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And there's Bert the old maestro
Ah, I thought you meant Bert and not Burt
Cracks open new bottle of whisky, settles into fine evening of listening
Edit: discovers has drank all whisky already and only Westvlateren left. It's tough being Belgian
Pretty much anything by Jason Isbell. The man is a fantastic lyricist and story teller. I’d go as far as to say he’s one of the greats.
Elephant is a fantastic song. Like a film in a few minutes. Sounds crazy to write it down but it’s the most poignant song about death I’ve ever heard.
Clutch have some of the best crazy and quotable lyrics.
Tell me why’s Dick Cheney underneath my bed. Hell no, that ain’t cool.
and
I hear a ruckus in the back
Tall shadows on the wall
Mable won't you wake up
We got lawyers in the barn
Yes we do
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ClugMhMbrRg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hAh2fUo9W3M
Now Don McClean has come out to play, we mustn't forget 'Vincent'.
This, I bloody love this song. Simple lyrics but filled with meaning.
Elvis Costello at his best
Is it worth it ?
Not seen a mention of David Gedge yet. He's not poetic like some but has a certain turn of gritty northern phrase that is a poetry in itself.
My Favourite Dress
Sometimes these words just don't have to be said
I know how you both feel
The heart can rule the head
Jealousy is an essential part of love
The hurt in here below
And the emptiness above
There's always something left behind
There's always something left behind
Nevermind
Oh nevermind
The tender caresses that brings out the man
I can't still be drunk at five
Oh, I guess I surely can
Slowly your beauty is eaten away
By the scent of someone else
In the blanket where we lay
There's always something left behind
There's always something left behind
Maybe next time
Uneaten meals
A lonely star
A welcome ride in a neighbours car
A long walk home
In the pouring rain
I fell asleep when you never came
Some rare delight in Manchester town
It took six hours before you let me down
To see it all in a drunken kiss
A strangers hand on my favorite dress
That was my favorite dress you know
Dalliance
You've told him lies now for so long
Yet still he's ready to forgive
He's got you back and that's all he wants
A lot more than I'm left with
You don't care now that you're gone
But do you know how much I miss you?
It's not fair after all you've done
That I'm so...
I still want to kiss you
And throwing presents straight away
Because you could never take them home
Always scared what he might say
But always leaving me alone
You don't care, now that you're gone
But do you know how much I miss you?
It's not fair after all you've done
That I'm so...
I still want to kiss you
You told him what he wants to hear
And so you got another chance
But I was yours for seven years
Is that what you call a dalliance?
You don't care, now that you're gone
But do you know how much I miss you?
It's not fair after all you've done
That I'm so...
I still want to kiss you
"Canyons of your Mind" shirley?
Some good stuff there. I'm biased, but surely Richard Thompson, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell are the finest modern lyricists?
martinhutch
Has there ever been a more beautiful and simple opening lyric to a love song than this?
I doubt it, reduces me to tears every time
Bright Eyes
Poison Oak, some boyhood bravery
When a telephone was a tin can on a string
And I fell asleep with you still ctalking to me
You said you weren't afraid to die
In Polaroids you were dressed in women's clothes
Were you made ashamed, why'd you lock them in the drawer?
