The sky was Bible black in Lyon
When I met the Magdalene
She was paralysed in a streetlight
She refused to give her name
And a ring of violet bruises
They were pinned upon her arm.
Two hundred francs for sanctuary and she led me by the hand
To a room of dancing shadows where all the heartache disappears
And from glowing tongues of candles I heard her whisper in my ear
“'J’entend ton coeur”
I can hear your heart
and from another
I saw a war widow in a launderette
Washing the memories from her husband’s clothes
She had medals pinned to a threadbare greatcoat
A lump in her throat with cemetery eyes
Shame Tom Lehrer doesn’t count as rock/pop. I would never claim ‘best’, but the following are the cleverest lyrics I’ve ever heard (regarding the death of Clementine -say them out loud!):
But in the spirit of the thread I nominate Tom Waits for his deft and moving summations of tragic lives. So many to choose from, but Martha does it for me.
I don’t know a soul who’s not been battered
I don’t have a friend who feels at ease
And I don’t know a dream that’s not been shattered
Or driven to its knees. Kathy I’m lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping. My father was a fisherman
My mama was a fisherman’s friend
And I was born in the boredom and the chowder
Right. And it captures it perfectly. They’re stuck in the small town. They are going to die there. They are currently living through the best times of their lives. And we know it. It isn’t going to get any better. It’s only going to get worse because they aren’t doing a blessed thing to make their lives better.
It is a depressing ass song. The chorus sums it up. “Life goes on. Long after the thrill of living is gone.” It doesn’t throw any romance into their situation. The song could pretty much be the prelude to “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman.
I knew a shitload of Jacks and Dianes growing up. They all stayed behind. They all love the song because it reminds them of the good times. They clearly were not paying attention when Mrs. DiPetro lectured us on irony in 11th grade English.
DEFINITELY. I’m surprised no one else mentioned him
It’s difficult to choose a favorite Leonard Cohen lyric because there are so many good ones (could there be a break-up song colder than “Everybody Knows”? I think not), but I’ve always felt a special pull to this one:
*
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.*
I love the line “a kingdom for a kiss upon the shoulder” in Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over.”
My mom likes Devendra Banhart (weird) and I’m pretty sure it’s just because of this one lyric:
*Oh we knew, we knew
We had a choice
We choose rejoice
*
I guess my Mama and I are both suckers for uplifting, vaguely existential sentiments.