I have been pleased by the many wonderful contributions to the "Worst Lyrics" thread. From Train ("Entertainment Weekly gave these guys a B+!") to Madonna to Iron Maiden, it seems that artists in every sub-genre of popular music have the ability to dump their lyrical septic tanks onto our collective tour boat.
However!
I had a brief conversation with another member of this forum last Thursday about great rock couplets -- two lines of lyrics that inspire you, make you laugh or crystallize a particular thought.
I was going to post a "Great Rock Couplets" thread. But why limit it to two lines? Let's see a whole song, you cuttin' and pastin' fools. Let's have some great song lyrics to counteract the nauseating effects of the "Worst Lyrics" offerings.
I mean, "Nookie". Wtf.
One thing: please state why you think that your particular submission is great. The song that you submit might seem self-evidently great to you, but others might be confused by it or doubt its worth.
Great Lyrics!
2Polvo--Fast Canoe
if you're on a journey
'cause you had to work things out
take your time to get it right
and i hope you erase all your doubts
if you had a notion
you gotta sail across the ocean
in a boat built for one
keep dry, and stay near the sun
one thing i remember
you never did a bad thing to me
build a boat for two and i'll row it for you
i'm waiting for a postcard that you won't write
just hoping there's a chance that you might
i'm clinging to a memory that we might share
just trying to send the thought through
if you have a message
and want me to pass it along
find a way to get it through
and i'll promise i'll whisper for you
but if you're undercover
you better leave your briefcase behind
you won't need a lock
or a key to keep what you find
if you get in trouble
and you need to make your escape
i'll carve a fast canoe
and i'll send it to you
i'm waiting for a postcard that you won't write
just hoping there's a chance that you might
i'm clinging to a memory that we might share
just trying to send a thought through
i'm looking for a metaphor that you might like
i can't find the one that you deserve to hear
-------------------------------
these lyrics, *especially* when sung by mr bowie over the music as played by the polvos, can almost make me cry. i don't think i've ever heard a song that takes on the pain of an unwanted split nearly as well as this one does. i have lived this exact experience. it is one of the ugliest things a suburban whiteboy can expect to experience, short of stuff like dismemberment or the like. it's probably the most common pain that just about everybody can expect to experience at least once in life. and i think this song captures it in such a poetic and beautiful way. it's such pain, to love someone and have them split, and you are left loving them so much and wishing them well. it's so much easier when you don't still love so much. i love this song so much, and to dive into it and let it take me where it takes me, to go back to that point in my life, i could easily cry if i let myself really go there. so beautiful. the lyrics speak to me as much as the music. which is a lot. so rare. so beautiful.
if you're on a journey
'cause you had to work things out
take your time to get it right
and i hope you erase all your doubts
if you had a notion
you gotta sail across the ocean
in a boat built for one
keep dry, and stay near the sun
one thing i remember
you never did a bad thing to me
build a boat for two and i'll row it for you
i'm waiting for a postcard that you won't write
just hoping there's a chance that you might
i'm clinging to a memory that we might share
just trying to send the thought through
if you have a message
and want me to pass it along
find a way to get it through
and i'll promise i'll whisper for you
but if you're undercover
you better leave your briefcase behind
you won't need a lock
or a key to keep what you find
if you get in trouble
and you need to make your escape
i'll carve a fast canoe
and i'll send it to you
i'm waiting for a postcard that you won't write
just hoping there's a chance that you might
i'm clinging to a memory that we might share
just trying to send a thought through
i'm looking for a metaphor that you might like
i can't find the one that you deserve to hear
-------------------------------
these lyrics, *especially* when sung by mr bowie over the music as played by the polvos, can almost make me cry. i don't think i've ever heard a song that takes on the pain of an unwanted split nearly as well as this one does. i have lived this exact experience. it is one of the ugliest things a suburban whiteboy can expect to experience, short of stuff like dismemberment or the like. it's probably the most common pain that just about everybody can expect to experience at least once in life. and i think this song captures it in such a poetic and beautiful way. it's such pain, to love someone and have them split, and you are left loving them so much and wishing them well. it's so much easier when you don't still love so much. i love this song so much, and to dive into it and let it take me where it takes me, to go back to that point in my life, i could easily cry if i let myself really go there. so beautiful. the lyrics speak to me as much as the music. which is a lot. so rare. so beautiful.
