Another Elvis Costello one, my favorite:
I don’t want to kiss you, I don’t want to touch
from No Action, the first cut on his second album.
The bassoon line that opens the Rites of Spring.
More Dylan
“Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night” - Hurricane
“They’re selling postcards of the hanging” - Desolation Row
“Well, there was this movie I seen one time, About a man riding 'cross the desert and it starred Gregory Peck.” Brownsville Girl
“I married Isis on the fifth day of May, But I could not hold on to her very long.” Isis
Im waiting for my man
Twenty-six dollars in my hand
Up to lexington, 125
Feel sick and dirty, more dead than alive
Yeah, really great song.
2 from Tom Waits:
Smell like a brewery, look like a tramp. Ain’t got a quarter got a postage stamp.
Pasties and a G-String
and
I spent all of my money in a Mexican whorehouse across the street from a Catholic church. - Mr. Segal
I’m also quite fond of my signature, but it’s not a first line.
Okay, this one looks really goofy in print so you gotta sing it.
Oooooooooh yeah! Oh yeah. Everything. Everything. Everything gonna be all right this morning. Oh yeah. Whoo! - Muddy Waters, Mannish Boy. (The late great Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor did a cover with a similar opening so I’ll have to say Koko *and *Muddy. Two outstanding artists who could really work a crowd.)
I love how Neil Diamond explains his whole reason for being a **Solitary Man **in the first couple of lines:
“Belinda was mine til the time that I found her
Holding Jim, loving him.
Then Sue came along, loved me strong
that’s what I thought
Me and Sue. That died too.”
[rant mode]Read the whole post! Read the whole thread![/rant mode]
“I was born in a crossfire hurricane” - Rolling Stones, “Symphony for the Devil”
“Well, it’s a marvelous night for a Moondance” - Van Morrison, “Moondance”
“It’s already written that today will be one to remember” - Blind Faith, “Had to Cry Today”
“Hello darkness, my old friend,” - Simon & Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence”
“Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, We’re finally on our own.” - CSNY, “Ohio”
“White Bird, in a golden cage, on a winter’s day, in the rain” - It’s a Beautiful Day, “White Bird”
Great choice.
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase;11287200
“I was born in a crossfire hurricane” - Rolling Stones, “Symphony for the Devil”
.[/QUOTE]
Ooops! You blew that one. It was Jumpin’ Jack Flash
I was gonna get up off that bar stool
Just as soon as I could figure it out
John Hiatt - Paper Thin
“Can we forget about the things I said when I was drunk? I didn’t mean to call you that.”
Lit- My Own Worst Enemy
:smack:
Couple in the next room bound to win a prize
They’ve been goin’ at it all night long.
Paul Simon - Duncan
Good one!
Sorry to resurrect a dying thread, but I heard this classic opening line this morning:
“A public service announcement followed me home the other day”
Bad Day - REM
Standing by your window in pain
A suitcase in my hand
Across The Great Divide - The Band
The Dutchman’s not the kind of man
To keep his thumb jammed in the dam
That holds his dreams in
But that’s a secret only Margaret knows
The Dutchman - Michael Peter Smith
Well a young man
He ain’t got nothin’ in the world these days
Young Man Blues - The Who (penned by Mose Allison)
In keeping with the economic situation:
There must be some kind of way out of here
Said the joker to the thief
“What’s My Scene”. You have to love a song that starts with ellipsis.
Finally found a worthy choice:
“Because mutiny on the bounty’s what we’re all about
I’m gonna board your ship and turn it on out!”
The Beastie Boys, Rhymin’ and Stealin’. It starts with a loop of the drums from When the Levee Breaks, then the guitar part from Sweet Leaf, and then you get Adrock screaming this rap about being a pirate. I don’t know what you’d even compare to this.