a price for this sweet paradise, remind me to show you the scars.

There's a new day at dawn and I've finally arrived.
If I'm there in the morning, baby, you'll know I've survived.
I can't believe it, I can't believe I'm alive,
But without you it just doesn't seem right.
Oh, where are you tonight?

[DAAAAAAAVE]

Leftover Crack/Choking victim have very good lyrics about police brutality, world trade, inner city poverty and other interesting political issue of NYC

[KJChevy3]

I've always liked Neil Peart's (RUSH) lyrics. although not earth shaking they have some simple honesty to them. My favorite is from Freewill:

"If you chose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

[anjinha]

I adooore this song:Oh My Love By John Lennon.

It's so sad and yet so beautiful.

[Chim3ra]

Best Serious Lyrics:

Our Lady Peace "Thief". Pretty much random lyrics until you find out that the song is written about a family member that has Cancer...

I don't want to understand this horror
There's a weight in your eyes
I can't admit
Everybody ends up here in bottles
But the name tag's the last thing you wanted

As the world explodes
We fall out of it
And we can't let go
Because this will not go away
There's a house built out in space

I can't see that thief
That lives inside of your head
But I can be some courage at
The side of you bed
I don't know what's happening
And I can't pretend
But I can be your, be your

Someone help us understand
Who ordered this disgusting
Arrangement, time and the end
I don't want to hear who walked
On water, because the hallways are empty
And the clocks tick

As the world implodes
We fall into it
And we can't go home
Because this will not go away
There's a house built out in space

I can't see that thief
That lives inside of your head
But I can be some courage at
The side of you bed
I don't know what's happening
And I can't pretend

It's a long, long get away
It's a long, long get away
Make it home again
Make it home again
It's a long, long get away
It's a long, long get away

I can't see that thief
That lives inside of your head
But I can be some courage at
The side of you bed
I don't know what's happening
And I can't pretend
But I can be your, be your

[eRondeau]

1) All of Dark Side of the Moon, every word!
2) Leonard Cohen +1
3) The Tragically Hip's "Nautical Disaster":

I had this dream where I relished the fray
and the screaming filled my head all day.
It was as though I'd been spit here, settled
in, into the pocket of a lighthouse on some
rocky socket, off the coast of France, dear.

One afternoon, four thousand men died in
the water here and five hundred more were
thrashing madly, as parasites might in your
blood. Now I was in a lifeboat designed for
ten and ten only, anything that systematic
would get you hated. It's not a deal nor a
test nor a love of something fated. The
selection was quick, the crew was picked in order
and those left in the water got kicked off our
pantleg and we headed for home.

Then the dream ends when the phone rings,
you doing alright he said it's out there most
days and nights, but only a fool would
complain. Anyway Susan, if you like, our
conversation is as faint as a sound in my
memory, as those fingernails scratching on
my hull.

Honorable Mention: Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" -- Because anyone who uses the word "mutilated" in a hit song is okay by me!

[killmoms]

Joni Mitchell - People's Parties

Joni Mitchell in general writes some of the best lyrics IMO.

Truth. TRUTH.

Anything from her album Hejira is pretty freaking fantastic. In fact, the title track has one of my favorite lyrics ever:

I know no one's gonna show my everything,
We all come and go unknown—
Each so deep and superficial
Between the forceps and the stone

Recently though I've found a lot of power in the lyrics of both The National and Frightened Rabbit.

[nizz]

i love you like a fat kid love cake

[yorkshire]

Queen-Bohemian Rhapsody


Purely for the sheer nonsense!!

[jgreen464]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycgegp0KdE4

'nuff said

[NC MacGuy]

Best is pretty hard. I've got favorites in different genres. Like this is a classic and definitely my favorite or best in "sexytime silly" catagory:

Dynamo Hum by Frank Zappa

Search for the rest of the lyrics if interested, but an excerpt:

Dinah-moe watched from the edge of the bed
With her lips just a-twitchin an her face gone red
Some drool rollin down
From the edge of her chin
While she spied the condition
Her sister was in
She quivered n quaked
An clutched at herself
While her sister made a joke
bout her mental health
till dinah-moe finally
Did give in
But I told her
All she really needed
Was some discipline...

[synth3tik]

Ian Dury and the Blockheads are great and I totally love the song "Billericay Dickie". Ian had some wonderful rhymes in his lyrics. My favorite is

"and when I captured Janet she bruised her pomegranet"

Awesome. Who could have ever thought of that.

