# BEST opening line of song lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174 "2017-10-18T00:49:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/181 "2017-12-05T22:07:12Z")
Oh. My. God. Becky, look at her butt. _As I walk through the valley where I harvest my grain I take a look at my wife and realize she’s very plain_ ---
**Author:** ![Rain\_Soaked](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19adc/32.png) [@Rain\_Soaked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rain_Soaked)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/182 "2017-12-05T22:35:19Z")
_Moving on the floor now babe you’re a bird of paradise_ Although for the life of me, I can’t recall what song this is from… ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/183 "2017-12-05T23:32:26Z")
> [@Rain\_Soaked](#): > > _Moving on the floor now babe you’re a bird of paradise_ > > Although for the life of me, I can’t recall what song this is from… Let me Google that for you . . . It’s _Rio_ by Duran Duran. [Listen.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUiqtmPzZk) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/184 "2017-12-06T01:59:09Z")
_I’m a little lizard trapped in a maaaaaan’s skin_ - Rapeman, “Radar Love Lizard” “It’s getting near dawn, and lights close their tired eyes.” > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Hey Joe, where you goin’ with that gun of yours? /nitpick/JH, the first time around, _very_ quietly says “…in your hand” at the end of that line, and then the second time he sings that line, “…in your hand” is much louder./nitpick/ ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/185 "2017-12-06T16:19:56Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Well, it was all that I could do to keep from cryin’ > Sometimes it seemed so useless to remain > But you don’t have to call me darlin’, darlin’ > You never even called me by my name > > -David Allan Coe Steve Goodman. Coe covered it. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/186 "2017-12-06T18:27:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The opening line of the Hives’ “Come On!” is dynamite: > > _Come on!_ > > The rest of the lyrics are great too. > > \*Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! (come on!) > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on! > Come on… > > Everybody come on!\* That is a kick-ass song! Thanks for getting it stuck in my head for the next few hours (I mean it)! ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/187 "2017-12-06T18:30:45Z")
Some people get by with a little bit of understanding. Some people get by with a whole lot more. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/188 "2017-12-06T18:31:33Z")
Wipeout! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/189 "2017-12-06T18:54:58Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Wipeout! Actually; Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, wipe out! ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/190 "2017-12-07T12:41:29Z")
There’s a Live song that begins with this: “Light up a cigarette, she said, and calm the fuck down.” A lot of times when I’m feeling frustrated or something, the line pops into my head, and the way it’s played just sounds like it’s simultaneously legitimizing your feelings and calming you down. Truthfully, it’s probably more accurate to call it my “favorite” opening line rather than the “BEST” opening line, but I think favorite is close enough to count. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/191 "2017-12-07T12:57:48Z")
“Well, we busted out of class, had to get away from those fools. We learned more from a three minute record, baby, than we ever learned in school.” ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/192 "2017-12-07T13:48:10Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > “Ivana’s a sculptor she’s tending bar” > > - Emmet Swimming, Arlington Wow. This is the first time that I can recall that anyone’s mentioned this band that isn’t from Northern Virginia (and perhaps you are). The drummer in that band, Tamer, is an old and dear friend. That really brings back the memories…TT Reynolds, etc. “Well the sea is kinda frightenin’ out there, this younger generation swings, you know it’s more than just some new sensation…” ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/193 "2017-12-07T13:56:40Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > There’s a Live song that begins with this: “Light up a cigarette, she said, and calm the fuck down.” A lot of times when I’m feeling frustrated or something, the line pops into my head, and the way it’s played just sounds like it’s simultaneously legitimizing your feelings and calming you down. Truthfully, it’s probably more accurate to call it my “favorite” opening line rather than the “BEST” opening line, but I think favorite is close enough to count. “I dreamed about killing you again last night, and it felt alright to me” -Wilco, “Via Chicago” ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/194 "2017-12-07T14:31:13Z")
“I’m a dead man walking here. That’s the least of all my fears. Oh, underneath the water.” “At home Drawing pictures Of mountain tops With him on top Lemon yellow sun Arms raised in a V Dead lay in pools of maroon below.” ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/195 "2017-12-07T16:56:17Z")
I’ll put up _The Year of the Cat_ by Al Stewart. “On a morning from a Bogart movie, in a country where they turned back time, You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime” … Though it’s the very next line that always captivates me: “She comes out of the sun in a silk dress, running, like a watercolor in the rain…” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/196 "2017-12-07T18:56:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Actually; Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, wipe out! I prefer to paraphrase it as: _“(Idiotic Giggle) Wipeout.”_ ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/197 "2017-12-07T19:29:28Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I’ll put up _The Year of the Cat_ by Al Stewart. > > “On a morning from a Bogart movie, in a country where they turned back time, > You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime” … > > Though it’s the very next line that always captivates me: “She comes out of the sun in a silk dress, running, like a watercolor in the rain…” Well, that’s weird. I could have sworn I posted this exact thing yesterday! I must have forgotten to hit the submit button. I didn’t put in the bit about the next line but I thought about it. NINJA’d! Upon further review, I see LLCooL beat us both to it. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/198 "2017-12-07T19:56:11Z")
I stand right next to a mountain And chop it down with the edge of my hand (Bwah da badda dwah, dee dee di di di, bwah da badda dwah…) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/199 "2017-12-07T23:48:32Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > Steve Goodman. Coe covered it. Steve Goodman and John Prine co-wrote it. They performed it together as well. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/200 "2017-12-08T21:54:48Z")
_I have this feeling that my luck is none too good This sword here at my side don’t act the way it should Keeps calling me its master, but I feel like its slave Hauling me faster and faster to an early, early grave And it howls, it howls like hell_ - Blue Oyster Cult _In the magic garden Some were singing Some were dancing While the midnight moon Shone brightly overhead_ - Uriah Jeep (had to do the full verses here) _It was twenty years ago today_ (not the cleverest lyric ever written but can still cause the ole goosebumps.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174.md?page=11)