Well I don't think that I ever loved you more
Than when you turned away
When you slammed the door
When you stole the car drove towards Mexico
And you wrote bad checks just to fill your arm
I was young enough, I still believed in war
Well let the poets cry themselves to sleep
And all their tearful words would turn back into steam
But me I'm a single cell on a serpents tongue
There's a muddy field where a garden was
And I'm glad you got away
But I'm still stuck out here
My clothes are soaking wet from your brothers tears
And I never thought this life was possible
You're the yellow bird that I've been waiting for
The end of paralysis, I was a statuette
Now I'm drunk as hell on a piano bench
And when I press the keys it all gets reversed
The sound of loneliness makes me happier
---------
and also (without the intro chat)
--------
We must talk in every telephone
Get eaten off the web
We must rip out all the epilogues in the books that we have read
And in the face of every criminal
Strapped firmly to a chair
We must stare, we must stare, we must stare
We must take all of the medicines too expensive now to sell
Set fire to the preacher who is promising us hell
And in the ear of every anarchist that sleeps but doesn't dream
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing
It'll go like this:
While my mother waters plants
My father loads his guns
He says death will give us back to God
Just like this setting sun is returned to this lonesome ocean
And then they splashed into the deep blue sea
It was a wonderful splash
We must blend into the choir
Sing as static with the whole
We must memorize nine numbers and deny we have a soul
And in this endless race for property and privilege to be won
We must run, we must run, we must run
We must hang up in the belfry
Where the bats and moonlight laugh
We must stare into a crystal ball and only see the past
And in the caverns of tomorrow
With just our flashlights and our love
We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge
And then we'll get down there, way down to the very bottom of everything
And then we'll see it, oh we'll see it, we'll see it, we'll see it
Oh my morning's coming back
The whole world's waking up
All the city buses swimming past
I'm happy just because
I found out I am really no one
Also a fan of a story in a song too. Half Man Half Biscuit are the masters at this, (though not sure they could be described as life changing)
They have so many brilliant lyrics it's almost impossible to know where to start. However the very last song on their latest album (Oblong of Dreams) is a work of genius; it's been reducing people to tears and I'd argue is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I'm off to see them in Nottingham tomorrow night.
Shane McGowan wrote tons of lyrics too that are almost works of poetry in their own right.
Loads of other folk too. For me the lyrics are a big part of the music, probably the biggest.
Bowie could write some decent lyrics too.
For here am I sitting in my tin can
Far above the world
Glad someone else said Chris Difford, flipping genius songs especially paired with Tilbrooks melodic and harmonic shape
Also: Eric Idle. Yes I'm being serious, being funny and musical is hard, very few do a comedy song so well
"Inflammation of the foreskin
Reminds me of your smile..."
I'll take the flaming then shall I.....the Smiths surely!!
-Frankly Mr Shankley always registered with me as a great written song...bloke going cap in hand to his shitty boss for a payrise.
Bears Den - Shadows
You're harbouring a private sadness
I still remember all your magic
Even if you don't
The shadows always seemed to find you
Thought no one knows you better than I do
I'll just have to wait here patient for them to go
For I know you'll come back around
I'm looking for a little light
That the shadows cannot find
I'd give it all back
If I could just find a way to help you cope
And pull you out whenever they come
The harder I try, yeah, the tighter they hold
I know, I know I should know better
But with you I don't
Just stay on the line
Give me a little time
I want you and all of the shadows that walk beside you
Just stay on the line
I'll be there in time
I want you and all of the shadows that walk beside you
I try to wrap my arms around you
But someone has already found you
And they won't let you go
The shadows know you better than I do
They seem to know exactly where to find you
I'll just have to wait here patient for them to go
What if you don't come back around?
In this blue twilight
I found a place that we could hide
I'd give it all back
If I could just find a way to help you cope
And pull you out whenever they come
The harder I try, yeah, the tighter they hold
I know, I know I should know better
But with you I don't
Just stay on the line
Give me a little time
I want you and all of the shadows that walk beside you
Just stay on the line
I'll be there in time
I want you and all of the shadows that walk beside you
I just need a moment to compose myself
I just need a moment to compose myself
I just need a moment to compose myself
I just need a moment
Just stay on the line
Give me a little time
I want you and all of the shadows that walk beside you
Just stay on the line
I'll be there in time
I want you and all of the shadows that walk beside you
I saw two shooting stars last night, I wished on them, but they were only satellites, it’s wrong to wish on space hardware, I wish, I wish, I wish you cared!
I bet he was chuffed to bits when he came up with that!
Also, ‘it’s so easy to laugh, it’s so easy to hate, it takes guts to be gentle kind’ a sentiment to live life by (pity Morrisey has turned out to a monumental knob!)
Too many Cure songs to mention, but particularly Just Like Heaven.
Also Pulp, especially Sorted.
Great stuff;
.
The real truth about it is no one gets it right, the real truth about it is we're all supposed to try.
My kinda life is no better off, if I've got the map, or if it's lost.
walk in silence
Elbow-lippy kids
Settling like crows, simian walk is poetry
Happy Mondays. Often overlooked but some of the lines, twisting my melon, wrote for luck
Even underworld and born slippy is ace. Sets a scene so well
Great thread,some of my favs already posted up there^^.