[Schtumple]

Give peace a chance - Lennon

Can't think of a single line (from a song) that sparked so much action...

Such a simple line, but one that I hold close to me, it's a good philosophy to have in life too.

Everybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism,
Ragism, Tagism, Thisism, Thatism.
Isn't it the most?

Hare, Hare Krishna.
All we are saying is
give peace a chance.
All we are saying is
give peace a chance.

Everybody's talking about
Ministers, Sinisters,
Banisters and Canisters,
Bishops and Fishops, Rabbins and Popeyes.
Bye-bye Bye-byes.

Hare, Hare Krishna.
All we are saying is
give peace a chance.
All we are saying is
give peace a chance.

Everybody's talking about
Revolution, Evolution,
Masturbation, Flagellation,
Regulations, Integrations,
Meditation, United Nations.
Congratulations!

Hare, Hare Krishna.
All we are saying is
give peace a chance.
All we are saying is
give peace a chance.

Everybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary,
Rosemary, Tommy Smothers,
Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper, Derek
Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Grinsberg, Hare Krishna

Hare, Hare Krishna.
All we are saying is give peace a chance.
All we are saying is give peace a chance.

[clayt998]

I know a lot of people dislike Kanye West, but I think these lyrics are beautiful:

"If you admire somebody you should go out there tell em, nobody ever gets the flowers while they can still smell em"

Kanye West- Big Brother :)

xx

[zephead]

I'm surprised no one here has mentioned Bruce Springsteen. I haven't listened to very many of his songs, but the few I have listened to are awesome, especially Born to Run. He turns an otherwise boring description of growing up in New Jersey into a brilliant, majestic sounding song.

In the day we sweat it out on the streets
Of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory
In suicide machines
Sprung from cages on Highway 9
Chrome-wheeled, fuel-injected and steppin' out over the line

Oh, baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us
Baby, we were born to run

I also like the lyrics of Neil Peart, of Rush, like KJChevy3 said. From "The Spirit of Radio":All this machinery making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted, it's really just a question
Of your honesty, yeah, your honesty

One likes to believe in the freedom of music
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity, yeah

[bball32]

What's everyone's favorite song lyrics?


I could go on for pages upon pages about this but, for now, this is what I've got...



There has to be a change I'm sure
Today was just a day fading into another
And that can't be what a life is for
The only thing she said was she feels a lot better
And that's all that really matters to me

Amy Hit the Atmosphere-Counting Crows




How the girls can turn to ghosts before your eyes
And the very dreams that led to them
Are keeping them from dying
And how the grace with which she walked into your life
Will stay with you in your steps
And pace with you a while
For so long, so long
I will leave under the cover
Of summer's kiss upon the sky
Like the stone face of your lover
Just before she says goodbye
And I was certain that the season
Could be held between my arms
And just as summer's hold is fleeting
I was here but now I'm gone
So long, so long

So Long, So Long-Dashboard Confessional




Kick yourself for stumbling
But never leave your feet
Lie awake with your mistakes
And find peace piece by piece
Pray that you wake up as who you wanna be
That's how you make a man like me
Walk proud in the shoes where no one wants to be
That's how you make a man like me

Man Like Me-Bobby Pinson



I'll wait for you where Saturday's a memory
And Sunday comes to gather me
Into the arms of God who'll welcome me
Cuz I believe, oh I believe

Cowboys-Counting Crows



The rain falls where it wants to
The wind blows where it will
Everything on earth goes somewhere
But I swear we're standing still
So I'm not gonna wake you
I'll go easy on your heart
I'll just touch your face and drift away
Like smoke rings in the dark

Smoke Rings In The Dark-Gary Allan



Casey leaves the underground
And stops inside the Golden Crown
For something wet to wipe away the chill that's on his bone
Seeing his reflection in the lives of all the lonely men
Who reach for anything they can to keep from going home
Standing in the corner Casey drinks his pint of bitter
Never glancing in the mirror at the people passing by
Then he stumbles as he's leaving
And he wonders if the reason is beer that's in his belly
Or the tear that's in his eye

Casey's Last Ride-Kris Kristofferson


I could go on forever lol but I'll give everyone else a chance now :)

[Ivan P]

My three favourite tracks, lyric-wise, are by ABBA - but its none of their early "pop" crap, it's some of the darker stuff from towards the end.

