While lookin' into my drawer only yesterday
You know, the things that I saw made me cry
I saw the pictures and letters, I should have known better
Than to try to deny
I love them all, I love them all
And if they came again
I'd do the same again
'Cause I'm that kind of a guy
Cat Stevens |
So, so many. But here's a couple to start with:
'The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by'
and this one from a great song by a great lyricist:
'You made me forget myself
I thought I was
Someone else, someone good'
|
So many versions but this is the one by Judy Garland
Ol' man river, that ol' man river
He must know somethin', but he don't say nothin'
He just keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along
He don't plant taters, he don't plant cotton
An' them that plants' 'em is soon forgotten
But ol' man river
He just keeps rollin' along
You an' me, we sweat an' strain
Body all achin' and wracked with pain
Tote that barge! Lift that bale!
You get a little drunk an' you land in jail
I get weary and sick of tryin'
I'm tired of livin' and scared of dyin'
But ol' man river
He just keeps rollin' along
Alan Jay Lerner / Frederick Loewe
|
@almarg thanks for the update. I do like the Sinatra and Robeson versions but Judy's version is the one that sticks. By the time she recorded it she had certainly been through some difficult times. Anyway, speaking of Mr Robeson. Here's my favourite lyric as sung by him. I'm pretty sure we've all been through something similar: Passing By There is a lady sweet and kind
Was never face so pleased my mind,
I did but see her passing by
And yet I love her till I die!
Her gestures, motions and her smile
Her wit, her voice, my heart beguile;
Beguile my heart, I know not why
And yet I love her till I die!
Cupid is winged, and doth range
Her country; so my heart doth change.
But change the earth, or change the sky
Yet will I love her till I die!
https://youtu.be/FursR1Oxp3Q |
All these from the head of one man - And I meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
But you lose
Because well the love of Wilde is on mine
I dreamt about you last night
And I fell out of bed twice
Park the car at the side of the road
You should know
Time’s tide will smother you
And I will too
When you laugh about people who feel so very lonely
Their only desire is to die..
..I’ve seen this happen in other people’s
lives
And now it’s happening in mine
I am now
A central part
Of your mind’s landscape
Whether you care
Or do not
Yeah, I’ve made up your mind
Good times for a change
See, the luck I’ve had
Can make a good man
Turn bad
So please please please
Let me, let me, let me
Let me get what I want
This time
Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music they constantly play
There’s a club, if you’d like to go
You could meet somebody who really loves you.’
So you go, and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home, and you cry
And you want to die
Frankly, Mr. Shankly, this position I’ve held It pays my way, and it corrodes my soul I want to leave, you will not miss me I want to go down in musical history Frankly, Mr. Shankly, I’m a sickening wreck I’ve got the twenty first century breathing down my neck I must move fast, you understand me I want to go down in celluloid history, Mr. Shankly and many, many others |
@roberjerman, you are the target (quarry) is indeed awesome.
As for Led Zep I always tend to remember the drums and guitar more than the lyrics. But here’s few I never forget, mostly from the same album.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it’s not as hard, hard, hard as it seems
Your head is humming and it won’t go
In case you don’t know
The piper’s calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind
(used to play the whole song in my head all day whilst working in a factory).
If it keeps on rainin’ levee’s goin’ to break
If it keeps on rainin’ levee’s goin’ to break
(this one comes on automatically every time we get heavy rain)
and I can’t leave this one out,
Been dazed and confused for so long it’s not true
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you
Lots of people talk and few of them know
Soul of a woman was created below, yeah
|
Here's a nice early 60s lyric from one of the greatest talents of that era - Lionel Bart I've seen places, faces And smiled for a moment But, oh, you haunted me so Still, my tongue tied, young pride Would not let my love for you show In case you'd say "No" Just beautiful. https://youtu.be/scTDEj0yYUQ |
Two sets of great Metal lyrics from the 80s.
"Hook In Mouth"
A cockroach in the concrete, courthouse tan and beady eyes
A slouch with fallen arches, purging truths into great lies
A little man with a big eraser, changing history
Procedures that he's programmed to, all he hears and sees
Altering the facts and figures, events and every issue
Make a person disappear, and no one will ever miss you
Rewrites every story, every poem that ever was
Eliminates incompetence, and those who break the laws
Follow the instructions of the New Way's Evil Book of Rules
Replacing rights with wrongs, the files and records in the schools
You said you've got the answers, well who asked you anyway ?
Ever think may be it was meant to be this way ?
