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Best rock lyric ever?

#701
One of the best lately:

I'll be a long gone daddy by the time you read this note
But just for the record, this is what I wrote

Nick Lowe, Tokyo Bay
Which, by the way, all the bass lines on that EP are fun to play

Also, I enjoy the opening of West LA Fadeaway:

I'm looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
 
#705
Tell me why the road keeps turning
Everything you want is straight ahead

Sheryl Crow

——————————————————

There's a quarter of a man in the market
With a quarter of a car so its easy to park it
He gets to the counter he saves what he can
But he only saves a quarter he's a quarter of a man
Now this quarter of a man he got fired
The next damn day he got hired
The only thing wrong with this plan
He only gets a quarter he's a quarter of man

Every day he's on the street
Too few quarters to live or to eat
He's so little the people all stare
But he only pays a quarter fare

Now the quarter of a man's on vacation
But he still gets his ration
When he gets to the market he pays what he can
But he only pays a quarter he's a quarter of a man

Every day he's on the street
Too few quarters to live or to eat
He's so little the people all stare
But he only pays a quarter fare

David Lindsey

——————————————————

You're not the girl next-door or a girl from france
Or the cigarette-girl in the sizzle hot-pants
All the words of love seem cruel and crass
When you're tough and transparent as armoured glass
You're everywhere girl in an everyday mess
Who'll pay for the crimes of Paris

Elvis Costello
 
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#711
Down 'n dirty in a big way

...
"For so many fellows run their mouth
And so few of them know
And how to make you messy, babe
Dripping on the floor
...
Well I wasted lots of time again
With talk of getting high
Now I wanna waste some time
Climbing up your thighs"

"You Caught My Eye" - Big Wreck
 
#712
A couple of favorites - Cyndi Lauper and Dylan

"Time After Time"

Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you
Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new
Flashback, warm nights almost left behind
Suitcases of memories, time after...

  • Album: The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964)

    "Come mothers and fathers,
    Throughout the land,
    And don't criticize,
    What you can't understand."
Album: The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)

"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind."
 
#714
AaronVonRock said:
Not a poll and I know there is no correct answer. Just wondering what lyric you think is the best ever.

I'm specifically saying lyric as opposed to lyrics. Just one line, not a whole verse or chorus.

I went to see Nine Inch Nails last night and I think Trent Reznor came up with the best rock lyric ever. First line to the chorus of Closer: I want to **** you like an animal.

It's nasty, vulgar, offensive, dangerous, and menacing but it's also sexy, fun, and crazy. It's a song that is rough enough for the boys but still sexy enough for the girls to get into as well. A nice balance. And it was a wonderful experience to be in a room with thousands of women screaming that line at the top of their lungs.
Click to expand...
Ian Dury and the Blockheads "wake up and make love to me". It has humour and truth and I think we have all been there before.
I come awake with a gift for womankind
You're still asleep but the gift don't seem to mind
Rise on this occasion, halfway up your back
Sliding down your body, touching your behind

You look so self-possessed
I won't disturb your rest
It's lovely when you're sleeping
But wide awake is best

Wake up and make love with me, wake up and make love
Wake up and make love with me
I don't want to make you, I'll let the fancy take you
And you'll wake up and make love

You come awake in a horny morning mood
And have a proper wriggle in the naughty naked nude
Roll against my body, get me where you want me
What happens next is private, it's also very rude

I'll go and get the post
And make some tea and toast
You have a lover's sleep, love
It's me that needs it most

Wake up and make love with me, wake up and make love
Wake up and make love with me
I don't want to make you, I'll let the fancy take you
And you'll wake up and make love

Wake up and make love with me, wake up and make love
Wake up and make love with me, wake up and make love
Wake up
Wake up
Wake up
Wake up

Here the live video with the outstanding Norman Watt-Roy on bass.
 
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#715
Todd Snider
Now to fit in on the Seattle scene
You've gotta do somethin' they ain't never seen
So thinkin' up a gimmick one day
We decided to be the only band that wouldn't play a note
Under any circumstances
Silence
Music's original alternative
Root's grunge
Well we spread the word through the underground
That we were the hottest new thing in town
The record guy came out to see us one day
And just like always we didn't play
It knocked him out
He said he loved our work
He said he loved our work but he wasn't sure if he could sell a record
With nothing on it
I said tell 'em we're from Seattle
He advanced us two and a half million dollars
Hey, hey, my, my
Rock and roll will never die
Hang your hair down in your eye
You'll make a million dollars
Well they made us do a video but that wasn't tough
'cause we just filmed ourselves smashin' stuff
It was kinda weird 'cause there was no music
But MTV said they'd love to use it
The kids went wild, the kids went nuts
Rolling stone gave us a five-star review said we played with guts
We're scorin' chicks, takin' drugs
Then we got asked to play MTV unplugged
You should have seen it
We went right out there and refused to do acoustical versions of the
Electrical songs we had refused to record in the first place
Then we smashed our poopie
Well we blew 'em away at the Grammy's show
By refusing to play and refusing to go
And then just when we thought fame would last forever
Along come this band that wasn't even together
Now that's alternative
Now that's alternative to alternative
I feel stupid
And contagious
 
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