I am a long time headphone wearing commuter and love Lyrics getting injected straight to my brain,as idlejon said >> Sometimes you hear a lyric in a song that means something personal. It might be because of where you are in life, or where you are in the world, or just because it suits the exact situation you find yourself.
It can be such an emotional ambush.
https://youtu.be/9sfYpolGCu8
#tearsonthewaytowork
The lost words blessing is nice.
Anything by John Darnielle, The Mountain Goats.
Dark, dark, depressing, full bodied, probably partially true stories in a few simple lines
So many albums, so many great stories
Well broke off from my work the other day
Spent the evening thinking about all the blood that flowed away
Across the ocean to the second chance
I wonder how it go on when it reached the promised land
I've looked at the ocean tried hard to imagine
The way you felt the day you sailed from Wester Ross to Nova Scotia
We should have held you, we should have told you
But you know our sense of timing we always wait too long
I wonder my blood will you ever return
To help us kick the life back to a dying mutual friend?
Do we not love her I think we all tell you about
Do we have to roam the world to prove how much it hurts?
Plenty more from the same source. Take the happy tunes and cheesy choruses away and the lyrics are biting at times.
Beeswing by Richard Thompson followed by The Kiss by The Cure......
Some good stuff there. I’m biased, but surely Richard Thompson, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell are the finest modern lyricists?
Among them, perhaps, but there are a great many fine song-writers who just aren’t that widely recognised, purely because their songs aren’t widely known.
It’s too late to go digging around now, but there are two songs, by two of the finest singers/songwriters of their generation, that as I get older, have greater resonance with every passing day.
Who Knows Where The Time Goes? - Sandy Denny. Written when she was fourteen
Across the evening sky all the birds are leaving
But how can they know it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of timeFor who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?Sad deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know it's time for them to go
But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving
I do not count the timeFor who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?And I am not alone while my love is near me
I know it will be so until it's time to go
So come the storms of winter and then the birds in spring again
I have no fear of timeFor who knows how my love grows?
And who knows where the time goes?
Prayer In ‘Open D’ Emmylou Harris
<b>Prayer In Open D"</b>
<div>There's a valley of sorrow in my soul
Where every night I hear the thunder roll
Like the sound of a distant gun
Over all the damage I have done
And the shadows filling up this land
Are the ones I built with my own hand
There is no comfort from the cold
Of this valley of sorrow in my soulThere's a river of darkness in my blood
And through every vein I feel the flood
I can find no bridge for me to cross
No way to bring back what is lost
Into the night it soon will sweep
Down where all my grievances I keep
But it won't wash away the years
Or one single hard and bitter tearAnd the rock of ages I have known
Is a weariness down in the bone
I use to ride it like a rolling stone
Now I just carry it aloneThere's a highway rising from my dreams
Deep in the heart I know it gleams
For I have seen it stretching wide
Clear on across to the other side
Beyond the river and the flood
And the valley where for so long I've stood
With the rock of ages in my bones
Someday I know it will lead me homeOh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh</div>
I feel lyrics in songs can be important depending on the song, if we listen to the words we take meaning from them. Sometimes it's the intended meaning, sometimes not. The words of a song can inspire, educate, and evoke an emotional response. The words or even just a few lines of a song can resonate with your current life situation, or transport you to a happy memory.
Off the top of my head here's a few songs that I think benefit from listening to the words
So long my old china - The Singing Loins
Thou Shalt Always Kill - Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip
If - Pink Floyd
Everything is free - Gillian Welch
Ukulele Anthem - Amanda Palmer
Random Rules - Silver Jews
Medway Wheelers - The Buff Medways
Lua - Bright Eyes
Five minutes - Gretchen Peters
Cash Machine - Hard-Fi
Blinded by the lights - The Streets
Free bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Simple man - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Broken Stones - Paul Weller
We'll live and die in these towns - The Enemy
I’m not a country fan by any means but adore Lineman for the county by Glen Campbell (although it’s written by Jimmy Webb).
I am a lineman for the county
And I drive the main road
Searchin' in the sun for another overload
I hear you singing in the wire
I can hear you through the whine
And the Wichita lineman
Is still on the line
I know I need a small vacation
But it don't look like rain
And if it snows that stretch down south
Won't ever stand the strain
And I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time
And the Wichita lineman
Is still on the line
And I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time
And the Wichita lineman
Is still on the line
The devil in the black dress watches over me...a point if you know this song without google.