Don't try to fool us, we know the worst is yet to come
I believe my kingdom will come
[CHORUS:]
F, is for fighting, R is for red
Ancestors' blood in battles they've shed
E, we elect them, E, we eject them
In the land of the free and the home of the brave
D, for your dying, O, your overture
M, will cover your grave with manure
This spells out FREEDOM, it means nothing to me
As long as there's P.M.R.C
F, is for fighting, R is for red
Ancestors' blood in battles they've shed
E, we elect them, E, we eject them
In the land of the free and the home of the brave
D, for your dying, O, your overture
M, is for money, you know what that cures
This spells out FREEDOM, it means nothing to me
As long as there's P.M.R.C
[CHORUS:]
Put your hand right up my shirt
Pull the strings that make me work
Jaws will part, words fall out
Like a fish with hook in mouth
Rewrites every story, every poem that ever was
Eliminates incompetence, and those who break the laws
Follow the instructions of the New Way's Evil Book of Rules
Replacing rights with wrongs, the files and records in the schools
I'm not a fish
I'm a man
Hook in mouth
"South Of Heaven" An unforeseen future nestled somewhere in time Unsuspecting victims no warnings, no signs Judgment day the second coming arrives Before you see the light you must die Forgotten children, conform a new faith Avidity and lust controlled by hate The never ending search for your shattered sanity Souls of Damnation in their own reality Chaos rampant An age of distrust Confrontations Impulsive habitat Bastard sons begat your cunting daughters Promiscuous mothers with your incestuous fathers Ingrate souls condemned for all eternity Obtained by immoral observance a domineering deity Chaos rampant An age of distrust Confrontations Impulsive sabbath On and on south of heaven On and on south of heaven On and on south of heaven On and on south of heaven The root of all evil is the heart of a black soul A force that has lived all eternity The never ending search for a truth never told The loss of all hope and your dignity Chaos rampant An age of distrust Confrontations Impulsive habitat On and on south of heaven On and on south of heaven.. |
@roxy54 , I’m not that familiar with Metal but my brother used to play these regularly. I get the vague idea of one being about censorship (A little man with a big eraser, changing history) the other damnation (The never ending search for your shattered sanity) but you’re right about them working better with music. Megadeth https://youtu.be/t2osUs_k-9wSlayer https://youtu.be/XtLvlaGJJEU |
How about some more Dylan lyrics? My favourite (Mr Tambourine Man - final verse is as good as it gets for me) has already been mentioned at least twice, so here’s a few others which live strong in the memory. "Your sister sees the future Like your mama and yourself You’ve never learned to read or write There’s no books upon your shelf" [we used to love quoting that last line in our college days!] "I see a lot of people As I make the rounds And I hear her name here and there As I go from town to town And I’ve never gotten used to it I’ve just learned to turn it off Either I’m too sensitive Or else I’m gettin’ soft Sundown, yellow moon I replay the past I know every scene by heart They all went by so fast If she’s passin’ back this way I’m not that hard to find Tell her she can look me up If she’s got the time" "A change in the weather is known to be extreme But what’s the sense of changing horses in midstream? I’m going out of my mind, oh With a pain that stops and starts Like a corkscrew to my heart Ever since we’ve been apart" "Yes, I received your letter yesterday, about the time the doorknob broke When you asked me how I was doing, was that some kind of joke All these people that you mention, yes, I know them, they’re quite lame I had to rearrange their faces and give them all another name Right now, I can’t read too good, don’t send me no more letters no Not unless you mail them from Desolation Row" [This next one, Sugar Baby, is my favourite Dylan song, everyone should listen to it at least once] Here’s a Barb Jungr cover https://youtu.be/SlJgKZT3nAw"I got my back to the sun ’cause the light is too intense I can see what everybody in the world is up against You can’t turn back you can’t come back, sometimes we push too far One day you’ll open up your eyes and you’ll see where we are Sugar Baby get on down the road You ain’t got no brains, no how You went years without me Might as well keep going now Some of these bootleggers, they make pretty good stuff Plenty of places to hide things here if you want to hide ’em bad enough I’m staying with Aunt Sally, but you know, she’s not really my aunt Some of these memories you can learn to live with and some of them you can’t Sugar Baby get on down the line You ain’t got no brains, no how You went years without me You might as well keep going now The ladies down in Darktown, they’re doing the Darktown Strut You always got to be prepared but you never know for what There ain’t no limit to the amount of trouble women bring Love is pleasing, love is teasing, love’s not an evil thing Sugar Baby, get on down the road You ain’t got no brains, no how You went years without me Might as well keep going now Every moment of existence seems like some dirty trick Happiness can come suddenly and leave just as quick Any minute of the day the bubble could burst Try to make things better For someone, sometimes you just end up making it a thousand times worse Sugar Baby, get on down the road You ain’t got no brains no how You went years without me Might as well keep going now Your charms have broken many a heart and mine is surely one You got a way of tearing a world apart, love, see what you done Just as sure as we’re living, just as sure as you’re born Look up, look up seek your Maker ’fore Gabriel blows his horn Sugar Baby, get on down the line You ain’t got no sense, no how You went years without me Might as well keep going now" |
@bdp24 yes it was the one for me that finally cracked the 'holy trilogy' of Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde On Blonde. Almost feels like sacrilege to even suggest such a thing!
