# Best opening lines in a song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 3, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866 "2022-02-03T18:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**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:** [March 25, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/221 "2022-03-25T18:15:09Z")
“In this dirty old part of the city Where the sun refused to shine People tell me, there ain’t no use in tryin’” ---
**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:** [March 27, 2022, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/222 "2022-03-27T04:55:46Z")
An underrated classic ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/223 "2022-05-26T07:14:56Z")
_Wings Wetted Down_ by **Blue Öyster Cult** Flights of black horseman soar over churches Pursued by an army of birds in the rain None of them can see the clouds, the polished wings don’t care Animal ways through the hazy dreams full of pain I’ve always envisaged that as an opening scene to a medieval gothic horror film ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/224 "2022-05-26T15:08:30Z")
Springsteen’s got a bunch. He really has the touch Got a wife and kids in Baltimore, Jack I went out for a ride and I never went back Like a river that don’t know where it’s flowing I took a wrong turn and I just kept going I knew someone that left his wife that way, IRL. > [@silenus](#): > > “Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night…” Based on a real event. Nobody writes about desperate people better than Bruce. “is a dream a lie if it don’t come true/or is it something worse” ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/225 "2022-05-26T17:46:16Z")
**Tom Waits** - _Mr. Siegel_ “I spent all my money in a Mexican whorehouse Across the street from the Catholic church I wiped off my revolver And buttoned up my burgundy shirt” ---
**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:** [May 26, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/226 "2022-05-26T18:00:32Z")
That’s a great one! ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/227 "2022-05-26T18:28:53Z")
In all three examples, the lyrics get better as the song progresses: _Yeah, I can see it now_ _The distant red neon shivered in the heat_ _I was feeling like a stranger in a strange land_ _You know, where people play games with the night_ _God, it was too hot to sleep_ Robbie Robertson, “Somewhere Down the Crazy River” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4KP9PNSUME4/maxresdefault.jpg "Robbie Robertson - Somewhere Down The Crazy River (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KP9PNSUME4) _She’ll let you in her house_ _If you come knockin’ late at night_ _She’ll let you in her mouth_ _If the words you say are right_ Bruce Springsteen, “Secret Garden” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1Lq8ZUcZDtU/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGA8gZShUMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCC2zYdFiHHpi0IWOw5IfBAdOT6ZA "Bruce Springsteen - Secret Garden") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lq8ZUcZDtU) _Well, I don’t want skinny woman_ (repeat) _Meat don’t shake_ (repeat) _Meat_ (repeat) R.L. Burnside, “Skinny Woman” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BLF-f4kUtAw/hqdefault.jpg "R. L. Burnside - Live 1984") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLF-f4kUtAw) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/228 "2022-05-27T00:25:16Z")
Darlin’, remember when you come to me I’m the pretender and not what I’m supposed to be But who could know if I’m a traitor? Time’s the revelator Gillian Welch -Time (The Revelator) I’m goin’ out on the higway, gonna listen to them big trucks whine I’m goin’ out on the higway, gonna listen to them big trucks whine And that White Freightliner gonna steal away my mind. White Frieghtliner - Townes Van Zandt I was all night long Broken glass Livin’ in a medicine chest. Meditermeranian hotel back Sprawled across a roll-top desk. That ol’ monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan. They paint the donkey blue if you pay. Tom Waits - Telephone call from Istanbul ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/229 "2022-05-27T02:24:44Z")
Beat you to it. See post #58 ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/230 "2022-05-27T17:14:37Z")
I hate this couch, I hate this chair, I’m so lonely I’m getting scared, It’s not a living room, Without you. ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/231 "2022-05-28T12:09:32Z")
Oh, says Red Molly to James “That’s a fine motorbike. A girl could feel special on any such like” Says James to Red Molly "My hat’s off to you It’s a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/232 "2022-05-28T13:40:21Z")
Has anyone mentioned this brilliant opener? Alright stop, collaborate and listen 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/233 "2022-05-28T14:02:04Z")
> [@digs](#): > > The more Bruce Cockburn I hear, the more I’m intrigued by his lyrics: Somehow, he has been unfortunately pigeon-holed into some sort of folk/folk-rock/pop category that has caused him to be lesser-known than he really should be. I think that he’s a fantastic lyricist and that he is every bit as capable as the likes of Bob Dylan. I think that he is also a very under-rated guitarist, to the extent that had he gone down a different path he could probably be recognized as a “guitar-god”. You should give “Gavin’s Woodpile” a listen. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/234 "2022-05-28T14:08:59Z")
Damn you. I didn’t even know what I was reading until I got to “listen”, then the synth started up in my head. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/235 "2022-05-28T14:14:12Z")
Since I went down that path, how about this equally brilliant opener: We’re no strangers to love You know the rules and so do I ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/236 "2022-05-28T14:24:35Z")
It’s a [lovely song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) that should be on everyone’s playlist. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/237 "2022-05-28T14:25:29Z")
Oh, now _this_ is abuse! But I did continue on to the second line. So, probably self abuse. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/238 "2022-05-30T03:25:51Z")
_Don’t know much about dancin’,_ _that’s why I write this song._ _One of my legs is shorter_ _than the other_ _and both of my feet’s_ _too long._ _'course now right along with’em,_ _I got no natural ryhthm._ _But I go dancin’ every night,_ _hopin’ one day I might get it right_. Frank Zappa, “Dancing Fool” _Sailin’ heart ships through broken harbors_ _Out on the waves in the night_ _Still the searcher must ride the dark horse_ _Racing alone in his fright_ Niel Young, “Tell Me Why” _Well, I don’t know why we come here_ _Guess I just needed the bang_ _We walk in the beef, and then we pull on the rope_ _And then the, then the hammer comes down_ Big Black, “Cables” _Yeah!_ _He was a plug-ugly son of a bitch_ _With a fist where most folks get their face_ Big Black, “Deep Six” _This is the day of the expanding man_ _That shape is my shade_ _There where I used to stand_ _It seems like only yesterday_ _I gazed through the glass_ _At ramblers, wild gamblers_ _That’s all in the past_ Steely Dan, “Deacon Blues” _Hello one and all_ _Was it you I used to know_ _Can’t you hear me call_ _On this old ham radio_ _All I got to say_ _I’m alive and feeling fine_ _If you come my way_ _You can share my poison wine_ Steely Dan, “King of the World” …and one of my all time faves… _A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous, got me?_ Captain Beefheart, “Pachuco Cadaver” ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2022, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/239 "2022-05-30T03:32:27Z")
Styx’s “Snowblind” > Mirror, mirror on the wall > The face you show me scares me so > Thought that I could call your bluff > But now the lines are clear enough ---
**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:** [May 30, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/240 "2022-05-30T21:29:33Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > _If I fell in love with you_ > _Would you promise to be true_ > _And help me_ > _Understand_ > _'Cause I’ve been in love before_ > _ **And I found that love was more** _ > _Than just_ > _Holding hands_ Yes the words are great, AND melody they’re sung to is in IMO the most beautiful bit of music in the entire Beatles catalogue. The modulation during the line I bolded is breathtaking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866.md?page=13)