He stands towering over me beside my bed
Losing his head
Tells me I should take him seriously
Droning on the usual way
He's such a clever guy
And I wonder should I laugh or cry
He's dressed in the striped pajamas that I bought
Trousers too short
Gives me all his small philosophy
Carries on the way he does
And me, I get so tired
And I wonder should I laugh or cry

High and mighty his banner flies
A fool's pride in his eyes
Standing there on his toes to grow in size
All I see is a big balloon
Halfway up to the moon
He's wrapped up in a warm and safe cocoon
Of an eternal lie
So should I laugh or cry

Strange how dangerously indifferent I have grown
Cold as a stone
No more pain where there was pain before
Far away he rambles on, I feel my throat go dry
And I wonder, should I laugh or cry
-- "Should I Laugh Or Cry"

This one's a bit weird, and in a way it really needs the music (and maybe even the video clip) to elaborate on its point - I've cut a verse out that doesn't really add anything to it. The last couple lines in particular sums it up the point of the entire track:

I must have left my house at eight, because I always do
My train, I'm certain, left the station just when it was due
I must have read the morning paper going into town
And having gotten through the editorials
No doubt I must have frowned
I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine
With letters waiting to be read, and heaps of papers waiting to be signed
I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so
The usual place, the usual bunch
And on top of this I'm pretty sure it must have rained
The day before you came

I must have lit my seventh cigarette at half past two
And at the time I never even noticed I was blue
I must have kept on dragging through the business of the day
Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away
At five I must have left, there's no exception to the rule
A matter of routine, I've done it ever since I've finished school
The train back home again
Undoubtedly I must have read the evening paper then
Oh yes, I'm sure my life was well within its usual frame
The day before you came

...

I must have gone to bed, around a quarter after ten
I need a lot of sleep, and so I like to be in bed by then
I must have read a while
The latest one by Marilyn French or something in that style
It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim
The day before you came
-- "The Day Before You Came"

I don't want to talk about the things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me, now it's history
I've played all my cards, and that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say, no more ace to play
The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny

I was in your arms, thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense, building me a fence
Building me a home, thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool, playing by the rules
The gods may throw the dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain, why should I complain

But tell me, does she kiss like I used to kiss you
Does it feel the same, when she calls your name
Somewhere deep inside you must know I miss you
But what can I say, rules must be obeyed
The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show, always staying low
The game is on again, a lover or a friend
A big thing or a small, the winner takes it all

I don't want to talk if it makes you feel sad
Though I understand, you've come to shake my hand
I've apologised, and that's what you've done too
Seeing me so tense, no self-confidence
But you see, the winner takes it all.
-- "The Winner Takes It All"

...prepared for a bashing for my horrid taste in music :o :D

[chan2004]

lots of favourites

it really depends on the mood

But this month, the most i listened was Liberian girl by MJ
lot of memories

fav lyric - the part where the girl sings

short but somehow enticing

[OrangeCuse44]

Oh look at me in my fancy car
and my bank account
Oh, how I wish I could take it all down
into my grave, God knows I'd save and save
Man, take a look again, take a look again
things you have collected, well in the end piles up
to one big nothing, one big nothing at all

Seek Up - DMB

[Dmac77]

Let Em' In By Wings

Someones knockin at the door
Somebodys ringin the bell
Someones knockin at the door
Somebodys ringin the bell
Do me a favor,
Open the door and let em in.

Don

[designgeek]

"I'll be in my basement room
with a needle and a spoon
and another girl to take my pain away"

Dead Flowers by the Rolling Stones

"There he is a step outside her view
Reciting the words he hope she might pursue
Night upon night of faithful eye at shore
If only he'd convince his legs across the floor"

Don't Watch Me Dancing by Little Joy

Just to name a few.

[Scepticalscribe]

Agree with WinterMute about Leonard Cohen; I especially like Take This Waltz. However, one of my all time favourites for song and above all for the lyrics, which are wonderful, world weary, funny, bitter-sweet but gritty, gutsy and oh, so true, is Peggy Lee's immortal Is That All There Is. Go listen, it is simply superb.

Cheers

[ahweilove]

They may not be much but they speak to me in a way that no other song can...

