Favorite Song "Lyrically"

[Marley23]

@Sam Stone

And if California slides into the ocean,
Like the mystics and statistics say it will,
I predict this motel will be standing,
Until I pay my bill.

• from “Desperadoes Under the Eaves”

A beautiful, beautiful verse. I haven’t heard that song for a few years, but I should dig it up.

My favorite song, lyrically and overall, is “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to be Free.”

I wish I could give all I’m longing to give
I wish I could live like I’m longing to live
I wish I could do all the things that I should do
Though I’m way overdue, I’d be starting anew.

That looks beyond simplistic on the page, actually. But the words are moving and it’s all in the performance. Second place probably goes to “Time,” by Tom Waits.

Well the smart money’s on Harlow and the moon is in the street
And the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
And you’re east of East Saint Louis and the wind is making speeches
And the rain sounds like a round of applause
And Napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon
His invisible fiancee’s in the mirror
And the band is going home, it’s raining hammers, it’s raining nails
And it’s true there’s nothing left for him down here

From the same album, I also like “Tango Till They’re Sore,” particularly the beginning of the chorus

Let me fall out of the window with confetti in my hair
Deal out Jacks or better on a blanket by the stairs

[MrDibble]

Atmosphere, by Joy Division, about a collapsing marriage and life:

Walk in silence, don’t turn away, in silence.
Your confusion, my illusion, worn like a mask of self-hate,
Confronts and then dies.Don’t walk away.

Then there’s always The Smiths, I think Mozzer’s lyrics were one of the best things about them:

And in a darkened under pass, I thought ‘Oh God! My chance has come at last’,
but then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn’t ask.

I

am the son
And the heir
Of a shyness that is criminally vulgar
I am the son and heir
Of nothing in particular

Another favourite lyricist is Ian Anderson:

Oh the leaded window opened
To move the dancing candle flame
And the first moths of summer
Suicidal came, oh suicidal came

[Bippy_the_Beardless]

Getting more obscure…

Marillion

A spider wanders aimlessly within the warmth of a shadow
Not the regal creature of border caves
But the poor, missguided, directionless familiar
of some obscure scottish poet.

The mist crawls from the canal
Like some primordial phantom of romance
To curl, under a cascade of neon pollen
While I sit tied to the phone like an expectant father
Your carnation will rot in a vase

---

So you say you believe in all of mother natures laws
You lust for gold with your sharpened knives
Oh when your hoards are gathered and your enemies left to rot
You pray with your bloodstained hands at the feet of your pagan gods

Then you try to place the killers blade in my hand
You call for justice and distort the truth
Well Ive had enough of all your pretty pretty speeches
Receive your punishment
Expose your throats to my righteous claws
And let the blood flow, and [let the blood flow], flow, flow, flow

---

[want2know]

@Gail

Steely Dan is one of my favorite bands for lyrics…I love this part in Deacon Blues :

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet

Languid and bittersweet—how often do you hear that phrase?

Only my favorite song of all time!

In fact, any Steely Dan lyrics do it for me.
Considering the proliferation of celebrity tabloid nonsense today, I give you:

Showbiz kids make movies of themselves
And they don’t give a fuck about anybody else.

Just about anything written by Sting is also at the top of my list, if only for the literary references.

And, in the 80s, no one ever turned phrases like Duran Duran, especially Come Undone and New Moon on Monday .

Ditto Dire Straits --especially Skateaway .

[gonzomax]

Billy Joel Piano Man. Croce Cats Cradle.