Great Lyrics!
3VU:
Some kinds of love
Marguerita told Tom
Like a dirty French novel
combines the absurd with the vulgar
And some kinds of love
the possibilities are endless
And for me to miss one
would seem to be groundless
Some kinds of love
Marguerita told Tom
Like a dirty French novel
combines the absurd with the vulgar
And some kinds of love
the possibilities are endless
And for me to miss one
would seem to be groundless
Great Lyrics!
4Songs:Ohia
Blue Factory Flame
when i die
put my bones in an empty street
to remind me of how it used to be
don't write my name on a stone
bring a Coleman lantern and a radio
Cleveland game and two fishing poles
and watch with me from the shore
ghostly steel and iron ore ships coming home
where i am paralyzed by the emptiness
clearly iron age beasts
you can tell by the rust and the chains
and by the oil that they bleed
the crew and crows fly the skulls and bones
they fly the colors of their homes
i fly the cross of the blue factory flame
stitched with heavy sulpher thread
they ain't proud colors but they're true colors of my home
where i am paralyzed by the emptiness
every mile for ten thousand miles
and every year for a thousand years
every night for a thousand more i hear them calling
they never say to come home
where i am paralyzed by the emptiness
This shit kills me it's so good.
Blue Factory Flame
when i die
put my bones in an empty street
to remind me of how it used to be
don't write my name on a stone
bring a Coleman lantern and a radio
Cleveland game and two fishing poles
and watch with me from the shore
ghostly steel and iron ore ships coming home
where i am paralyzed by the emptiness
clearly iron age beasts
you can tell by the rust and the chains
and by the oil that they bleed
the crew and crows fly the skulls and bones
they fly the colors of their homes
i fly the cross of the blue factory flame
stitched with heavy sulpher thread
they ain't proud colors but they're true colors of my home
where i am paralyzed by the emptiness
every mile for ten thousand miles
and every year for a thousand years
every night for a thousand more i hear them calling
they never say to come home
where i am paralyzed by the emptiness
This shit kills me it's so good.
Great Lyrics!
5I've heard some JoJo bashing 'round these parts, but I, for one, think he's a great lyricist, and I always get choked up when I put on this number:
It's more moving to hear than to read, but I got a little teary just cutting and pasting it. A song that simple and straightforward and so moving, I have to say it's great. And if you don't think Jonathan Richman was made for love, give Jonathan Richman one more chance.