Unlike those earlier amphetamine fuelled masterpieces, Love and Theft feels like a mature work finding Dylan in a playful mood.
"I asked Fat Nancy for something to eat
She said, "Take it off the shelf
As great as you are, man
You'll never be greater than yourself."
I told her I didn't really care
High water everywhere"
"Well, my parents they warned me not to waste my years
And I still got their advice oozing out of my ears"
"You can smell the pinewood burning
You can hear the school bell ring
Gotta get up near the teacher if you can
If you wanna learn anything"
Compare that to the surreal brilliance of Tombstone Blues -
"Well, John the Baptist after torturing a thief
Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief
Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?"
The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
Saying, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry."
And dropping a bar bell he points to the sky
Saying, "The sun's not yellow it's chicken."
For over 25 years I've been calling one of my friends the 'Commander-in-Chief', or sometimes just 'Commander' or just 'Chief'.
To this day he doesn't know why.
|
@1graber2 , Tin Angel reminds me a bit of Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts. But this time no one gets out alive.
Tempest is a great album but dark and brutal in places. I've not played it for a few years except for my favourite track Tempest, with the brilliant ending,
"The watchman he lay dreaming
Of all the things that can be
He dreamed the Titanic was sinking
Into the deep blue sea"
|
Or could it be,
Driver, where you taking us?
|
"Weird scenes inside the gold mine"
Is this the single greatest line from a Doors song?
|
@roxy54 I just googled it, Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Throw Away Your Television - couldn’t agree with it more. I just use the TV for the occasional old movie (Last Picture Show, Kane, Vertigo, or YouTube / classic Doctor Who etc). Music is way less constrictive, and thank God I’ve still got friends worth talking to. My dad seems to watch TV all day, but then he is in his 80's! https://youtu.be/voIjWQjbDmg |
James Taylor – Fire And Rain Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to
I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Won't you look down upon me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again
Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things
To come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground
Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now
Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now
|
Or in other words, “Talent borrows. Genius Steals!” Something Dylan himself understood only too well. Talking of Bob,
The guilty undertaker sighs
The lonesome organ grinder cries
The silver saxophones say I should refuse you
The cracked bells and washed-out horns
Blow into my face with scorn, but it’s
Not that way, I wasn’t born to lose you
I want you
I want you
I want you, so bad
Honey, I want you
The drunken politician leaps
Upon the street where mothers weep
And the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you
And I wait for them to interrupt
Me drinkin’ from my broken cup
And ask me to open up the gate for you
I want you
I want you
Yes I want you, so bad
Honey, I want you
How all my fathers, they’ve gone down
True love they’ve been without it
But all their daughters put me down
’Cause I don’t think about it
Well, I return to the Queen of Spades
And talk with my chambermaid
She knows that I’m not afraid to look at her
She is good to me and there’s
Nothing she doesn’t see
She knows where I’d like to be but it doesn’t matter
I want you
I want you
Yes I want you, so bad
Honey, I want you
Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit he
Spoke to me, I took his flute
No, I wasn’t very cute to him, was I?
