# Best opening lines in a song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 9, 2018, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228 "2018-11-09T04:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/1 "2018-11-09T04:19:36Z")
From “Long White Cadillac”: “Night wolves moan Winter hills are black I’m all alone Sitting in the back Of a long white Cadillac” Originally by The Blasters but made popular by Dwight Yoakum. I think its a song about Hank Williams. Link: [Dwight Yoakam - Long White Cadillac official video - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GjY5rHQZ14) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/2 "2018-11-09T04:30:20Z")
Pulled in to Nazareth… Was feeling 'bout half past dead… ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/3 "2018-11-09T04:42:42Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Pulled in to Nazareth… > Was feeling 'bout half past dead… Nice. Lots of good ones from those guys I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/4 "2018-11-09T05:35:09Z")
I think we hear some of the best ones so many times that we forget, or the effect wears off, or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/5 "2018-11-09T05:35:15Z")
_Well a person can work up a mean, mean thirst After a hard day of nothin’ much at all_ “Here Comes a Regular” by The Replacements ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/6 "2018-11-09T05:40:24Z")
Beethoven - Fidelio - opening of Act 2, he’s in jail, and yells out “God it’s dark in here!” Well it’s in German but you get the point. 🙂 Certainly an arresting moment. Beethoven often writes stuff that’s way too hard to sing decently, but that part sure works. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/7 "2018-11-09T06:25:24Z")
A lot of nice first lines from Bob: Well, in my time of dying don’t want nobody to mourn All I want for you to do is take my body home… I ain’t lookin’ to compete with you, Beat or cheat or mistreat you. My love she speaks like silence, without ideals or violence She doesn’t have to say she’s faithful, yet she’s true, like ice, like fire. She’s got everything she needs She’s an artist, she don’t look back… Well, I wake up in the morning There’s frogs inside my socks Your mama, she’s hidin’ Inside the icebox Your daddy walks in wearin’ A Napoleon Bonaparte mask Then you ask why I don’t live here Honey, do you have to ask? Well, God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son” Abe says, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on” When you’re lost in the rain in Juarez And it’s Eastertime too Well there was this movie I seen one time about a man riding across the desert and it starred Gregory Peck. (Bob with Sam Shepherd) If not for you, babe, I couldn’t find the door Couldn’t even see the floor I’d be sad and blue if not for you. How many times have you heard someone say If I had his money I’d do things my way Hmm, but little they know Hmm, it’s so hard to find One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind. Heart of mine be still You can play with fire, but you’ll get the bill. Love that’s pure hopes all things Believes all things, won’t pull no strings In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need, when the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed… Well, if I had to do it all over again Babe, I’d do it all over you Buckets of rain, buckets of tears Got all them buckets comin’ out of my ears Early one morning the sun was shining I was laying in bed Wondering if she’d changed at all If her hair was still red… And some first stanzas of love songs: Been so long since a strange woman has slept in my bed Look how sweet she sleeps, how free must be her dreams In another lifetime she must have owned the world, or been faithfully wed To some righteous king who wrote psalms beside moonlit streams. Well the pressure’s down, the boss ain’t here He gone North, for a while They say that vanity got the best of him But he sure left here in style By the way, that’s a cute hat And that smile’s so hard to resist But what’s a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ? 'Twas in another lifetime one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue, the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness a creature void of form “Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm.” * * * Johnny’s in the basement, mixin’ up the medicine. I’m on the pavement, thinkin’ 'bout the government… Far between sundown’s finish an’ midnight’s broken toll We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing Crimson flames tied through my ears Rollin’ high and mighty traps. Pounced with fire on flaming roads Using ideas as my maps… Sometimes I’m in the mood, I wanna leave my lonesome home You say you love me, and you’re thinkin’ of me, but you know you could be wrong. Everything went from bad to worse, money never changed a thing Death kept followin’, trackin’ us down, at least I heard your bluebird sing! And this is cheating, but a line later in that song is so cool: Oh, the only decent thing I did when I worked as a postal clerk Was to haul your picture down off the wall, near the cage where I used to work. Was I a fool or not to try to protect your real identity? You looked a little burned out, my friend, I thought it might be up to me. Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat… Yes, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat… (okay, even Dylan can’t be Dylan all the time…) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/8 "2018-11-09T06:50:08Z")
We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout… J.C.'s the man!! ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/9 "2018-11-09T10:27:47Z")
> [@digs](#): > > A lot of nice first lines from Bob: > > Well… Oooo - you may just have started something here. \*There must be some kind of way outta here Said the joker to the thief \* j ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/10 "2018-11-09T10:29:03Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Beethoven - Fidelio - opening of Act 2, he’s in jail, and yells out “God it’s dark in here!” > > Well it’s in German but you get the point. 🙂 Certainly an arresting moment. > > Beethoven often writes stuff that’s way too hard to sing decently, but that part sure works. Sticking to opera, the beginning of the Commendatore scene in **Mozart** ’s _Don Giovanni_ is a textbook example of an arresting moment, too. > [@](#): > > LA STATUA > Don Giovanni a cenar teco > m’invitasti e son venuto! > > _THE STATUE > Don Giovanni, you invited me to dinner > and I have come!_ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH4gJWCV-8U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH4gJWCV-8U) ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/11 "2018-11-09T11:00:56Z")
“I woke up alarmed” - Liz Phair “I just found out yesterday that Linda goes to Mars Every time I sit and look at pictures of used cars” - John Prine “No don’t ask me to apologize, and I won’t ask you to forgive me” - Elvis Costello mmm ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/12 "2018-11-09T12:24:14Z")
I might like you better if we slept together ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/13 "2018-11-09T12:44:11Z")
Of course, there’s always a place for the perfect pop song: \*Is she really going out with him? Well, there she is, let’s ask her. Betty, is that Jimmy’s ring you’re wearing? - Mm-hm Gee, it must be great riding with him - Is he picking you up after school today? -Mm-mm By the way, where d’you meet him?\* j ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/14 "2018-11-09T13:22:58Z")
_Step out the front door like a ghost into a fog where no one notices the contrast of white on white._ ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/15 "2018-11-09T13:23:54Z")
Yokohama Mama “Twas in Yokohama I met this hot mamma Serving radishes, octopus, rice and dried squid” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/16 "2018-11-09T13:34:06Z")
I’ve always thought this way the ideal rock opener: “I woke up in a Soho doorway a policeman knew my name He said, 'You can go sleep at home tonight if you can get up and walk away I staggered back to the underground. The breeze blew back my hair I remember throwing punches around and preaching from my chair” I don’t know the gentlemen in question, but I understand the sort of day he’s having. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/17 "2018-11-09T13:37:46Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > I might like you better if we slept together That is not the first line of the song. [We did this last year.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=839241) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/18 "2018-11-09T13:46:34Z")
Welsh indie/punk trio **Mclusky** opened _Gareth Brown Says_ with the attention-grabbing lyric, “All your friends are cunts, your mother was a ballpoint pen thief.” They were also notable for the titles of two of their albums, _My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours_ and _The Difference Between Me and You Is That I’m Not on Fire._ ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/19 "2018-11-09T14:34:00Z")
Music is a world within itself With a language we all understand. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228/20 "2018-11-09T14:53:55Z")
“Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.” Patti Smith, “Gloria” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/824228.md?page=2)