Jonathan Richman wrote:Well ... way down in ancient Persia
Yeah A long, long time ago
We have the story of Shirin and uh Fahrad
And I thought you might want to know
'cause Shirin, pretty Shirin,
had a real McCoy lover in her young Fahrad
Well ... pretty Shirin had to live with the Shah
but she went for a walk one day
well there were thousands of workmen out diggin'oh
but none dared to look her way
until she came to young Fahrad
Whose little heart had been set all aflame
He called out "Shirin, I love you"
and she felt loved when he called her name
Oh, 'cause Shirin, pretty Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her young Fahrad
Waa-oo, yeah, in her Fahrad
You see her heart had already been won -uh
but she had to put her boy to the test
She said "See those mountains - dig me a tunnel
and I'll know you love Shirin the best"
Oh yeah, 'cause Shirin, pretty Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her Fahrad
Oh yeah, yeah, in her Fahrad
Well look, he didn't say "Suppose she's kiddin'"
a-and he didn't say "Suppose it rains"
and he didn't say "A tunnel, you can't do that"
He just started shovelin' and callin' her name
Oh yeah, 'cause Shirin, oh Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her young Fahrad
Oh yeah, yeah, in her Fahrad
Each stroke it worked a little miracle
o.k. each stroke did the work of ten men
That's right a lover McCoy this Fahrad
may not grace this grove again
Oh yeah, well Shirin, pretty Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her Fahrad
Oh yeah, in her Fahrad
yeah,Well now the Shah by this point they were startin' to get worried
They were thinkin' how're we gonna keep Shirin
The advisor just said "Tell Fahrad that his Shirin has died
We won't be worried 'bout that boy again"
Oh yeah, Shirin, oh Shirin,
has a real Mccoy lover in her young Fahrad
Oh yeah, yeah, in her Fahrad
Now Fahrad believed their words
and he had no more to give
well he had no way of knowing
Where she was and he lost the will to live
Oh yeah, Shirin, oh Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her Fahrad
Well, when the animals saw Shirin discover a dead Fahrad
Their little hearts were completely uptore
They said "Look we loved him too, Shirin,
we thought they didn't make 'em like your boy anymore"
Oh yeah, Shirin, pretty Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her Fahrad
in her Fahrad
Well when Shirin heard the little birds words
She knew that they knew the score
So she just laid down by her Fahrad's side
and she died, not to yearn anymore
Oh yeah, because Shirin, pretty Shirin,
had a real Mccoy lover in her young Fahrad
Yeah, Shirin, pretty Shirin
has a real McCoy lover in Fahrad
It's more moving to hear than to read, but I got a little teary just cutting and pasting it. A song that simple and straightforward and so moving, I have to say it's great. And if you don't think Jonathan Richman was made for love, give Jonathan Richman one more chance.
Great Lyrics!
6and another great example of lyrics that starts with the same line:
Notorious B.I.G.
Suicidal Thoughts
When I die fuck it I wanna go to hell
Cause I'm a piece of shit it ain't hard to fuckin' tell
It don't make sense goin' to heaven wit the goodie goodies
Dressed in white I like black Tims and black hoodies
God will probably have me on some real strict shit
No sleepin' all day, no gettin my dick licked
Hangin' with the goodie-goodies loungin' in paradise
Fuck that shit, I wanna tote guns and shoot dice
All my life I been considered as the worst
Lyin' to my mother, even stealin' out her purse
Crime after crime, from drugs to extortion
I know my mother wished she got a fuckin' abortion
She don't even love me like she did when I was younger
Suckin' on her chest just to stop my fuckin' hunger
I wonder if I died, would tears come to her eyes?
Forgive me for my disrespect, forgive me for my lies
My babies' mothers 8 months, her little sister's 2
Who's to blame for both of them
I swear to God I just want to slit my wrists and end this bullshit
Throw the Magnum to my head, threaten to pull shit
And squeeze, until the bed's, completely red
I'm glad I'm dead, a worthless fuckin' buddah head
The stress is buildin' up, I can't,
I can't believe suicide's on my fuckin' mind
I want to leave, I swear to God I feel like death is fuckin' callin' me
Naw you wouldn't understand
You see its kinda like the crack did to Pookie, in New Jack
Except when I cross over, there ain't no comin' back
Should I die on the train track, like Remo in Beatstreet
People at the funeral frontin' like they miss me
My baby momma kissed me but she glad I'm gone
She knew me and her sista had somethin' goin' on
I reach my peak, I can't speak,
call my nigga Chic, tell him that my will is weak.
I'm sick of niggas lyin', I'm sick of bitches hawkin',
matter of fact, I'm sick of talkin'.
Notorious B.I.G.
Suicidal Thoughts
When I die fuck it I wanna go to hell
Cause I'm a piece of shit it ain't hard to fuckin' tell
It don't make sense goin' to heaven wit the goodie goodies
Dressed in white I like black Tims and black hoodies
God will probably have me on some real strict shit
No sleepin' all day, no gettin my dick licked
Hangin' with the goodie-goodies loungin' in paradise
Fuck that shit, I wanna tote guns and shoot dice
All my life I been considered as the worst
Lyin' to my mother, even stealin' out her purse
Crime after crime, from drugs to extortion
I know my mother wished she got a fuckin' abortion
She don't even love me like she did when I was younger
Suckin' on her chest just to stop my fuckin' hunger
I wonder if I died, would tears come to her eyes?