But I did it, because he lied and
Because he took you for a ride
And because time was on his side and
Because
I want you
I want you
Yes I want you, so bad
Honey, I want you |
@rlb61 , it’s funny how despite me feeling symbiotically linked to the Beatles, (like no doubt many, many others), I just can’t think of many lyrics that I consider great. The magic of the Beatles is a most mysterious one. It’s not exclusively in the lyrics nor in the musicianship or even the image. It’s seems to be some wonderful combination of almost everything, especially the tunes. Favourite lines don’t ring like poetry, "Everywhere there’s lots of piggies Living piggy lives You can see them out for dinner With their piggy wives Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon" "People running round it’s five o’clock
Everywhere in town it’s getting dark
Everyone you see is full of life
It’s time for tea and Meet The Wife"
"There’s people standing round Who’ll screw you in the ground They’ll fill you in with all their sins you see" "I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in And stops my mind from wandering Where it will go" "Semolina Pilchard Climbing up the Eiffel tower Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe" and finally perhaps the best pure lyric they ever came up with, "Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe Pools of sorrow waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind Possessing and caressing me Jai guru deva om Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes They call me on and on across the universe Thoughts meander like a restless wind Inside a letter box they Stumble blindly as they make their way Across the universe Jai guru deva om Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Sounds of laughter shades of life are ringing Through my open ears inciting and inviting me Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns And calls me on and on across the universe Jai guru deva om Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Nothing’s gonna change my world Jai guru deva Jai guru deva Jai guru deva Jai guru deva" |
@stereo5 I always loved the following line (apart from those times when working with the public brought it too close to home).
"There’s someone in my head but it’s not me"
|
"Insight"
Guess your dreams always end.
They don't rise up just descend,
But I don't care anymore,
I've lost the will to want more,
I'm not afraid not at all,
I watch them all as they fall,
But I remember when we were young.
Those with habits of waste,
Their sense of style and good taste,
Of making sure you were right,
Hey don't you know you were right?
I'm not afraid anymore,
I keep my eyes on the door,
But I remember...
Tears of sadness for you,
More upheaval for you,
Reflects a moment in time,
A special moment in time,
Yeah we wasted our time,
We didn't really have time,
But we remember when we were young.
And all God's angels beware,
And all you judges beware,
Sons of chance, take good care,
For all the people not there,
I'm not afraid anymore,
I'm not afraid anymore,
I'm not afraid anymore,
Oh, I'm not afraid anymore.
Is this the best Joy Division lyric? Totally dark, totally bleak, yet somehow you can take the ambiguous ending in whichever way you prefer.
On a good day, I can take it as a form transcendence.
On a bad day I can't listen to it. |
Two from the Queen of Folk - so much talent in one person. Sometimes I wish she’d taken the road of success rather than activism. Still, I think most of what she sought came to be. I certainly hope so. "Like these flowers at your door and scribbled notes about the war We’re only saying the time is short and there is work to do And we’re still marching in the streets with little victories and big defeats" "Now I see you standing With brown leaves falling around And snow in your hair Now you’re smiling out the window Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington SquareOur breath comes out white clouds Mingles and hangs in the air Speaking strictly for me We both could have died then and there" |
"Idiot wind
Blowing through the buttons of our coats
Blowing through the letters that we wrote
Idiot wind
Blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We're idiots, babe
It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves"
Dylan's final verse always comes to mind each time some new realisation gradually dawns upon me. |
Pratorious,
"I get the feeling that it's two against one
I'm already fighting me, so what's another one
The mirror is a trigger and your mouth's a gun
Lucky for me, I'm not the only one"
Great line -
"I'm already fighting me, so what's another one" |
Following on from Warren Zeavon's Play It All Night Long, here's one of his I can never tire of,
Werewolves of London
"I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fooks
For to get a big dish of beef chow mein
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London, ah-hooo
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London, ah-hooo
You hear him howling around your kitchen door
You better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated late last night
Werewolves of London again
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London, ah-hooo
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London, ah-hooo, huh
He's the hairy-handed gent who ran amok in Kent
Lately he's been overheard in Mayfair
You better stay away from him
He'll rip your lungs out, Jim
Huh, I'd like to meet his tailor
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London, ah-hooo
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London, ah-hooo
Well, I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen
Doin' the werewolves of London
I saw Lon Chaney Junior walking with the Queen, uh
Doin' the werewolves of London
I saw a werewolf drinkin' a piña colada at Trader Vic's
And his hair was perfect, na
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London
Heh, draw blood
Ah-hooo, werewolves of London"
Apparently there really was a place called Lee Ho Fooks! Continuing in the theme of great London songs here's a 1980s Pogues classic you won't often hear on the radio.
The Old Main Drag
When I first came to London, I was only sixteen
With a fiver in my pocket and my ol' dancin' bag
I went down to the dilly to check out the scene
But I soon ended upon the old main drag
There the he-males and the she-males paraded in style
And the old man with the money would flash you a smile
In the dark of an alley you'd work for a five
For a swift one off the wrist down on the old main drag
In the cold winter nights, the old town, it was chill
But there were boys in the cafes who'd give you cheap pills
If you didn't have the money, you'd cajole or you'd beg
There was always lots of tuinol on the old main drag
One evening as I was lyin' down in Leicester Square
I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls
Between the metal doors at Vine Street, I was beaten and mauled
And they ruined my good looks for the old main drag
In the tube station, the old ones who were on the way out
Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
And the coppers would come along and push them about
And I wished I could escape from the old main drag
And now I'm lyin' here, I've had too much booze
I've been spat on and shat on and raped and abused
I know that I am dyin' and I wish I could beg
For some money to take me from the old main drag
|
Shane McGowan is certainly one candidate for the greatest lyricist the UK has produced, but another songwriter, his one-time friend Elvis Costello (also of Irish descent like Morrissey too), has probably has put down more clever couplets and phrases than anyone.
