Fave song lyrics

[maltaille]

The Dude is right, Dylan always wins this (I'm partial to Shelter from the Storm myself), so it should be a Dylan-free discussion. Maybe he can have his own lyrics thread?

Here's a few that might not be on people's radar, plus a few that probably are but deserve mention anyway. Some are truly poetry (I wonder if The Lounge is cool enough to have a poetry thread without getting all self conscious about it?), some are just fun. No links to the full lyrics, because all the lyrics sites are rife with popups.

Working Class Hero, John Lennon (though I like Marianne Faithful's version better):
As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all

Shivers, Nick Cave (also check out Mercy Seat, and Red Right Hand):
I've been contemplating suicide,
But it really doesn't suit my style.
So I think I'll just act bored instead,
And contain the blood I would've shed

No Aphrodisiac, The Whitlams (this song has fantastic lyrics throughout, but this post would be way too long if I included more than just a sample of any of them):
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
You shouldn't leave me alone

Flame Trees, Cold Chisel:
Number one is to find some friends to say "You're doing well
After all this time you boys look just the same"
Number two is the happy hour at one of two hotels
Settle in to play "Do you remember so and so?"
Number three is never say her name

Man's Too Strong, Dire Straits (another one with fantastic lyrics throughout):
You may have got your silver
But I swear upon my life
Your sister gave me diamonds
And I gave them to your wife

Love Is The Drug, Roxy Music:
Late that night I park my car
Stake my place in the singles bar
Face to face, toe to toe
Heart to heart as we hit the floor
Lumber up, limbo down
The locked embrace, the stumble round
I say go, she say yes
Dim the lights, you can guess the rest

Cool For Cats, UK Squeeze:
Shake up at the disco
And I think Ive got a pull
I ask her lots of questions
And she hangs on to the wall
I kiss her for the first time
And then I take her home
I'm invited in for coffee
And I give the dog a bone

Needle And The Damage Done, Neil Young (yet another one):
I've seen the needle
and the damage done
A little part of it in everyone
But every junkie's
like a settin' sun

Bad Touch, Bloodhound Gang:
So show me yours I'll show you mine "Tool Time" you'll Lovett just like Lyle
And then we'll do it doggy style so we can both watch "X-Files"

Nick of Time, Bonnie Raitt (this is the lyrical equivalent of a chick flick, skip to the next if you can't stand it):
A friend of mine she cries at night, and she
Calls me on the phone
Sees babies everywhere she goes and she
Wants one of her own.
Shes waited long enough she says
And still he cant decide
Pretty soon shell have to choose and it tears her up inside...

(OK, the official lyrics say "she can't decide" instead of "he can't decide," but I swear she sings he, and it's a much more powerful lyric that way)

Brilliant Disguise, Bruce Springsteen (or The River, or Thunder Road, or about a dozen others):
I want to know if it's you I don't trust
'cause I damn sure don't trust myself

Heroes, David Bowie (Bowie would be second after Dylan for me. Pick a song, its lyrics are fantastic):
And you
You can be mean
And I
I'll drink all the time
'Cause we're lovers
And that is a fact
Yes we're lovers
And that is that

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Gil Scott-Heron:
You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag,
And skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.

That's Entertainment, The Jam:
A smash of glass and a rumble of boots -
An electric train and a ripped up 'phone booth -
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat -
Lights going out and a kick in the balls -

That's Entertainment.

Til The Real Thing Comes Along, Judy Henske (this is a transcription, because the lyrics sites don't have it):
I would work for you, oh I'd would slave for you
I'd work my body to the grave for you
Now if that isn't love, it'll have to do
Til the real thing comes along

Perfect Skin, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions:
She's got cheekbones like geometry and eyes like sin,
And she's sexually enlightened by cosmopolitan

88 Lines About 44 Women, The Nails:
Joan thought men were second best
to masturbating in a bath

... and 86 more lines about 43 more women.

Closer, Nine Inch Nails:
You can have my isolation, you can have the hate that
It brings

Welcome to the Boomtown, David and David:
Ms. Cristina drives a nine four four
Satisfaction oozes from her pores


Second Castles in the Sand (no love for Little Wing?), and thanks for the Townes van Zandt, hadn't heard that before, it's good stuff.

[diebitter]

That's Entertainment is a fantastic call. Here's the full video, for those of you who may not have even heard of it. It's a VERY English song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O-pjgdVH4g

[J.A.K.]

"Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun...
But mama, that's where the fun is"

"God only knows, God makes his plan
The informations unavailable to the mortal man
Were workin our jobs, collect our pay
Believe were gliding down the highway, when in fact were slip sliding away"

"Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"

"Nothing really matters in the end you know,
All the worries sever.
Don't be afraid for me my friend, one day we all fall down forever."

[Kaj]

I cant believe the news today
Oh, I cant close my eyes and make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...