Forgive me for my disrespect, forgive me for my lies
My babies' mothers 8 months, her little sister's 2
Who's to blame for both of them
I swear to God I just want to slit my wrists and end this bullshit
Throw the Magnum to my head, threaten to pull shit
And squeeze, until the bed's, completely red
I'm glad I'm dead, a worthless fuckin' buddah head
The stress is buildin' up, I can't,
I can't believe suicide's on my fuckin' mind
I want to leave, I swear to God I feel like death is fuckin' callin' me
Naw you wouldn't understand
You see its kinda like the crack did to Pookie, in New Jack
Except when I cross over, there ain't no comin' back
Should I die on the train track, like Remo in Beatstreet
People at the funeral frontin' like they miss me
My baby momma kissed me but she glad I'm gone
She knew me and her sista had somethin' goin' on
I reach my peak, I can't speak,
call my nigga Chic, tell him that my will is weak.
I'm sick of niggas lyin', I'm sick of bitches hawkin',
matter of fact, I'm sick of talkin'.
Great Lyrics!
7...
Last edited by placeholder_Archive on Thu Feb 24, 2005 2:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.
matthew wrote:His Life and his Death gives us LIFE.......supernatural life- which is His own life because he is God and Man. This is all straight Catholicism....no nuttiness or mystical crap here.
Great Lyrics!
8Easy: "West Palm Beach", by Will Oldham:
These lyrics are almost pretentious, and the images they describe could probably be interpreted in many ways. However, the music that accompanies them solidifies their intent (at least to me). It's about loss, but losses of many kinds. The mood of the song and the delivery of the lyrics are just incredibly sad and lonely sounding - which probably means that the lyrics wouldn't be able to stand on their own.
The images remind me of times when close relatives or friends have died, and all you can do while waiting in a hospital or church is stare hypnotically at something completely banal, like a water cooler or a lightswitch, struggling to think of something to do to make things better, but nothing works. So you sit there and look at the water cooler, silent and lonely and crying because you've lost someone dear to you and nothing can bring them back into your life.
Will Oldham wrote:I can't get the sand out of my shoes
Being in florida has done a number on my blues
Just the way the women walk 'round here
Well its plain to see the way the sand and sea
Have done a nubmer on me
And the sky is threatening black and grey
And the sun's a festering red
And her head is claiming her stats,
She has risen from bed
So breakfast, again
Delayed, postponed, I won't be fed
The surf has swallowed him up, he's a memory now
The water is warmer then it has been in weeks
Grandma lives just down the road
She's making supper for me tonight
She's been nice to me since '73
When her son lost his lights
And now his ghost is a rising host
Above the briny blur
I would assume some maid would swoon
And his soul would capture her
He's still a fine kid,
What with all that he did,
He's a fan of mine
I wasn't planning to spend so long in town
But the break in the weather has got the partner down
She won't get out, she's shotgun
Seems she's sown to the seat
It's a dirty old trick that I've yet to lick
And she's yet to beat
And you can see it in her eyes
She was born unwise
She was born for me
If she mourns too long
I'll know something's wrong
And I'll leave her be
I can see it in his shoes,
He was born to lose
He was born for me
These lyrics are almost pretentious, and the images they describe could probably be interpreted in many ways. However, the music that accompanies them solidifies their intent (at least to me). It's about loss, but losses of many kinds. The mood of the song and the delivery of the lyrics are just incredibly sad and lonely sounding - which probably means that the lyrics wouldn't be able to stand on their own.