However...
Joy Division Atmosphere "put down with due care" is a line i always think shows Ian Curtis's utter abandonment.
Lindisfarne Winter Song... Alan Hull a much underrated song writer
Shane McGowan... A rainy night in Soho
Springsteen... Reason to believe
Wichita Lineman is always great because the music plays so much into the lyrics and feel as well
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_Lineman
@countzero - One of the best songs ever written, that IMHO. I first heard it on a Judy collins album. Which reminds me, 'My Father' by Judy Collins is another beauty.
Crass-bloody revolutions:
You talk about your revolution, well, that's fine
But what are you going to be doing come the time?
Are you going to be the big man with the tommy-gun?
Will you talk of freedom when the blood begins to run?
Well, freedom has no value if violence is the price
Don't want your revolution, I want anarchy and peace
You talk of overthrowing power with violence as your tool
You speak of liberation and when the people rule
Well ain't it people rule right now, what difference would there be?
Just another set of bigots with their rifle-sights on me
But what about those people who don't want your new restrictions?
Those that disagree with you and have their own convictions?
You say they've got it wrong because they don't agree with you
So when the revolution comes you'll have to run them through
You say that revolution will bring freedom for us all
Well freedom just ain't freedom when your back's against the wall
Will you indoctrinate the masses to serve your new regime?
And simply do away with those whose views are too extreme?
Transportation details could be left to British rail
Where Zyklon B succeeded, North Sea Gas will fail
It's just the same old story of man destroying man
We've got to look for other answers to the problems of this land
Vive la revolution, people of the world unite
Stand up men of courage, it's your job to fight
It all seems very easy, this revolution game
But when you start to really play things won't be quite the same
Your intellectual theories on how it's going to be
Don't seem to take into account the true reality
Cos the truth of what you're saying, as you sit there sipping beer
Is pain and death and suffering, but of course you wouldn't care
You're far too much of a man for that, if Mao did it so can you
What's the freedom of us all against the suffering of the few?
That's the kind of self-deception that killed ten million jews
Just the same false logic that all power-mongers use
So don't think you can fool me with your political tricks
Political right, political left, you can keep your politics
Government is government and all government is force
Left or right, right or left, it takes the same old course
Oppression and restriction, regulation, rule and law
The seizure of that power is all your revolution's for
You romanticise your heroes, quote from Marx and Mao
Well their ideas of freedom are just oppression now
Nothing changed for all the death, that their ideas created
It's just the same fascistic games, but the rules aren't clearly stated
Nothing's really different cos all government's the same
They can call it freedom, but slavery is the game
There's nothing that you offer but a dream of last years hero
The truth of revolution, brother................... is year zero
People will think I'm being facetious but I'm not. A song of three words sung in a way that somehow conveys a huge range of emotion and meanings.
Another Bonnie Prince Billy here - Death in the Sea.
Another one who's sparse lyrics say a lot 😀
I saw two shooting stars last night, I wished on them, but they were only satellites, it’s wrong to wish on space hardware, I wish, I wish, I wish you cared!
Pretty much my favourite lyric of all time!
I this song very scary and accurate particularly the line about "justice as justice is given by well mannered thugs"
And also this by Jackson Browne
Steppin out by Joe Jackson - Uplifting and evocative, the vid is dated though.
Lets not forget the poet of Rock n Roll. Here Chuck paints about 6 little vignettes in a 3 min rocker:
Just checked it's 7 actually!
No idea why the same video appeared twice above.
One link should have been to No time for love by Christy Moore and Declan Sinott. I find the line "And the courts gave them justice as justice is given by well-mannered thugs."
particularly apt
More Christy Moore
I took my love, I took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too
Well, I've been afraid of changin'
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm getting older too
Oh! I'm getting older too
Oh-oh, take my love, take it down
Oh-oh, climb a mountain and you turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide bring it down
Oh-ohh, the landslide bring it down
I have been incredibly moved by so many song lyrics - some already posted. Ultimately though, it has to be this intimate, touching song that speaks to every heart.