Here's just a of the few memorable ones.
'Nice girls not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs'
'She's been a bad girl.
She's like a chemical.
Though you try to stop it,
she's like a narcotic.
You wanna torture her.
You wanna talk to her.
All the things you bought for her,
putting up your temp'rature.'
'You either shut up or get cut up;
they don't wanna hear about it.
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel.
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools tryin' to anaesthetise the way that you feel'
'And it's the damage that we do
And never know
It's the words that we don't say
That scare me so
Somehow I found myself down at the dockside
Thinking of the old days of Liverpool and Rotherhide
The transparent people who live on the other side
Living a life that is almost like suicide'
'Your body speaks much louder than your voice
You let it do the talking so I don't have any choice'
'But if your patience is exhausted and you still cannot decide
You're sitting in the garage contemplating suicide
And you have no motivation you can't even catch your breath
All of this acceleration is driving you to death'
'When I said that I was lying I might have been lying
Never let me hear you say you're not trying'
'So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your Alice'
'There's a tuppeny hapenny millionaire
Looking for a fourpenny one
With a tight grip on the short hairs
Of the public imagination'
'They talked to the sister, the father and the mother
With a microphone in one hand and a chequebook in the other'
'I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign
A woman was kissing a child, who was obviously in pain
She spills with compassion, as that young child's face in her hands she grips
Can you imagine all that greed and avarice coming down on that child's lips?'
'Two newspaper editors like playground sneaks
Running the book on which of them is going to last the week
One of them calls to me
And he says, "I know you"
"You gave me this tattoo back in '82"
"You were a spoilt child then with a record to plug"
"And I was a shaven headed seaside thug"
"Things haven't really changed that much"
"One of us is still getting paid too much"'
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With all the crap going down in both the US and the the UK (mainly London thankfully) I can't help but be reminded of this Dylan lyric.
Only a Pawn in their Game
A bullet from the back of a bush
Took Medgar Evers' blood
A finger fired the trigger to his name
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man's brain
But he can't be blamed
He's only a pawn in their game
A South politician preaches to the poor white man
"You got more than the blacks, don't complain
You're better than them, you been born with white skin, " they explain
And the Negro's name
Is used, it is plain
For the politician's gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game
The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid
And the marshals and cops get the same
But the poor white man's used in the hands of them all like a tool
He's taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
'Bout the shape that he's in
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game
From the poverty shacks, he looks from the cracks to the tracks
And the hoofbeats pound in his brain
And he's taught how to walk in a pack
Shoot in the back
With his fist in a clinch
To hang and to lynch
To hide 'neath the hood
To kill with no pain
Like a dog on a chain
He ain't got no name
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game
Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught
They lowered him down as a king
But when the shadowy sun sets on the one
That fired the gun
He'll see by his grave
On the stone that remains
Carved next to his name
His epitaph plain
Only a pawn in their game
Different names, same games.
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Jim Morrison must have been reading Joseph Campbell when he wrote this line. It resonates increasingly with me as the years pass by. "Trade in your hours for a handful of dimes" I don't exactly hate my job, well only sometimes, but still can't help feel there must be better ways of getting money than working with the public. https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-doors/five-to-one |
"They called me up in Tennessee They said "Tammy, stand by the JAMs" But if you don’t like what they’re going to do, You better not stop them ’cause they’re coming through (bring the beat back) (Hey hey) All bound for Mu Mu Land (justified!) (Hey hey) All bound for Mu Mu Land (justified!) Mu Mu Land Mu Mu Land All bound for Mu Mu Land They’re Justified, and they’re Ancient, And they drive an ice cream van. (just roll it from the top) They’re Justified and they’re Ancient, With still no master plan." The trip of a lifetime for Tammy Wynette who later said, "I really don’t know why they (KLF) chose me. I was apprehensive at first, but I’m really excited with the way it’s all turned out", Wynette said. " Mu Mu Land looks a lot more interesting than Tennessee.... But I wouldn’t want to live there." |
Some great lines stay in the memory from the Sex Pistols ’The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle’, but the best might be the intro, "People said we couldn’t play They called us foul-mouthed yobs But the only notes that really count Are the ones that come in wads" Another example of a great song coming at a bad time for the band. The outro still kicks hard 40 years later, "Elvis Presley died in 1959 Chuck Berry you’re a big ugly fucker (?) Ian Dury Cockney Fraud Mick Jagger white nigga Bob Dylan got a parking ticket stuck to his arsehole David Bowie you are a bloody cunt Rod Stewart‘s got a luggage label tied to his tonsils Elton John hair transplant Sid Vicious Rock and Roll Cliché Paul Cook bare bones Johnny Rotten he’s got his knickers knotted (?) Rock and roll swindle Swindle It’s a swindle!" https://youtu.be/FfFbcbGaTMY |
Can't think of the best Scott Walker lyric but this is one I never tire of. Walker did a lot to popularise Brel, rightly so.