Broken bottles under childrens feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I wont heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall

Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday bloody sunday...)
(allright lets go!)

And the battles just begun
Theres many lost, but tell me who has won
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Sunday, bloody sunday
Sunday, bloody sunday

How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight...
Tonight...

Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight)
Tonight
Sunday, bloody sunday (tonight)
(come get some!)

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Wipe your tears away
I wipe your tears away
(sunday, bloody sunday)
I wipe your blood shot eyes
(sunday, bloody sunday)

Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday)
Sunday, bloody sunday (sunday, bloody sunday)
(here I come!)

And its true we are immune
When fact is fiction and tv reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

The real battle yet begun (sunday, bloody sunday)
To claim the victory jesus won (sunday, bloody sunday)
On...

Sunday bloody sunday
Sunday bloody sunday

[daveT]

The Cure "doing the unstuck"

Just fun lyrics and a fun song (yes, I am talking about The Cure)

it's a perfect day for letting go
for setting fire to bridges
boats
and other dreary worlds you know
let's get happy!
it's a perfect day for making out
to wake up with a smile without a doubt
to burst grin giggle bliss skip jump and sing and shout
let's get happy!

but it's much to late you say
for doing this now
we should have done it then
well it just goes to show
how wrong you can be
and how you really should know
that it's never too late
to get up and go

it's a perfect day for kiss and swell
for rip-zipping button-popping kiss and well...
there's loads of other stuff can make you yell
let's get happy!
it's a perfect day for doing the unstuck
for dancing like you can't hear the beat
and you don't give a further thought
to things like feet
let's get happy!


kick out the gloom
kick out the blues
tear out the pages with all the bad news
pull down the mirrors and pull down the walls
tear up the stairs and tear up the floors
oh just burn down the house!
burn down the street!
turn everything red and the beat is complete
with the sound of your world
going up in fire
it's a perfect day to throw back your head
and kiss it all goodbye

it's a perfect day for getting old
forgetting all your worries
life
and everything that makes you cry
let's get happy!
it's a perfect day for dreams come true
for thinking big
and doing anything you want to do
let's get happy!

I like fun lyrics. I was going to post Georgia Peach by Rasheeda, but I wasn't too sure if it was appropriate, but it is pretty funny. Not that deep is not appreciated, but some A&R guy once said that anyone can write a ballad. I agree.

[KilgoreTrout]

Well I'm sittin' here playin' solitaire
With a pearl handled deck
The county won't give me no more methodone
They cut off your welfare check

Carmelita, hold me tighter
I think I'm sinkin' down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well I pawned my Smith Corona
And I went to meet my man
He hangs out down on El Dorado
By the Pioneer Chicken Stand

Carmelita....

Edit to add this Zevon classic. Best part about it is the bubblegum pop sound the song has:

Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said

He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark
Excitable boy, they all said
And he bit the usherette's leg in the dark
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy

He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
After ten long years they let him out of the home
Excitable boy, they all said
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy

[John Cole]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[John Cole]

Also Jim Henson's favorite, and God do I feel so old compared to the rest of you with your Aimee Manns and the like. Harold and Yip also wrote a few songs besides this one:

Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia,

Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.


She has eyes that folks adore so,

And a torso even more so.

Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopidia,

Oh Lydia the Queen of Tattoo.

On her back is the Battle of Waterloo.

Beside it the wreck of the Hesperus, too.


And proudly above waves the Red, White, and Blue,

You can learn a lot from Lydia.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

When her robe is unfurled, she will show you the world,

If you step up and tell her where.

For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paris,


Or Washington crossing the Delaware.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Oh Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia,

Oh Lydia the Tattooed Lady

When her muscles start relaxin’,

Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson

Lydia oh Lydia, that encyclopidia,

oh Lydia the queen of them all!

For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz,

With a view of Niagara that nobody has.

And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz.

You can learn a lot from Lydia.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Come along and see Buff’lo Bill with his lasso.

Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso.

Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon.

Here’s Godiva but with her pajamas on.

La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Here is Grover Whalen unveilin’ the Trilon.

Over on the West Coast we have Treaure Island.

Here’s Najinsky a-doin’ the rhumba.

Here’s her social security numba.

{whistles}La la la, la la la, la la la, la la la

Oh Lydia, oh Lydia that encyclopidia,

Oh Lydia the champ of them all.

She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet.

The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat.

And now the old boy’s in command of the fleet,

For he went and married Lydia.

I said Lydia

{He said Lydia}

They said Lydia

{We said Lydia}

La La!

[Kimbell175113]

[ QUOTE ]
and God do I feel so old compared to the rest of you with your Aimee Manns and the like.

[/ QUOTE ]
Aimee Mann is older than my mom.

[MattS]

The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die
And if a ten-ton truck
Kills the both of us
To die by your side
Well, the pleasure - the privilege is mine