“Never ever ask what do you do
I never ever ask what do you do
I never ever ask what's in your mind
I never ever ask if you'll be mine
Come and smile
Don't be shy
Touch my bum - this is life”
Africa by Toto.... frankly anyone that can get Kilimanjaro into some lyrics deserves a medal (also see Down Under by Men at Work for 'Vegemite sandwich')
Depeche mode -question of lust
My weaknesses, you know each and every one, It frightens m,e But I need to drink more than you seem to think before I'm anyone's
Bush - Glycerine
If I treated you bad, you'd bruise my face Couldn't love you more, you've got a beautiful taste
Don't let the days go by Could have been easier on you I couldn't change though I wanted to
There’s been so many wonderful words already here. Really anything by Nick Cave, Neil Hannon (Divine Comedy), Billy Bragg, Steve Earle.
My personal favourite lyric poet is Justin Sullivan from New Model Army.
The time I think most clearly, the time I drift away
Is on the bus-ride that meanders up these valleys of green and grey
I get to think about what might have been and what may yet come true
And I get to pass a rainy mile thinking of you
And all the while, all the while, I still hear that call
To the land of gold and poison that beckons to us all
Nothing changes here very much, I guess you'd say it never will
The pubs are all full on Friday nights and things get started still
We spent hours last week with Billy boy, bleeding, yeah queuing in Casualty
Staring at those posters we used to laugh at,
Never Never Land, palm trees by the sea
Well there was no need for those guys to hurt him so bad
When all they had to do was knock him down
But no one asks to many questions like that since you left this town
And tomorrow brings another train
Another young brave steals away
But you're the one I remember
From these valleys of green and the grey
You used to talk about winners and losers all the time, as if that was all there was
As if we were not of the same blood family, as if we live by different laws
Do you owe so much less to these rain swept hills than you owe to your good self?
Is it true that the world has always got to be something
That seems to happen somewhere else?
For God's sake don't you realize that I still hear that call
Do you think you're so brave just to go running to that which beckons to us all?
No, not for one second did you look behind you
As you were walking away
Never once did you wish any of us well
Those who had chosen to stay
And if that's what it takes to make it
In the place that you live today
Then I guess you'll never read these letters that I send
From the valleys of the green and the grey
Pretty much my favourite lyric of all time!
I actually prefer this from the same song:
I loved you then as I love you still
Tho I put you on a pedestal,
They put you on the pill
I don't feel bad about letting you go
I just feel sad about letting you know
Green and Grey always takes me back very clearly to when I lived on Anglesey. Impressive how a lyric can trigger a memory so clearly even though in this case it was over 30 years ago.
random shuffle moment in the car last night brought this one up
Libertines - Music When the Lights Go Out
… Is it cruel or kind
Not to speak my mind
And to lie to you
Rather than hurt you
… Well, I'll confess all of my sins
After several large gins
But still I'll hide from you
Hide what's inside from you
… And alarm bells ring
When you say your heart still sings
When you're with me
Oh won't you please forgive me
… I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
… And all the memories of the pubs
And the clubs and the drugs and the tubs
We shared together
Will stay with me forever
… But all the highs and the lows
And the to's and the fro's
They left me dizzy
Oh won't you please forgive me
… I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
… Well I no longer hear the music when the lights go out
Love goes cold in the shades of doubt
The strange face in my mind it's all too clear
Music when the lights come on
The girl I thought I knew has gone
With her my heart it disappeared
… Well I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
… All the memories of the fights and the nights
Under blue lights all the kites
We flew together
I thought they'll fly forever
… But all the highs and the lows
And the to's and the fro's
They left me dizzy
Won't you forgive me
… I no longer hear the music
I no longer hear the music
… I no longer hear the music
When the lights go out
Love goes cold in the shades of doubt
The strange face in my mind is all too clear
… Music when the lights come on
The girl I thought I knew has gone
With her my heart it disappeared
… I no longer hear the music
Oh no no no no no
I no longer hear the music
Africa by Toto…. frankly anyone that can get Kilimanjaro into some lyrics deserves a medal
Not just that. He managed to shoehorn Serengeti into the same line 😂
Pretty much anything by Shack is worthy of a mention, but Oscar is the work of genius.
It tells a story, is the most Scouse song ever recorded, and has about twice as many words in as it should have to be comprehensible, yet still manages to be absolutely sublime
I always thought Matt Johnson/The The an astonishing (almost poet-prophet)lyricist of his generation.
