Your personal favorite song lyrics of all time

[Lancemc]

Where would Bono rank on your list?

He's in my top 5, that is, if I try to forget such gems as "The air is heavy, heavy as a truck"

I'm actually not that CRAZY about Bono's lyrics. I mean, they're usually very good, but they rarely blow me away like the others on my list. Where would I place him? Of the top of my head, maybe something like this:

1. Bruce Springsteen
2. Bob Dylan
3. Nick Cave
4. Micheal Stipe
5. Lennon/McCartney
6. Thom Yorke
7. David Bowie
8. Beck
9. Bono


...maybe.

 

[cdisantis83]

Roger Waters remains my favorite lyricist. I would imagine that Wish You Were Here (the song) is his finest hour; the lyrics are absolutely haunting, and achieve the impressive distinction of creating a tribute that is beautiful and affecting without being maudlin or cliched. My absolute favorite verse from Waters, however, has got to be from Comfortably Numb:

When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look, but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child has grown, the dream is gone.

That verse has always been striking to me.

 

[fear_nothing]

This is one of the top 10 songs in the world (in my humble uneducated opinion)

Losing My Religion~R.E.M.

Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up

Consider this (2x)
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try

But that was just a dream
That was just a dream

 

[I'm Ready]

No one here has ever really jumped on board with my bob dylan obsession, but even if you don't like the music, atleast agree with me that his lyrics are unbeatable

Idiot Wind-Bob Dylan

Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out but when they will I can only guess.
They say I shot a man named Gray and took his wife to Italy,
She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me.
I can't help it if I'm lucky.

People see me all the time and they just can't remember how to act
Their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts.
Even you, yesterday you had to ask me where it was at,
I couldn't believe after all these years, you didn't know me better than that
Sweet lady.

Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your mouth,
Blowing down the backroads headin' south.
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth,
You're an idiot, babe.
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

I ran into the fortune-teller, who said beware of lightning that might strike
I haven't known peace and quiet for so long I can't remember what it's like.
There's a lone soldier on the cross, smoke pourin' out of a boxcar door,
You didn't know it, you didn't think it could be done, in the final end he won the wars
After losin' every battle.

I woke up on the roadside, daydreamin' 'bout the way things sometimes are
Visions of your chestnut mare shoot through my head and are makin' me see stars.
You hurt the ones that I love best and cover up the truth with lies.
One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzin' around your eyes,
Blood on your saddle.

Idiot wind, blowing through the flowers on your tomb,
Blowing through the curtains in your room.
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth,
You're an idiot, babe.
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

It was gravity which pulled us down and destiny which broke us apart
You tamed the lion in my cage but it just wasn't enough to change my heart.
Now everything's a little upside down, as a matter of fact the wheels have stopped,
What's good is bad, what's bad is good, you'll find out when you reach the top
You're on the bottom.

I noticed at the ceremony, your corrupt ways had finally made you blind
I can't remember your face anymore, your mouth has changed, your eyes
don't look into mine.
The priest wore black on the seventh day and sat stone-faced while the building
burned.
I waited for you on the running boards, near the cypress trees, while the springtime
turned Slowly into autumn.

Idiot wind, blowing like a circle around my skull,
From the Grand Coulee Dam to the Capitol.
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth,
You're an idiot, babe.
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe.

I can't feel you anymore, I can't even touch the books you've read
Every time I crawl past your door, I been wishin' I was somebody else instead.
Down the highway, down the tracks, down the road to ecstasy,
I followed you beneath the stars, hounded by your memory
And all your ragin' glory.

I been double-crossed now for the very last time and now I'm finally free,
I kissed goodbye the howling beast on the borderline which separated you from me.
You'll never know the hurt I suffered nor the pain I rise above,
And I'll never know the same about you, your holiness or your kind of love,
And it makes me feel so sorry.

Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats,
Blowing through the letters that we wrote.
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves,
We're idiots, babe.
It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves.

