# BEST opening line of song lyrics

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174>\
**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:** 6\
**Page:** 13

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**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/241 "2026-08-12T02:28:18Z")

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“I′m trying to tell you something 'bout my life” - Indigo Girls

Thanks to Paul Krugman’s musical coda today.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/242 "2026-08-12T02:56:06Z")

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_Off we go, into the wild blue yonder, climbing high into the Sun…_

_Anchors aweigh, my boys, anchors aweigh!_

_From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli…_

_Over hill, over dale, we will hit the dusty trail…_

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**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/243 "2026-08-12T13:05:29Z")

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_You can dream the American Dream;  
But you sleep with the lights on  
And wake up with a scream_

Warren Zevon

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**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/244 "2026-08-12T14:24:32Z")

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Oh, Mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the law.  
Lawman has put an end to my running, and I’m so far from my home.  
Oh, Mama, I can hear you a-crying, you’re so scared and all alone.  
Hangman is coming down from the gallows and I don’t have very long.  
—“Renegade” by Styx

You see me now, veteran of a thousand psychic wars,  
I’ve been living on the edge so long, where the winds of Limbo roar.  
—“Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Oyster Cult

Breaking rocks in the hot sun,  
I fought the law, and the law won.  
—pick your favorite cover

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**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/245 "2026-08-12T14:38:08Z")

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> [@mbh](#):
>
> You see me now, veteran of a thousand psychic wars,  
> I’ve been living on the edge so long, where the winds of Limbo roar.  
> —“Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Oyster Cult

That one’s great.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-line-of-song-lyrics/799174/246 "2026-08-12T15:04:20Z")

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_I hear the train a-comin’, it’s rollin’ 'round the bend, and I ain’t seen the Sun shine since I don’t know when…_

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