Heartland (1986)
Beneath the old iron bridges, across the Victorian parks
And all the frightened people running home before dark
Past the Saturday morning cinema that lies crumbling to the ground
And the piss stinking shopping center in the new side of town
I've come to smell the seasons change and watch the city
As the sun goes down again
Here comes another winter of long shadows and high hopes
Here comes another winter waitin' for utopia
Waitin' for hell to freeze over
This is the land where nothing changes
The land of red buses and blue blooded babies
This is the place, where pensioners are raped
And the hearts are being cut from the welfare state
Let the poor drink the milk while the rich eat the honey
Let the bums count their blessings while they count the money
So many people can't express what's on their minds
Nobody knows them and nobody ever will
Until their backs are broken and their dreams are stolen
And they can't get what they want then they're gonna get angry
Well it ain't written in the papers, but it's written on the walls
The way this country is divided to fall
So the cranes are moving on the skyline
Trying to knock down this town
But the stains on the heartland, can never be removed
From this country that's sick, sad, and confused
Here comes another winter of long shadows and high hopes
Here comes another winter waitin' for utopia
Waitin' for hell to freeze over
The ammunition's being passed and the lords been praised
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained
All the bankers gettin' sweaty beneath their white collars
As the pound in our pocket turns into a dollar
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
—
Talking of poetry (yet on a slightly more upbeat/irreverent side of the street) I rate Dan Bejar/Destroyer as a wordsmith. His best songs for me sound like an inspired and rambling one-sided conversation between himself and a perfectly-drunken lovelorn reverie/departing lover. One foot in the clouds/the presence of god/ess - the other foot tripping in the gutter. Though in the best tradition of lyrics - they really need to be heard as the music, and not read on a page in isolation from their true context.
A dangerous woman up to a point
once said
"As per your wishes, I left you for dead
I left England for the English"
Is it always the one thing or the other with you?
"Forgive them, my lord, they know not what they do!"
"Hey, your friends are **
In so far as your friends are an ancient beast bronzed in tar"
Have I told you lately that I love you?
Did I fail to mention there's a sword hanging above you?
"Those who love Zeppelin will soon betray Floyd"
I cast off those couplets in honor of the void
I was here to stay
I would weather the storm
I pictured heaven on earth made of clay, as your form dictated
I went down to the garden with the noblest of intentions
I felt the need to be brief
I stuck a rose between my teeth and had a laugh
The sun set at the speed of light, so I thought I also might leave this
Port of Woe on tall ships made of snow invading the sun
A dangerous woman up to a point once said
I've never read "so-and-so, " so why mention him here
In this square where culprits axe me, my dear
Tried to enjoy myself at the Society Ball, really I did
Froze on Union Street, it was springtime,
I was just a kid lost in a map of the stars called "your eyes"
It was a trap
It was a good time
It was hard to realize
I can't win
I can't even walk
Baby, you should talk
Baby, you should hear what you're saying
They said, "don't look back, " but I looked back
It was a bore
It was a **** horror
It was, well, honey, you know quite well what you are
A dangerous woman up to a point once said
"People come, and people go, and people lie nameless in the snow"
I'd have said California by Joni Mitchell but I think It's too late by Carole King is better.
TLDR - hope it hasn't been done...
Just like Bruce Springsteen does in "born to run".
They both know, as a common man, they are ****ed.
Seems appropriate these days?
+1 for The The, Uncertain Smile:
Peeling the skin back from my eyes
I felt surprised
That the time on the clock was the time
I usually retired
To the place where I cleared my head of you
But just for today I think I'll lie here and dream of youI've got you under my skin where the rain can't get in
But if the sweat pours out
Just shout
I'll try to swim and pull you out
Dirty Old Town was written by Ewan McColl by the way. Credit where due and all that.
And a certain Ms Swift (All too well):
And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
Boxes by Ginger Wildheart.
@cheese@4p
I didn't know that, thank you.
I thought it was an "anon" folk song.
I don't think that it detracts from the words/meaning, however.
Without Googling, it was Temple Of Love...
But someone near you rides the weather,
And the tears he cried will rain on walls as wide as lovers' eyes.
Like Richey Manic who I mentioned earlier, Von often treads that line between pretentious guff and brilliant poetry in his lyrics.