 

[BoMac]

I'm actually not that CRAZY about Bono's lyrics. I mean, they're usually very good, but they rarely blow me away like the others on my list. Where would I place him? Of the top of my head, maybe something like this:

1. Bruce Springsteen
2. Bob Dylan
3. Nick Cave
4. Micheal Stipe
5. Lennon/McCartney
6. Thom Yorke
7. David Bowie
8. Beck
9. Bono


...maybe.

Ok. I'm just starting to branch out from U2 so I don't have many other lyricists to compare Bono to. I do agree that Bruce, Stipe and Yorke are amazing though.

Since I know you're a fan I'm wondering what you think of Arcade Fire's lyrics? I think Neon Bible is a huge improvement over Funeral, lyrically speaking at least. It's definitely a more mature record.

 

[impy13]

Do you still sing of the mountain bed we made of limbs and leaves?
Do you still sigh there near the sky where the holly berry bleeds?
You laughed as I covered you over with leaves; face, breast, hips, and thighs
You smiled when I said the leaves were just the color of your eyes

Rosin smells and turpentine smells from eucalyptus and pine
Bitter tastes of twigs we chewed where tangled wood vines twine
Trees held us in on all four sides so thick we could not see
I could not see any wrong in you, and you saw none in me

Your arm was brown against the ground, your cheeks part of the sky
Your fingers played with grassy moss, as limber you did lie
Your stomach moved beneath your shirt and your knees were in the air
Your feet played games with mountain roots as you lay thinking there

Below us the trees grew clumps of trees, raised families of trees, and they
As proud as we tossed their heads in the wind and flung good seeds away
The sun was hot and the sun was bright down in the valley below
Where people starved and hungry for life so empty come and go

There in the shade and hid from the sun we freed our minds and learned
Our greatest reason for being here, our bodies moved and burned
There on our mountain bed of leaves we learned life's reason why
The people laugh and love and dream, they fight, they hate to die

The smell of your hair I know is still there, if most of our leaves are blown
Our words still ring in the brush and the trees where singing seeds are sown
Your shape and form is dim but plain, there on our mountain bed
I see my life was brightest where you laughed and laid your head...

I learned the reason why man must work and how to dream big dreams
To conquer time and space and fight the rivers and the seas
I stand here filled with my emptiness now and look at city and land
And I know why farms and cities are built by hot, warm, nervous hands

I crossed many states just to stand here now, my face all hot with tears
I crossed city, and valley, desert, and stream, to bring my body here
My history and future blaze bright in me and all my joy and pain
Go through my head on our mountain bed where I smell your hair again.

All this day long I linger here and on in through the night
My greeds, desires, my cravings, hopes, my dreams inside me fight:
My loneliness healed, my emptiness filled, I walk above all pain
Back to the breast of my woman and child to scatter my seeds again

I honestly think this is lyrically my favorite song ever.

 

[angelordevil]

Michael Stipe is by far one of the greatest lyricists of all time!

I love these lyrics, from New Test Leper on NAIHF...brilliant social commentary

I can't say that I love Jesus
That would be a hollow claim
He did make some observations
And I'm quoting them today
"Judge not lest ye be judged"
What a beautiful refrain
The studio audience disagrees
Have his lambs all gone astray?

Call me a leper
Call me a leper
Call me a leper

"You are lost and disillusioned!"
What an awful thing to say
I know this show doesn't flatter
It means nothing to me
I thought I might help them understand
But what an ugly thing to see
"I am not an animal"
Subtitled under the screen

When I tried to tell my story
They cut me off to take a break
I sat silent 5 commercials
I had nothing left to say
The talk show host was index-carded
All organized and blank
The other guests were scared and hardened
What a sad parade

What a sad parade

I also really like these, from Joni Mitchell's Woodstock. I looked them up last week after hearing a great documentary on her life. The song is about the music festival of the same name, but I think the words are especially poignant today..

...And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation
We are stardust
Billion year old carbon
We are golden
Caught in the devils bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

 

[Lancemc]

Ok. I'm just starting to branch out from U2 so I don't have many other lyricists to compare Bono to. I do agree that Bruce, Stipe and Yorke are amazing though.