"If I became deaf, dumb and blind
Because I pitied all mankind
And broke my heart to make things right
I know that every single night
When my angelic work was through
The angels and the Devil too
Would sing my childhood song to me
About the time they called me "Jacky"
If I could be for only an hour
If I could be for an hour every day
If I could be for just one little hour
Cute in a stupid ass way"
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Love Is Strange
"Love - love is strange
Lot of people take it for a game
Once you get it - you're in an awful fix
After you've had it - you never want to quit
Many people don't understand, no no
They think lovin', yeah yeah - is money in the hand
Your sweet lovin' - is better than a kiss, yeah yeah
When you leave me - sweet kisses I miss"
As for Buddy Holly's (overdub) version here - https://youtu.be/6Nwr4nh2oOE- all I want to say is that so, so beautiful this record is. |
Far from my favourite Eagles song but great lyrics nevertheless. Well worth a another mention. Already Gone
Well, I heard some people talkin' just the other day
And they said you were gonna put me on a shelf
But let me tell you I got some news for you
And you'll soon find out it's true
And then you'll have to eat your lunch all by yourself'
Cause I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song
Woo hoo hoo, my my, woo hoo hoo
The letter that you wrote me made me stop and wonder why
But I guess you felt like you had to set things right
Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky
You can see the stars and still not see the light (that's right)
And I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song
Woo hoo hoo, my my, woo hoo hoo
Well, I know it wasn't you who held me down
Heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free
So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key
But me, I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song'
Cause I'm already gone
Yes, I'm already gone
And I'm feelin' strong
I will sing this vict'ry song
'Cause I'm already gone
(repeat) 1994 Live in New York https://youtu.be/1XfiS3jX-VE |
Feels like it's time for a couple of deep lines from Dylan. The first from Subterranean Homesick Blues,
"Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters"
and a tricky one from It's Alright, Ma
"Proves to warn that he not busy being born
Is busy dying"
The following lyric from Blonde on Blonde eventually lead me into reading the Steinbeck novel.
"With your sheet-metal memory of Cannery Row,
And your magazine-husband who one day just had to go,"
Unfortunately, great book that it is, my memory of it is not 'sheet metal'. Far from it. Maybe time to revisit it this summer.
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How about a couple of Petula Clark lyrics to brighten up this Sunday evening?
This first one featuring these beautiful lines written by none less than Charlie Chaplin himself.
"Love, this is my song
Here is a song, a serenade to you
The world cannot be wrong
If in this world there’s you"
and this second one from Who Am I is somewhat atypical of her usual style but no less charming for that.
"The buildings reach up to the sky.
The traffic thunders on the busy street.
The pavement slips beneath my feet.
I walk alone and wonder
who am I?
I close my eyes and I can fly.
And I escape from all this worldly strife,
restricted by routine of life,
but still I can’t discover
who am I."
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My favourite sequence from Pepper.
"People running round it's five o'clock
Everywhere in town is getting dark
Everyone you see is full of life
It's time for tea and meet the wife
Somebody needs to know the time, glad that I'm here
Watching the skirts you start to flirt now you're in gear
Go to a show you hope she goes
I've got nothing to say but it's OK"
Well, it is June 1st. |
Favourite Clash lyric - great reminder there’s always worse places than where you might be now.
Straight to Hell
If you can play on the fiddle
How’s about a British jig and reel?
Speaking King’s English in quotation
As railhead towns feel the steel mills rust
Water froze
In the generation
Clear as winter ice
This is your paradise
There ain’t no need for ya
There ain’t no need for ya
Go straight to hell, boys, go straight to hell, boys
Wanna join in a chorus
Of the Amerasian blues?