Happiness is a loaded weapon and a
Short cut is better by far
Explosive bolts, ten thousand volts
At a million miles an hour
Abrasive wheels and molten metals
It's a semi-automatic, get in the car
Corrosive heart and frozen heat
We're worlds apart where we could meet
Where the street fold round and the motors start
And the idiot wields the power
Where the chosen hold the highest card
On the field of honour where the ground is hard
So the highest hand is joking wild
And the house soon fold and no-one stand
I put my finger on and dialled
The tower, the moon, the gun, and
Nine nine nine, singer down
Cloudburst and all around
The first are last, the blessed get wired
The best is yet to come
I put my finger on and fired
Heat-seeking, out of the sun
You can set the controls for the heart or the knees
And the meek'll inherit what they damn well please
Get ahead, go figure, go ahead and pull the trigger
Everything under the gun
Always thought the line "Jesus and his lawyer are coming back " is a great line.
Novacaine for the Soul by The Eels
Like these lyrics from this:
There's nothing like a little contempt
To drive a man right over his edge
Doing things he'll later regret.
And
Nothing quite clears the room
Like a lunatic who's got nothing to lose
Oh and when any excuse will do.
Mushroom cloud by Tempesst
Never really been a big fan of Dolly Parton or Miley Cyrus but was blown away when I first saw this. I think Miley really nails the sentiment of the simple yet poignant lyrics ( which I take to be centered about insecurity within a relationship).
Jolene - Miley Cyrus
Mink DeVille's Spanish Stroll (so much better than Take a Walk on the Wild Side)
Pump It Up
We've Gotta Get Out of This Place
standing by the door of the pink flamingo, crying in the rain
I was going to post Aphex Twin - Come on you slags. Or Aphex Twin - Beetles. But what would be the point.....
Occasionally I poke my head out from electronica because I feel like I should probably broaden my musical horizons. On one such instance I discovered YS by Joanna Newsom. Musical style won't be to everyone's taste. Not quite sure why I decided it acceptable for me to listen to, it's a thin line.
I really liked his first album. When 2nd came out, I was reading as I listened to it. It scared me shirtless! An overwhelming sense of something was coming. Haven't listened to him since!
But I probably should...
And, approx '88, in some local club, every Saturday, a 10 minute mix of tainted love, me and a girl called Marion. The dance floor emptied, just us and the smoke machine. God what a song!
A beautifully song with poignant lyrics .
Also virtually anything by Leonard Cohen . Everybody Knows is a particular favourite
Dammit, what I’m trying to post just isn’t showing when I submit it!! 😖
Rainbow Stew - Merle Haggard
Could have been written about 2022!
There's a big, brown cloud in the city
And the countryside's a sin
The price of life is too high to give up
It's gotta come down again
But worldwide war is over and done
And the dream of peace comes true
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
When they find out how to burn water
And the gasoline car is gone
When an airplane flies without any fuel
And the sunlight heats our home
But one of these days when the air clears up
And the sun comes shinin' through
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Alright, Parky?
Here comes Don
You don't have to get high to get happy
Just think about what's in store
When people start doin' what they oughta be doin'
Then they won't be booin' no more
When a President goes through the White House door
Does what he says he'll do
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin' free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
You smile and say the world it doesn't fit with you
I don't believe you, you're so serene
Careening through the universe your axis on a tilt
You're guiltless and free, I hope you take a piece of me with you
All right, I’ll take a chance, I will fall in love with you
If I’m a fool you can have the night, you can have the morning too
Can you cook and sew, make flowers grow
Do you understand my pain?
Are you willing to risk it all
Or is your love in vain?
A lot of it is in the delivery. Bob Dylan being honest, soulful and completely taking the piss out of himself in 30 seconds of music
A still pertinent sentiment and lyrics now, perhaps more so. The lyrics are perfectly enunciated, I don’t think I need to post them up.
A few of my faves mentioned above, Sandy Denny, Christy Moore, The Cure, The The, sterling stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd2wmO9YiIg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_YTg8G6iwE
actually I think this is my fave of all time, can we get some more likes, 14 doesnt seem right
I put a like in the bucket 😀
All this love for The Divine Comedy. I thought I would give it another listen today - nope, Neil Hannon is still very smug and annoying ..