Since I know you're a fan I'm wondering what you think of Arcade Fire's lyrics? I think Neon Bible is a huge improvement over Funeral, lyrically speaking at least. It's definitely a more mature record.

I think Win's lyrics are actually rather good. Neon Bible is a huge leap ahead in quality as far as lyrics go. (Antichrist Television Blues) is incredibly mature for a band like this, at least moreso than I would have ever expected from them. Black Mirror and Windowsill also show this new level of maturity. Everything about this band is extremely promising. And while they aren't quite there yet, they destined to be one of the all-time greats.

 

[angelordevil]

I think Win's lyrics are actually rather good. Neon Bible is a huge leap ahead in quality as far as lyrics go. (Antichrist Television Blues) is incredibly mature for a band like this, at least moreso than I would have ever expected from them. Black Mirror and Windowsill also show this new level of maturity. Everything about this band is extremely promising. And while they aren't quite there yet, they destined to be one of the all-time greats.

My thumb is getting sore from agreeing with you! Like you say, I think AF are on the verge of becoming one of the 'important' bands (if they aren't already there).

I love bands that mix personal terrain with the political stuff...Neon Bible is supercharged in that aspect

It's the same sort of element that draws me to Radiohead.

 

[Lemonchick]

I absolutely agree with Stipe being one of the best lyricists.

Find The River

Neon Bible as a whole continues to blow me away, and Win's lyrics are so amazing.


I also love Leonard Cohen's lyrics. He's a whole other dimension...

Suzanne is one of my favourites:

Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river
You can hear the boats go by
You can spend the night beside her
And you know that she's half crazy
But that's why you want to be there
And she feeds you tea and oranges
That come all the way from China
And just when you mean to tell her
That you have no love to give her
Then she gets you on her wavelength
And she lets the river answer
That you've always been her lover
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that she will trust you
For you've touched her perfect body with your mind.
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said "All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them"
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe you'll trust him
For he's touched your perfect body with his mind.

Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror
And you want to travel with her
And you want to travel blind
And you know that you can trust her
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind.

 

[namkcuR]

One of the most moving pieces of pure poetry every put to music...these lyrics stand alone on a remote plane of unparalleled genius...

check
1....1..2
i came into this world as a reject
look into these eyes
then you'll see the size of the flames
dwellin on the past
its burnin up my brain
everyone that burns has to learn from the pain
hey, i think about the day
my girlie ran away with my pay
my fellas came to play
now shes stuck with my homies that she fucked
and i'm just a sucker with a lump in my throat

hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey

should i be feelin bad (no)
should i be feelin good (no)
its kinda sad
i'm the laughing stock of the neighborhood
and you would think that i would be movin on
but i'm a sucka like i said
fucked up in the head, not
and maybe she just made a mistake
and i should give her a break
my heart'll ache, either way
hey, what the hell you want me to say
i won't lie
that i can't deny

i did it all for the nookie, come on
the nookie, come on
so you can take the cookie and stick it up your(yea)-3x
i did it all for the nookie, come on
the nookie, come on
so you can take the cookie and stick it up your (yea)
up your (yea)
up your (yea)

why did it take so long
why did i wait so long, huh
to figure it out
but i did it
and i'm the only one
underneath the sun who didn't get it
i can't believe that could be decieved
(but you were)by my so called girl, but in reality
had a hidden agenda
she put my tender heart in a blender
and still i surrendered

hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey
hey, like a chump, hey

i did it all for the nookie, come on
the nookie, come on
so you can take the cookie and stick it up your(yea)
up your(yea)
up your(yea)
i did it all for the nookie, come on
the nookie, come on
so you can take the cookie and stick it up your(yea)
up your(yea)
up your(yea)

i'm only human
so for your friends give you their advice
they'll tell you, to just let it go
its easier said than done
i appreciate it, i do, but
just leave me alone, leave me alone
just leave me alone
nothings gunna change
you can go away
i'm just gunna stay here and always be the same
ain't nothing gunna change
cuz you can go away
and i'm just gunna stay here and always be the same

i did it all for the nookie, come on
the nookie, come on
so you can take the cookie and stick it up your(yea)
up your(yea)
up your(yea)
i did it all for the nookie, come on
the nookie, come on
so you can take the cookie and stick it up your(yea)
up your(yea)
up your(yea)

 

[Lila64]

sung by the man, Elvis Costello, but written by Nick Lowe:

As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

 

[Zoots]

OMG namkcuR!!!