I Want You by Third Eye Blind:

I've seen the suckers loose themselves in the games they love to play,
Children love to sing but then their voices slowly fade away.
People always take a step away from what is true,
That's why I like you around,
I want you
Oh you do, You do...
You make me want you
An open invitation to the dance,
Happenstance set the vibe that we are in,
No apology because my urge is genuine,
And the mystery of your rhythm is so feminine.
Here I am and I want to take a hit
Of your scent 'cause it gets so deep into my soul
Ooh I want you
Yeah you do, You do...
You make me want you
Oh you do, You do...
I want you
(Send me all your vampires)
And I can't get enough, you you you you
Oh I can't get enough
Oh I can't get enough Oh oh, I (you) I (you) I (you)
The village churchyard is filled with bones weeping in the grave,
The silver lining of clouds shines on people Jesus couldn't save
You want to know how deeply my soul goes
Deeper than bones
Deeper than bones
And I can't get enough. I I I I
Oh I can't get enough, you you you you
Oh I can't get enough
After we did it by the windowsill,
Smoke rings drifted through the midnight sky,
Presently in the quilt that your mother made,
A bare candle burns to fight off the gloom,
You said to live this way is not for the meek, (Send me all your vampires)
And like a jazz DJ you talk me into sleep,
I said there will be no regrets when the worms come, (Send me all your vampires)
And they shall surely come.
Oh You do, You do...
Make me want you
(Send me all your vampires) (That's right)
Yeah I do
I do
I do
You do
You do
You do
You do
You do
A make a me want you
(Send me all your vampires)
I want you
(Send me all your vampires)
I want you
(Send me all your vampires)

There will be no regrets when the worms come

(Go ahead)
(Send me all your vampires)

What does it all mean? Well, it's about wanting someone really bad, but you can only have them in your dreams. Literally.

In my opinion, it's about first love... Send me all your vampires in interpretation means 'suck the life out of me'. The band uses the negative to describe the positive and that's part of why I love it so much. It's my all time favourite song. It's a beautiful song in a morbid kind of way.

This is the song live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rd6U69blqU

And studio recorded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C8buGnZDvU

[Surely]

I resurrect thee!!




From Joey (http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/joey-bob-dylan-and-jacques-levy), written by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy:

“What time is it?” said the judge, to Joey when they met.
“Five to ten,” said Joey. The judge says, “That’s exactly what you get.”

[Schtumple]

Deathray - "Edge of the World"

It's only the chorus that I find amazing, I thought it's a good statement of modern endeavour, we've explored everything.

We spend our whole lives, dreaming
and now we walk, slowly away
from the edge
of the world

Maybe I'm just looking to much into it, but it's a beautiful track overall from such an underrated and unknown band.

[Melrose]

Another of my favourites songs, including the lyrics, is One Tree Hill by U2. I love a lot of Bono's lyrics. He's good at word pictures.

We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill
As the day begs the night for mercy love
The sun so bright it leaves no shadows
Only scars carved into stone
On the face of earth
The moon is up and over One Tree Hill
We see the sun go down in your eyes

You run like river, on like a sea
You run like a river runs to the sea

And in the world a heart of darkness
A fire zone
Where poets speak their heart
Then bleed for it
Jara sang, his song a weapon
In the hands of love
You know his blood still cries
From the ground

It runs like a river runs to the sea
It runs like a river to the sea

I don't believe in painted roses
Or bleeding hearts
While bullets rape the night of the merciful
I'll see you again
When the stars fall from the sky
And the moon has turned red
Over One Tree Hill

We run like a river
Run to the sea
We run like a river to the sea
And when it's raining
Raining hard
That's when the rain will
Break my heart

Raining...raining in the heart
Raining in your heart
Raining...raining to your heart
Raining, raining...raining
Raining to your heart
Raining...raining in your heart
Raining in your heart..
To the sea

Oh great ocean
Oh great sea
Run to the ocean
Run to the sea

[newuser2310]

Big Punisher "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)"


Ready for war Joe, how you wanna blow they spot
I know these dirty cops that'll get us in if we murder some wop
Hop in your Hummer, the Punisher's ready; meet me at Vito's
with Noodles, we'll do this dude while he's slurping spaghetti
Everybody kiss the ****ing floor, Joey Crack, buck em all
If they move, Noodles shoot that ****ing whore
Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know
that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily

[Surely]

Big Punisher "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)"


Ready for war Joe, how you wanna blow they spot
I know these dirty cops that'll get us in if we murder some wop
Hop in your Hummer, the Punisher's ready; meet me at Vito's
with Noodles, we'll do this dude while he's slurping spaghetti
Everybody kiss the ****ing floor, Joey Crack, buck em all
If they move, Noodles shoot that ****ing whore
Dead in the middle of Little Italy little did we know
that we riddled some middleman who didn't do diddily

Looks pretty much like every violent-themed rap song ever written to me.....

