Anyone still do insightful or intelligent lyrics?

I'm a big fan of lyrics. I don't know about qualifying that with the word "intelligent" as there are some really silly lyrics I enjoy.....I guess those are also really witty as well, so "intelligence" does come into play there.

In no particular order here are a few I enjoy for one reason or another:

Tom Waits (a master of the word!)
Tori Amos
Gillian Welch
Tresspassers William
Patty Griffin
Rickie Lee Jones
Joni Mitchell
Dar Williams
Laurie Anderson
Patricial Barber
Jim White
Patti Smith
16 Horsepower

Just yesterday was enjoying some pretty fresh new music from a group called "Bright Eyes". Not for everyone (and VERY polarizing in that respect I'd bet), but the lyrics were great. The album is called "Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground ". Again, not an overall recommendation, but appropriate to this thread IMO.

Marco

Excellent point Marakanetz!! That's one I wish I'd articulated myself. That's one of the things I enjoy about the "Bright Eyes" disc I mentioned.

It also brings to mind a whole different category of "intelligent" use of lyrics: This could be exemplified by the work of Byrne and Eno on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and the likes of Gavin Bryars on Jesus Blood's Never Failed me Yet, and others who've combined "found" lyrics and music together....then there's The Rachel's who produced a disc using actual sounds and recorded voice tracks sent to them from all over the world. Great stuff IMO.

Yeah, so Gumby fill us naive folks in on the lyrics you printed?

Marakanetz, you brought one of my favorites to mind:

"You know, I can see two tiny pictures of myself
and there's one in each of your eyes.
And they're doin' everything I do.
Every time I light a cigarette,
they light up theirs.
I take a drink and I look in
and they're drinkin' too.
It's drivin' me crazy. It's drivin' me nuts."

From 'Sharkey's night' Laurie Anderson/William Burroughs

Marco