 

[LMP]

one word for you all.

Popozao.

 

[elevation2u]

The Smiths's Cemetry Gates
A dreaded sunny day
So I meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
A dreaded sunny day
So I meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
While Wilde is on mine

So we go inside and we gravely read the stones
All those people, all those lives
Where are they now ?
With loves, and hates
And passions just like mine
They were born
And then they lived
And then they died
It seems so unfair
I want to cry

You say : "'Ere thrice the sun done salutation to the dawn"
And you claim these words as your own
But I've read well, and I've heard them said
A hundred times (maybe less, maybe more)
If you must write prose/poems
The words you use should be your own
Don't plagiarise or take "on loan"
'Cause there's always someone, somewhere
With a big nose, who knows
And who trips you up and laughs
When you fall
Who'll trip you up and laugh
When you fall

You say : "'Ere long done do does did"
Words which could only be your own
And then produce the text
From whence was ripped
(Some dizzy whore, 1804)

A dreaded sunny day
So let's go where we're happy
And I meet you at the cemetry gates
Oh, Keats and Yeats are on your side
A dreaded sunny day
So let's go where we're wanted
And I meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
But you lose
'Cause weird lover Wilde is on mine

Bob Dylan's Desolation Row
They're selling postcards of the hanging
They're painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row

Cinderella, she seems so easy
"It takes one to know one," she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
"You Belong to Me I Believe"
And someone says," You're in the wrong place, my friend
You better leave"
And the only sound that's left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row

Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortunetelling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
He's getting ready for the show
He's going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row

Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid

To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession's her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
Now you would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They're trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She's in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
"Have Mercy on His Soul"
They all play on penny whistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row

Across the street they've nailed the curtains
They're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
A perfect image of a priest
They're spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words

And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
"Get Outa Here If You Don't Know
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row"

Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row

Praise be to Nero's Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody's shouting
"Which Side Are You On?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain's tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row

Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the door knob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can't read too good
Don't send me no more letters no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row

Ryan Adam's Magnolia Mountain
I want to go to Magnolia Mountain
And lay my weary head down
Down on the rocks
On the mountain my savior made
Steady my soul and ease my worry
Hold me when I rattle like a hummingbird hummin'
Tie me to the rocks on the mountain my savior made
Lie to me
Sing me a song
Sing me a song until the morning comes
If the morning comes, will you lie to me
Will you take me to your bed
Will you lay me down
Till I'm heavy like the rocks on the riverbed
That my savior made
I want to be the bluebird singing
Singing to the roses in her yard
The roses in her yard her father grew for her
It's been raining that Tennessee honey
So long I got too heavy to fly
Ain't no bluebird ever gets too heavy to sing
Lie to me
Sing me a song
Sing me a song until the morning comes
And if the morning don't come, will you lie to me
Will you take me to your bed
Will you lay me down
Till I'm heavy like the rocks in the riverbed
That my savior made
We burned the cotton fields down in the valley
And ended up with nothing but scars
The scars became the lessons that we gave to our children after the war
But there ain't nothing but the truth up on the Magnolia Mountain
Where nobody ever dies
Steady your soul and ease your worry
They got a room for you
Lie to me like I lie to you
Calm me down until the morning comes
And if the morning don't come
Lie to me
Will you take me to your bed
Will you lay me down
All heavy like the rocks in the riverbed
That my savior made
For us


honorable mentions :
gates of eden, with god on our side,...well just about every Dylan really..
handful of Smiths, Costello & Bright Eyes songs
Sandy (4th of July, Asbury Park) - Springsteen
U2's Please
Wilco's Jesus Etc

 

[Lancemc]

One of my favorite Dylan songs. He really is a story-teller.

Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts

The festival was over, the boys were all plannin' for a fall,
The cabaret was quiet except for the drillin' in the wall.
The curfew had been lifted and the gamblin' wheel shut down,
Anyone with any sense had already left town.
He was standin' in the doorway lookin' like the Jack of Hearts.

He moved across the mirrored room, "Set it up for everyone," he said,
Then everyone commenced to do what they were doin' before he turned their heads.
Then he walked up to a stranger and he asked him with a grin,
"Could you kindly tell me, friend, what time the show begins?"
Then he moved into the corner, face down like the Jack of Hearts.

Backstage the girls were playin' five-card stud by the stairs,
Lily had two queens, she was hopin' for a third to match her pair.
Outside the streets were fillin' up, the window was open wide,
A gentle breeze was blowin', you could feel it from inside.
Lily called another bet and drew up the Jack of Hearts.

Big Jim was no one's fool, he owned the town's only diamond mine,
He made his usual entrance lookin' so dandy and so fine.
With his bodyguards and silver cane and every hair in place,
He took whatever he wanted to and he laid it all to waste.
But his bodyguards and silver cane were no match for the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary combed her hair and took a carriage into town,
She slipped in through the side door lookin' like a queen without a crown.
She fluttered her false eyelashes and whispered in his ear,
"Sorry, darlin', that I'm late," but he didn't seem to hear.
He was starin' into space over at the Jack of Hearts.

"I know I've seen that face before," Big Jim was thinkin' to himself,
"Maybe down in Mexico or a picture up on somebody's shelf."
But then the crowd began to stamp their feet and the house lights did dim
And in the darkness of the room there was only Jim and him,
Starin' at the butterfly who just drew the Jack of Hearts.

Lily was a princess, she was fair-skinned and precious as a child,
She did whatever she had to do, she had that certain flash every time she smiled.
She'd come away from a broken home, had lots of strange affairs
With men in every walk of life which took her everywhere.
But she'd never met anyone quite like the Jack of Hearts.

The hangin' judge came in unnoticed and was being wined and dined,
The drillin' in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind.
It was known all around that Lily had Jim's ring
And nothing would ever come between Lily and the king.
No, nothin' ever would except maybe the Jack of Hearts.

Rosemary started drinkin' hard and seein' her reflection in the knife,
She was tired of the attention, tired of playin' the role of Big Jim's wife.
She had done a lot of bad things, even once tried suicide,
Was lookin' to do just one good deed before she died.
She was gazin' to the future, riding on the Jack of Hearts.

Lily washed her face, took her dress off and buried it away.
"Has your luck run out?" she laughed at him, "Well, I guess you must
have known it would someday.
Be careful not to touch the wall, there's a brand-new coat of paint,
I'm glad to see you're still alive, you're lookin' like a saint."
Down the hallway footsteps were comin' for the Jack of Hearts.

The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair.
"There's something funny going on," he said, "I can just feel it in the air."
He went to get the hangin' judge, but the hangin' judge was drunk,
As the leading actor hurried by in the costume of a monk.
There was no actor anywhere better than the Jack of Hearts.

Lily's arms were locked around the man that she dearly loved to touch,
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much.
"I've missed you so," she said to him, and he felt she was sincere,
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear.
Just another night in the life of the Jack of Hearts.

No one knew the circumstance but they say that it happened pretty quick,
The door to the dressing room burst open and a cold revolver clicked.
And Big Jim was standin' there, ya couldn't say surprised,
Rosemary right beside him, steady in her eyes.
She was with Big Jim but she was leanin' to the Jack of Hearts.

Two doors down the boys finally made it through the wall
And cleaned out the bank safe, it's said that they got off with quite a haul.
In the darkness by the riverbed they waited on the ground
For one more member who had business back in town.
But they couldn't go no further without the Jack of Hearts.

The next day was hangin' day, the sky was overcast and black,
Big Jim lay covered up, killed by a penknife in the back.
And Rosemary on the gallows, she didn't even blink,
The hangin' judge was sober, he hadn't had a drink.
The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts.