When it’s Christmas out in Ho Chi Minh City
Kiddie say papa papa papa papa pappa-san, take me home
See me got
Photo photo photograph of you and mamma mamma mamma-san
Of you and mamma mamma mamma-san
Let me tell you ’bout your blood, bamboo kid
It ain’t Coca-Cola, it’s rice
Straight to hell
Go straight to hell boys
Go straight to hell
Go straight to hell boys
Oh Papa-san
Please take me home
Oh Papa-san
Everybody, they wanna go home
So Mamma-san says
You want to play mind-crazed banjo
On the druggy-drag ragtime U.S.A.?
In Parkland International
Ha, junkie-dom U.S.A
Where pro-caine proves the purest rock man groove
And rat poison
The volatile Molotov says
Straight to hell
Can you really cough it up loud and strong?
The immigrants, they wanna sing all night long
It could be anywhere
Most likely could be any frontier any hemisphere
In no-man’s-land
There ain’t no asylum here
King Solomon he never lived ’round here
Straight to hell, boys
Go straight to hell, boys
Go straight to hell, boys
Go straight to hell, boys
Oh, papa-san, please take me home
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Driving down to ASDA (Walmart UK) this following lyric (courtesy of Rod Stewart) came on over the radio. I was almost induced to tears, especially by the following lines,
"I can tell by your eyes that you've probably been crying forever
The stars in the sky don't mean nothing to you; they're a mirror" |
This one surely needs no introduction.
How many of us still feel like this in later life?
"Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun."
[PF SOYCD]
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MacArthur Park (Jimmy Webb)
Spring was never waiting for us, girl
It ran one step ahead
As we followed in the dance
Between the parted pages and were pressed
In love's hot, fevered iron
Like a striped pair of pants
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh no!
I recall the yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a wave
On the ground around your knees
The birds, like tender babies in your hands
And the old men playing checkers by the trees
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh no!
There will be another song for me
For I will sing it
There will be another dream for me
Someone will bring it
I will drink the wine while it is warm
And never let you catch me looking at the sun
And after all the loves of my life
After all the loves of my life
You'll still be the one
I will take my life into my hands and I will use it
I will win the worship in their eyes and I will lose it
I will have the things that I desire
And my passion flow like rivers through the sky
And after all the loves of my life
Oh, after all the loves of my life
I'll be thinking of you
And wondering why
MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh no!
Oh no
No
Oh no!
One of the great standouts of the late 60s. Harris’ performance of the full lyric remains the definitive one for me. The ‘yellow cotton dress’ line still cuts to the bone, and the sheer erratic confusion and sense of epic tragedy remain a reference point through thick and thin, year after year. |
I’m first among equals - second to none
I’m last of the best - you can bury the rest
It must be the winter of my discontent
I wish you’d taken me with you wherever you went
They talk all night - they talk all day
Not for a second do I believe what they say
Mister Freud with his dreams and Mister Marx with his axe
See the raw hide lash rip the skin off their backs
Black Rider Black Rider hold it right there
The size of your cock will get you nowhere
What are these dark days I see in this world so badly bent
How can I redeem the time - the time so idly spent
I feel the Holy Spirit inside and see the light that freedom gives
I believe it’s within the reach of every man who lives
Key West is the place to be
If you’re lookin’ for immortality
Stay on the road – follow the highway sign
Key West is fine and fair
If you lost your mind, you’ll find it there
I’ve never lived in the land of Oz
Or wasted my time with an unworthy cause
The day that they blew out the brains of the king
Thousands were watching, no one saw a thing
It happened so quickly - so quick by surprise
Right there in front of everyone’s eyes
Greatest magic trick ever under the sun
Perfectly executed, skillfully done
Ridin’ in the back seat, next to my wife
Heading straight on into the afterlife
I’m leaning to the left, got my head in her lap
Oh Lord, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap
Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye Uncle Sam
Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don’t give a damn
What is the truth and where did it go
Ask Oswald and Ruby - they oughta know
Shut your mouth, says the wise old owl
Business is business and it’s murder most foul
You got me dizzy Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead
That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head
Zapruder’s film, I’ve seen that before
Seen it thirty three times, maybe more
It’s vile and deceitful - it’s cruel and it’s mean
Ugliest thing that you ever have seen
They killed him once, they killed him twice
Killed him like a human sacrifice
The day that they killed him, someone said to me, “Son,
The age of the anti-Christ has just only begun.”
