Oh yeah, gotta add Leonard Cohen to the list of great lyricists, though it could certainly be argued that he's not really rock...
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Best rock lyric ever?
- Thread starter AaronVonRock
- Start date
Summer (The First Time) by Bobby Goldsboro
It was a hot afternoon
Last day of June
And the sun was a demon
The clouds were afraid
One ten in the shade
And the pavement was steaming
It was a hot afternoon
Last day of June
And the sun was a demon
The clouds were afraid
One ten in the shade
And the pavement was steaming
- Dec 21, 2007
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- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Quick to judge, quick to anger, slow to understand
Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand
Maybe not the spirit of rock and roll, but a message just as important today as it was in 1981.
Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand
Maybe not the spirit of rock and roll, but a message just as important today as it was in 1981.
I keep coming up with:
"The way you squeeze my lemon - I'm gonna fall right outa bed."
Pretty tough to top that one.
"The way you squeeze my lemon - I'm gonna fall right outa bed."
Pretty tough to top that one.
The Load Out by Jackson Browne
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They're the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They'll set it up in another town
Now the seats are all empty
Let the roadies take the stage
Pack it up and tear it down
They're the first to come and the last to leave
Working for that minimum wage
They'll set it up in another town
- Dec 21, 2007
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- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Levon wears his war wound like a crown
He calls his child Jesus
Because he likes the name....
And he shall be Levon
Elton John (Bernie Taupin)
He calls his child Jesus
Because he likes the name....
And he shall be Levon
Elton John (Bernie Taupin)
- Dec 21, 2007
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Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Is all my brain and body need.
Is all my brain and body need.
We are the Desperate Dan appreciation society.
God save strawberry jam, and all the different varieties.
God save strawberry jam, and all the different varieties.
Try and breath some life into a letter
Losing hope, never be together
My courage is at it’s peak
You know what I mean
How do you say your Ok to an answering machine?
How do you say goodnight to an answering machine?
Losing hope, never be together
My courage is at it’s peak
You know what I mean
How do you say your Ok to an answering machine?
How do you say goodnight to an answering machine?
Good call. I like this one from Lou/VU
Thought of you as my mountain top
Thought of you as my peak
Thought of you as everything
I’ve had but couldn’t keep.
I never had a clue what that meant. I figured Elton was chemically enhanced when he wrote it.
Dogs - Pink Floyd - Animals
You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking
And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in
You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder
You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older
And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south
Hide your head in the sand,
Just another sad old man
All alone and dying of cancer
And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone
Dragged down by the stone (stone, stone, stone, stone, stone)
I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze?
Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer
Who was born in a house full of pain
Who was trained not to spit in the fan
Who was told what to do by the man
Who was broken by trained personnel
Who was fitted with collar and chain
Who was given a pat on the back
Who was breaking away from the pack
Who was only a stranger at home
Who was ground down in the end
Who was found dead on the phone
Who was dragged down by the stone
You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking
And after a while, you can work on points for style
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You'll get the chance to put the knife in
You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder
You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you get older
And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south
Hide your head in the sand,
Just another sad old man
All alone and dying of cancer
And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown
And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around
So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone
Dragged down by the stone (stone, stone, stone, stone, stone)
I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused
Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze?
Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner
And everything's done under the sun
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer
Who was born in a house full of pain
Who was trained not to spit in the fan
Who was told what to do by the man
Who was broken by trained personnel
Who was fitted with collar and chain
Who was given a pat on the back
Who was breaking away from the pack
Who was only a stranger at home
Who was ground down in the end
Who was found dead on the phone
Who was dragged down by the stone
Couple more:
Ray Davies/Kinks 'Uncle Son' "All life we work but work is a bore, if life's for living what's living for"
Paul Westerberg/Replacements can always be counted on for a good line. From 'Achin' To Be'. "Well, I saw one of your pictures, There was nothin' that I could see, If no one's on your canvas, Well, I'm achin' to be"
Bob Dylan, from 'If You See Her Say Hello' (masterpiece of a tune) and showing a bit of the Dylan wit, "But I've never gotten used to it, I just learned to turn it off, either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin soft"
I wish some newer folks stuff comes to mind. I listen to mostly ambient for the last 10 years and guess what? No lyrics! A couple that do come to mind.
Courtney Barnett made me laugh out loud with the tune 'Elevator Operator' and that hasn't happened for a while. "Don't jump off that roof little boy, don't jump off that roof, you got your whole life ahead of you, you're still in your youth." If you listen from the beginning you'll see what a great line that is. She is one of a kind.
The Weeks 'Ike'. "Open up your maps and see we're lost and losing"
Ray Davies/Kinks 'Uncle Son' "All life we work but work is a bore, if life's for living what's living for"
Paul Westerberg/Replacements can always be counted on for a good line. From 'Achin' To Be'. "Well, I saw one of your pictures, There was nothin' that I could see, If no one's on your canvas, Well, I'm achin' to be"
Bob Dylan, from 'If You See Her Say Hello' (masterpiece of a tune) and showing a bit of the Dylan wit, "But I've never gotten used to it, I just learned to turn it off, either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin soft"
I wish some newer folks stuff comes to mind. I listen to mostly ambient for the last 10 years and guess what? No lyrics! A couple that do come to mind.
Courtney Barnett made me laugh out loud with the tune 'Elevator Operator' and that hasn't happened for a while. "Don't jump off that roof little boy, don't jump off that roof, you got your whole life ahead of you, you're still in your youth." If you listen from the beginning you'll see what a great line that is. She is one of a kind.
The Weeks 'Ike'. "Open up your maps and see we're lost and losing"
Big Yellow Taxi
They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem 'em
They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem 'em
I counter with: THE PRICE OF MEAT HAS JUST GONE UP AND YOUR OLD LADY HAS JUST GONE DOWN