The cabaret was empty now, a sign said, "Closed for repair,"
Lily had already taken all of the dye out of her hair.
She was thinkin' 'bout her father, who she very rarely saw,
Thinkin' 'bout Rosemary and thinkin' about the law.
But, most of all she was thinkin' 'bout the Jack of Hearts.

 

[LMP]

there you go

 

[Lancemc]

Another of my favorite Dylan lyrics. One of the saddest songs I've ever heard.

If You See Her, Say Hello

If you see her, say hello, she might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring, is livin' there, I hear
Say for me that I'm all right though things get kind of slow
She might think that I've forgotten her, don't tell her it isn't so.

We had a falling-out, like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night, it still brings me a chill
And though our separation, it pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me, we've never been apart.

If you get close to her, kiss her once for me
I always have respected her for busting out and gettin' free
Oh, whatever makes her happy, I won't stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on from the night I tried to make her stay.

I see a lot of people as I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town
And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off
Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.

Sundown, yellow moon, I replay the past
I know every scene by heart, they all went by so fast
If she's passin' back this way, I'm not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up if she's got the time.

 

[intedomine]

The Smiths - especially The Queen Is Dead, I Know It's Over, Stop Me..., How Soon Is Now...no need to post them, everyone should have memorised them by now.

Other than those:
--------------------------------------------

THE KINKS - AUTUMN ALMANAC

From the dew-soaked hedge creeps a crawly caterpillar,
When the dawn begins to crack.
It's all part of my autumn almanac.
Breeze blows leaves of a musty-coloured yellow,
So I sweep them in my sack.
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.

Friday evenings, people get together,
Hiding from the weather.
Tea and toasted, buttered currant buns
Can't compensate for lack of sun,
Because the summer's all gone.

La-la-la-la...
Oh, my poor rheumatic back
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.
La-la-la-la...
Oh, my autumn almanac
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.

I like my football on a Saturday,
Roast beef on Sundays, all right.
I go to Blackpool for my holidays,
Sit in the open sunlight.

This is my street, and I'm never gonna to leave it,
And I'm always gonna to stay here
If I live to be ninety-nine,
'Cause all the people I meet
Seem to come from my street
And I can't get away,
Because it's calling me, (come on home)
Hear it calling me, (come on home)

La-la-la-la...
Oh, my autumn Armagnac
Yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac.
La-la-la-la...
Oh, my autumn almanac
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Bop-bop-bopm-bop-bop, whoa!
Bop-bop-bopm-bop-bop, whoa!

--------------------------------------------------
LEAPS AND BOUNDS - PAUL KELLY

I'm high on the hill
Looking over the bridge
To the M.C.G.
And way up on high
The clock on the silo
Says eleven degrees

I remember I remember
I'm breathing today
The month of May
All the burning leaves
I'm not hearing a sound
My feet don't even
Touch the ground

I remember I remember
I go leaps and bounds
Down past the river
And across the playing fields
The fields all empty
Only for the burning leaves

I remember I remember
I go leaps and bounds
I remember everything

-----------------------------------

There's so many others...I'm a real lyric nut....

 

[I'm Ready]

heres another dylan that I love, it's not a well known song, but its his best angry song in my opinion

Dirge:


I hate myself for lovin' you and the weakness that it showed
You were just a painted face on a trip down Suicide Road.
The stage was set, the lights went out all around the old hotel,
I hate myself for lovin' you and I'm glad the curtain fell.

I hate that foolish game we played and the need that was expressed
And the mercy that you showed to me, who ever would have guessed?
I went out on Lower Broadway and I felt that place within,
That hollow place where martyrs weep and angels play with sin.

Heard your songs of freedom and man forever stripped,
Acting out his folly while his back is being whipped.
Like a slave in orbit, he's beaten 'til he's tame,
All for a moment's glory and it's a dirty, rotten shame.