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Rough and Rowdy Ways. Bob Dylan
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@bander , jeez that's an unrelentingly bleak lyric. All the important relationships in life going south..
"Her daddy turned mean and her mama leaned hard"
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Lenny Bruce Bob Dylan
Lenny Bruce is dead but his ghost lived on and on
Never did get any Golden Globe award, never made it to Synanon
He was an outlaw, that’s for sure
More of an outlaw than you ever were
Lenny Bruce is gone but his spirit’s living on and on.
Maybe he had some problems, maybe some things that he couldn’t work out
But he sure was funny and he sure told the truth and he knew what he was talking about
Never robbed any churches, nor cut of any babies heads
He just took the folks in high places and he shined a light in their beds
He’s on some other shore, he didn’t want to live anymore.
Lenny Bruce is dead but he didn’t commit any crime
He just had the insight to rip off the lid before its time
I rode with him in a taxi once, only for a mile and a half
Seemed like it took a couple of months
Lenny Bruce moved on and like the ones that killed him, gone.
They say he was sick ’cause he didn’t play by the rules
He just showed the wise men of his day to be nothing more than fools
They stamped him and they labeled him like they do with pants and shirts
He fought a war on a battlefield where every victory hurts
Lenny Bruce was bad, he was the brother that you never had.
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It’s a song that just builds and builds. That last line must resonate with a lot of people. |
"And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming And the sign said, "The words of the prophets Are written on the subway walls And tenement halls" And whispered in the sounds of silence" I was recently reminded of Paul Simon’s great lyric by hearing Disturbed’s quite different version. https://youtu.be/1tSoHvQkZ-E |
Nature Boy (by Eden Ahbez) There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far Over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he And then one day A magic day he passed my way And while we spoke of many things Fools and kings This he said to me "The greatest thing you’ll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return" "The greatest thing you’ll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return" https://youtu.be/ZpF1J9FnD4E One of the greatest ’message songs’ that I know of. My favourite version is by the legendary Nat King Cole. As is also this following collaboration of his. Love is the Thing (by Cole/Jenkins) What does it matter if we’re rich or we’re poor Fortune and fame they never endure For love is the thing, love is the thing What good is money if your heart isn’t right Here in your arms I’m wealthy tonight When youth has its fling, love is the thing While others fight for power We can walk among the flowers Knowing that the best thing in life Is the thing that’s free Love for you and me And even though our castles crumble and fall We have the right to laugh at them all For love is still king, love is the thing And even though our castles crumble and fall We have the right to laugh at them all For love is still king, love is the thing https://youtu.be/78_bDRkzcTg |
Stephen Sondheim wrote many great lyrics but perhaps this one (from Send in the Clowns) nails down relationship problems better than anyone?
’Don’t you love a farce?
My fault, I fear
I thought that you’d want what I want
Sorry, my dear!
But where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns
Don’t bother, they’re here’
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'Every day I work so hard
Bringin' home my hard earned pay
Try to love you baby, but you push me away
Don't know where you're goin'
Only know just where you've been
Sweet little baby, I want you again'
Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused
(or the marriage song 😆) |
@acefactory,
For years the following lines used to bug me so much so that I had to read the novel.
'With your sheet-metal memory of Cannery Row,
And your magazine-husband who one day just had to go,'
It was a lovely read even though I can't remember much about the plot.
Steinbeck had such a beautiful style but nevertheless my particular memory of it is definitely not 'sheet-metal'.
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I don't believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did, I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Oh, not to touch a hair on your head
Leave you as you are
If he felt he had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms
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Into My Arms
Nick Cave
A truly beautiful song.
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Do You Believe in the Westworld? Theatre of Hate The yellow sun was setting in tombstone The citizen ...... By a freak a coin in the piano made it play But only the wind and the dust heard it say Do you believe in the Westworld? Do you believe in the Westworld? From the south on a wind in walked a cowboy The saloon was dry but his guns were well oiled Somehow he remembered when he kissed his wife And when he said goodbye But that was before the circus with the bear arrived Oh the bear it roared as the gun was fired Then the cowboy turned the gun on himself as he sang "No-ones alive" Do you believe in the Westworld? Do you believe in the Westworld? I wonder whether Kirk Brandon's newly arriving circus would feature a giant panda if written or sung today? https://youtu.be/up1phynzMCo |
@roxy54
Ha! By a strange YouTube algorithm this appears as I'm searching for Do You Remember Walter!
"I won't take all that they hand me down
Make out a smile, though I wear a frown
And I'm not gonna take it all lying down
Cause once I get started, I go to town"
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