What's so special/witty/interesting/unique about those lyrics?:confused:

[BradenG]

Dear Daddy
I write you in spite of years of silence
You've cleaned up, found Jesus, things are good or so I hear
This bottle of Steven's awakens ancient feelings
Like father, stepfather, the son is drowning in the flood

Weezer - Say It Ain't So

[huntnboy04]

The Hurricane by Bob Dylan. True Story.

[newuser2310]

Looks pretty much like every violent-themed rap song ever written to me.....

What's so special/witty/interesting/unique about those lyrics?:confused:

youtube it.

Big Punisher's style and speed makes him one of the best ever.

I know some hip-hop isn't to everyone's taste, but he still was a very talented man.

[Surely]

youtube it.

Big Punisher's style and speed makes him one of the best ever.

I know some hip-hop isn't to everyone's taste, but he still was a very talented man.

This thread is specifically about the lyrics though. It shouldn't require having to see or hear the song performed in order to appreciate them. The lyrics should stand up on their own.

I'm sorry, but IMO, the lyrics you posted were pretty typical and aren't anything special. When you read them, really, what's so special about them?

This isn't about an artist's performance ability.

This has nothing to do with being a fan of a type of music or not. Actually, I do like hiphop.

I don't like country music, but that doesn't mean I would disagree with someone if they were to post lyrics from a country song that are really interesting/unique/witty/powerful.

I do recognize that this thread is based purely on opinion, so if you think they're the best lyrics ever, that's your perogative. It's just not my opinion. :cool:

[gødspeed]

So many songs with amazing lyrics... here are some that came to mind right away:

Iron & Wine - Beneath The Balcony
Let's go out and dance, darling
our last of days
and grace the game with a blindfold on
the cheaters came to play
and outside the soft-handed boys
screaming cars and all their speed
music, meth, a hero beggin change
his sword across his knees

and how he prays to find a man to blame
for every sleepless night he spends
and for every well that he warned me of
but wound up falling in
and then for the kids beneath the balcony
who disregard the rain
to make sure the king won't grant
the dead man one more day

let's go out and see darling
what shines tonight
and temper your dream about the dying horse
with traffic, noise, and light
and somewhere the soft-handed boys,
bleeding hearts, and worker bees
give to the holy mother begging change
Christ across her knees

and oh how she prays to find a man to blame
for every loveless night she waits
and for every gun that she frowned upon
but still some ****er made
and then for the kid beneath the balcony
behind the garbage can
who waits for the king to come
and hold his sweating hand

- - - - - - -

Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945
The only girl I've ever loved
Was born with roses in her eyes
But then they buried her alive
One evening 1945
With just her sister at her side
And only weeks before the guns
All came and rained on everyone
Now she's a little boy in Spain
Playing pianos filled with flames
On empty rings around the sun
All sing to say my dream has come

But now we must pack up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on

And now we ride the circus wheel
With your dark brother wrapped in white
Says it was good to be alive
But now he rides a comet's flame
And won't be coming back again
The Earth looks better from a star
That's right above from where you are
He didn't mean to make you cry
With sparks that ring and bullets fly
On empty rings around your heart
The world just screams and falls apart

But now we must pack up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on

And here's where your mother sleeps
And here is the room where your brothers were born
Indentions in the sheets
Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore
And it's so sad to see the world agree
That they'd rather see their faces fill with flies
All when I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes

- - - - - - -

Andrew Bird - Armchairs
I dreamed you were a cosmonaut
of the space between our chairs
And I was a cartographer
of the tangles in your hair

I sang the song that silence sings
It's the one that everybody knows, everybody knows
The song that silence sings
And this is how it goes

These looms that weave apocrypha
they're hanging from a strand
The dark and empty rooms were full
of incandescent hands