There are those who worship loneliness, I'm not one of them,
In this age of fiberglass I'm searching for a gem.
The crystal ball up on the wall hasn't shown me nothing yet,
I've paid the price of solitude, but at last I'm out of debt.

Can't recall a useful thing you ever did for me
'Cept pat me on the back one time when I was on my knees.
We stared into each other's eyes 'til one of us would break,
No use to apologize, what diff'rence would it make?

So sing your praise of progress and of the Doom Machine,
The naked truth is still taboo whenever it can be seen.
Lady Luck, who shines on me, will tell you where I'm at,
I hate myself for lovin' you, but I should get over that.

 

[namkcuR]

Just so we're all on the same page, and so that my rep doesn't go down the drain...the Nookie thing was a joke. I sincerely hope nobody thought I was serious.

 

[Lancemc]

Don't worry namkcuR, I don't think anyone here's THAT dense.

This song's brilliant. Daniel Lanois' Dylan-esque epilogue to his second album For The Beauty of Wynona.

Rocky World

My hands are wrapped in your raven hair
in the faded picture on the back stair
We were narrow, we were steady, trembling and ready
to give it hell in this rocky world

You said do I look like I could be a strong mother
and raise the good side of a young daughter
In the hotel Shangri La, let me tell you
I've been thinking of her in this rocky world

Chicago is heavy but I can't turn around
I'm smuggling that whiskey over flesh and pound
Michigan I worry and Suzy I'm sorry
that I lost you out there in the rocky world

Would you build me a building, a chapel out there
at the top of the hill in the still blue air
Near the weather vane, by the track and train
I'll be looking for you in the rocky world

She's turning twenty, and out on the make
Pounding the blacktop with a habit to shake
She's looking for a manger in the eyes of a stranger
down in the streets of a rocky world

Jenny has religion, she sinks in a chair
She's made a decision to color her hair
The black man cut the sugar cane and she watches the rain
in a building away from the rocky world

Yeah, I'll tell you something I'll never forget
the sight of you in the sillhouette
Outside Sault. Ste. Marie, ah you really threw me
when you pulled me down to your rocky bed

In a crowded room, I stood there empty
looking for salvation and glory be
When a shot turned my head and I saw you instead
walking into my rocky world...

 

[Zoots]

Just so we're all on the same page, and so that my rep doesn't go down the drain...the Nookie thing was a joke. I sincerely hope nobody thought I was serious.

That's not what you said in that Limp Bizkit appreciation thread.

 

[No spoken words]

I'm not saying these are my favorite lyrics, or the best lyrics ever. I just know this song always evokes some sort of response from me, the rare times I hear it. The words are simple, nobody needs a dictionary for this song, but, the message is powerful, at least to me.

I like a lot of the prior choices in this thread. Thunder Road has a similar effect on me as was earlier described...I could not tell you how or why that song gets me, but it really does.



My child arrived just the other day,
He came through the world in the usual way.
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay.
He learned to walk while I was away.
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew,
He'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, dad.
You know I'm gonna be like you."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
were gonna have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day.
He said, "Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let's play.
Can you teach me to throw?" I said, "Not today,
I got a lot to do." He said, "That's ok."
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,and
Said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah.
You know I'm gonna be like him."

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon.
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then.
were gonna have a good time then."

Well, he came from college just the other day,
So much like a man I just had to say,
"Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head, and he said with a smile,
"What I'd really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys.
See you later. Can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
were gonna have a good time then."

I've long since retired and my son's moved away.
I called him up just the other day.
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind."
He said, "I'd love to, dad, if I could find the time.
You see, my new job's a hassle, and the kid's have the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you, dad.
It's been sure nice talking to you."
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me,
He'd grown up just like me.
My boy was just like me.

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon.
"When you coming home, son?" "I don't know when,
But we'll get together then, dad.
you know well have a good time then.

 

[Zoots]

Cats In The Cradle

Love both the original and the Ugly Kid Joe version!