The images remind me of times when close relatives or friends have died, and all you can do while waiting in a hospital or church is stare hypnotically at something completely banal, like a water cooler or a lightswitch, struggling to think of something to do to make things better, but nothing works. So you sit there and look at the water cooler, silent and lonely and crying because you've lost someone dear to you and nothing can bring them back into your life.
Great Lyrics!
9nick cave wrote:O My O My
What a wretched life
I was born on the day
That my poor mother died
I was cut from her belly
With a stanley knife
My daddy did a jig
With the drunk midwife
Who's that yonder all in flames
Dragging behind him a sack of chains
Who's that yonder all in flames
Up jumped the Devil and he staked his claim on me
O poor heart
I was doomed from the start
Doomed to play
The villians part
I was the baddest Johnny
In the apple cart
My blood was blacker
Than the chambers of a dead nun's heart
Who's that milling round the courthouse steps
Nailing my face to the hitching fence
Who's that milling round the courthouse steps
Up jumped the Devil and off we crept
O no O no
Where could I go
With my hump of trouble
And my sack of woe
To the digs and deserts of Mexico
Where my neck was safer from the lynching rope
Who's that yonder laughing at me
Like I was the brunt of some hilarity
Who's that yonder laughing at me
Up jumped the Devil 1, 2, 3
Ha-Ha Ha Ha
How lucky we were
We hit the cathouses
And sampled their wares
We got as drunk
As a couple of Czars
That night I swallowedt
My lucky stars
Who's that dancing on the jailhouse roof
Stamping on the ramping with a cloven hoof
Who's that dancing on the jailhouse roof
Up jumped the Devil and said "Here is your man, I got proof"
O no don't go O no
O slow down Joe
The righteous path
Is straight as an arrow
Take a walk
And you'll find it too narrow
Too narrow for the likes of me
Who's that hanging from the gallow tree
His eyes are plucked but he looks like me
Now who's that swinging from the gallow tree
Up jumped the Devil and took my soul from me
Down we go Down we go Down we go
I know he's matured over the years and people probably look at his earlier lyrics as being a bit silly but they're all new to me and I always wanted to hear these kinds of stories in songs, I just never knew where to look. It's just fun and most of the time I dont give a shit about some dudes feelings, I just want music or interesting lyrics.
Though when I am in the mood to listen to some dudes feelings, he does that very well too.
simmo wrote:Someone make my carrot and grapefruits smoke. Please.
Great Lyrics!
10My favorite lyrics from any song, since I first heard them in the 8th grade, has been and probably always will be:
I mean, come on! They are bad ass.
Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos - Public Enemy
I got a letter from the government
The other day
I opened and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me given' a damn I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
About a brother like me and myself
Because they never did
I wasn't wit' it but just that very minute...
It occured to me
The suckers had authority
Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell
How long has it been?
They got me sittin' in the state pen
I gotta get out - but that thought was thought before
I contemplated a plan on the cell floor
I'm not a fugitive on the run
But a brother like me begun - to be another one
Public enemy servin' time - they drew the line y'all
To criticize me some crime - never the less
They could not understand that I'm a Black man
And I could never be a veteran
On the strength, the situation's unreal
I got a raw deal, so I'm goin' for the steel
They got me rottin' in the time that I'm servin'
Tellin' you what happened the same time they're throwin'
4 of us packed in a cell like slaves - oh well
The same motherfucker got us livin' is his hell
You have to realize - what its a form of slavery
Organized under a swarm of devils
Straight up - word'em up on the level
The reasons are several, most of them federal
Here is my plan anyway and I say
I got gusto, but only some I can trust - yo
Some do a bid from 1 to 10
And I never did, and plus I never been
I'm on a tier where no tears should ever fall
Cell block and locked - I never clock it y'all
'Cause time and time again time
They got me servin' to those and to them
I'm not a citizen
But ever when I catch a C-O
Sleepin' on the job - my plan is on go-ahead
On the strength, I'ma tell you the deal
I got nothin' to lose
'Cause I'm goin' for the steel
I mean, come on! They are bad ass.