The awkward pause
The fatal flaw
Time, it's a crooked bow
Time is a crooked bow

In time you need to learn, to love
The ebb just like the flow
Grab hold of your bootstraps, and pull like hell
until gravity feels sorry for you, and lets you go
As if you lack the proper chemicals to know
the way it felt the last time you let yourself fall this low

Time's a crooked bow
Time's a crooked bow
Time, it's a crooked bow

Fifty-five and three-eighths years later
At the bottom of a gigantic crater
An armchair calls to you
Yeah, and armchair calls to you
It says, someday, we'll get back at them all
With epoxy and a pair of pliers
As ancient sea slugs begin to crawl
through the ragweed and barbed wire

You didn't write
You didn't call
It didn't cross your mind at all
Through the waves
waves of hay and straw
You couldn't feel a thing at all
Fifty-five and three-eighths
Time
Fifty-five and three-eighths
Time
Time

- - - - - - -

High Places - From Stardust to Sentience
From small speck of stardust to wondrously sentient
Revolving and spinning in space
Waking and sleeping and yielding to gravity
It starts to show on your face

Millions of forces of physics and providence
Teamed up and brought us all here
Waking and sleeping and yielding to gravity
Pointless to measure in years

Out in the desert your thoughts are as clear as the stars
You feel golden
You're billion year old carbon.

- - - - - - -

Grateful Dead - Franklin's Tower
In another time's forgotten space
your eyes looked through your mother's face
Wildflower seed on the sand and stone
may the four winds blow you safely home
Roll away ... the dew
Roll away... the dew
Roll away... the dew
Roll away... the dew
You ask me where the four winds dwell
In Franklin's tower there hangs a bell
It can ring, turn night to day
Ring like fire when you lose your way
Roll away... the dew . . .
God help the child who rings that bell
It may have one good ring left, you can't tell
One watch by night, one watch by day
If you get confused just listen to the music play
Roll away... the dew . . .
Some come to laugh their past away
Some come to make it just one more day
Whichever way your pleasure tends
if you plant ice you're gonna harvest wind
Roll away... the dew . . .
In Franklin's Tower the four winds sleep
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep
Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again
Roll away... the dew
Roll away... the dew
Roll away... the dew
Roll away... the dew
You better roll away the dew

- - - - - - -

Pink Floyd - Echoes
Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air
And deep beneath the rolling waves in labyrinths of coral caves
The echo of a distant tide
Comes willowing across the sand
And everything is green and submarine
And no one showed us to the land
And no one knows the where's or why's
But something stirs and something tries
And starts to climb towards the light

Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
And do I take you by the hand
And lead you through the land
And help me understand the best I can
And no one calls us to move on
And no one forces down our eyes
And no one speaks
And no one tries
And no one flies around the sun

Cloudless every day you fall
Upon my waking eyes
Inviting and inciting me to rise
And through the window in the wall
Comes streaming in on sunlight wings
A million bright ambassadors of morning
And no one sings me lullabies
And no one makes me close my eyes
So I throw the windows wide
And call to you across the sky.

- - - - - - -

Bob Dylan - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last
But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast
Yonder stands your orphan with his gun
Crying like a fire in the sun
Look out the saints are comin' through
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

The highway is for gamblers, better use your sense
Take what you have gathered from coincidence
The empty handed painter from your streets
Is drawing crazy patterns on your sheets
This sky, too, is folding under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

All your seasick sailors, they are rowing home
Your empty handed armies, are all going home
Your lover who just walked out the door
Has taken all his blankets from the floor
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore
Strike another match, go start a new
And it's all over now, Baby Blue.

- - - - - - -

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Teach Your Children
You, who are on the road
Must have a code
That you can live by.
And so, become yourself
Because the past
Is just a goodbye.

Teach, your children well
Their father's hell
Did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's
The one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would die
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.

And you (Can you hear and)
Of tender years (Do you care and)
Can't know the fears (Can you see we)
That your elders grew by (Must be free to)
And so please help (Teach your children)
Them with your youth (You believe and)
They seek the truth (Make a world that)
Before they can die (We can live in)

Teach your parents well
Their children’s hell
Will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's
The one you’ll know by.

Don’t you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.

- - - - - - -

edit -- omg, picking the Pink Floyd song with the best lyrics is a challenge. I think I've narrowed it down to Echoes, Time, and Us and Them. I went with Echoes, but all three of those songs are spine-chillingly well written.