 

[Laura M]

stipe

 

[PookaMacP]

I love the usual classics - Dylan's If You See Her Say Hello, Simple Twist Of Fate and Girl From The North Country, etc, Nick Cave's Into My Arms and Are You The One That I've Been Waiting For, Leonard Cohen's That's No Way To Say Goodbye, and a few lesser know ones like Making It Back by Richmond Fontaine (or anything from their The Fitzgerald album), but my current favourites have to be:

Opening line:
'There are nights when I think that Sal Paradise was right...'
['Stuck Between Stations' - The Hold Steady]

Song:
'Videotape' by Radiohead:

When I'm at the Pearly Gates
This will be on my videotape
When Mephestopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab me

This is one for the good days
When I have it all here
In red blue green
In red blue green

You are my sinner when I spin away
Out of control
On videotape
On videotape

This is my way of saying goodbye
Because I can't do it face to face
So I'm talking to you after it's too late
From my videotape

No matter what happens now
I won't be afraid
Because today has been the most perfect day
I've ever seen

 

[GibsonGirl]

1. Lennon/McCartney
2. Bob Dylan
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. Roger Waters
5. Pete Townshend

You know what, LMP? If you dropped McCartney, put Freddie Mercury and Neil Young into slots three and four, moved Waters down to five...you'd have Roger's personal ranking of the best writers of all time. He's certainly not modest.

 

[Bonochick]

Ryan Adam's Magnolia Mountain

I almost went with that one...but I ended up taking another one from Cold Roses..."Meadowlake Street".

~~~

There's something about you that reminds me of all those times
When I wasn't sorry
When I wasn't blue, the cherry moon, it shone down on us
Under the stars
Shining down
Every one for you
If I could count them all, I would circle the moon
And count 'em back to nothing 'til I got to you

Something in you dies when it's over
Everybody cries sometimes
If loving you's a dream that's not worth having
Then why do I dream of you?

I used to be the house that you lived in down on Meadowlake Street
When you moved
They cut down the maple tree I carved your name into
The tree became a boat
I christened it your name
And when the water turned to salt from your tears, it hit the bottom of the ocean
Where I go when I hear your name, and I sink like a stone


Something in you dies when it's over
Everybody cries sometimes
If loving you's a dream
That's not worth having
Then why do I dream of you?
Why do I dream of you?

I feel like a dream that's not worth having
Like a nervous joke
Ain't nobody laughing
Like somebody with nothing 'cause they don't know what they're wanting
Tiny like the sand in the cracks of driftwood
Washed up on the shore in an ocean of you
Boats out on the horizon
Made of the maple tree where we used to lie down on Meadowlake Street
Counting the stars
You and I
You and I

Something in you dies when it's over
Everybody cries sometimes
If loving you's a dream that's not worth having
Then why do I dream of you?
Why do I dream of you?
Why?

 

[malena_u2]

It's so tough to put into words why I choose this song. But I know that every time I listen to it it's still like hearing it for the first time-and I have listened to it countless times. It's about despair and hope at the same time, which so many of his songs are about. It's like poetry to me, and it still makes me cry. It's romantic in a real way.

Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen


The screen door slams
Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again
I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well now I'm no hero
That's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl
Is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight take hold
Thunder Road

Well I got this guitar
And I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back
If you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride it ain't free
And I know you're lonely
For words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free
All the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes
Of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets

They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers
And I'm pulling out of here to win.

You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright



I really like Doll Parts by Hole

I am doll eyes
doll mouth, doll legs
I am doll arms
big veins, dog bait

Yeah, they really want you
they really want you, they really do
Yeah, they really want you
they really want you, and I do too

I want to be the girl with the most cake
I love him so much, it just turns to hate
I fake it so real I am beyond fake
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
Someday you will ache like I ache

I am doll parts
bad skin, doll heart
It stands for a knife
for the rest of my life

Yeah, they really want you
they really want you, they really do
Yeah, they really want you
they really want you, but I do too

I want to be the girl with the most cake
He only loves those things because he loves to see them break
I fake it so real I am beyond fake
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
Someday you will ache like I ache

And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
And someday you will ache like I ache
Someday you will ache like I ache

it suits me very well in some ways