# 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:** 4
**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:** [February 4, 2022, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/61 "2022-02-04T10:29:37Z")
More Elvis Costello: _History repeats the old conceits_ _The glib replies the same defeats_ _Keep your finger on important issues_ _With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues_ \_\_\_Beyond Belief _The sky fell over cheap Korean monster-movie scenery_ _And spilled into the reservoir of the crushed capsule hotel_ _Between the Disney abattoir and the chemical refinery_ _And I knew I was in trouble but I thought I was in hell_ \_\_\_Tokyo Storm Warning _Times are tough for English babies_ _Send the army and the navy_ _Beat up strangers who talk funny_ _Take their greasy foreign money_ _Skin shop, red leather, hot line_ _Be prepared for the engaged sign_ _Bridal books, engagement rings_ _And other wicked little things_ \_\_\_Sunday’s Best ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/62 "2022-02-04T10:37:07Z")
I’ll go for “Barroom Girls” by Gillian Welch: _Well, the night came undone like a party dress_ _And fell at her feet in a beautiful mess_ _The smoke and whisky came home in her curls_ _And crept through the dreams of the barroom girls_ The first two lines alone are a marvel of imagery. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/63 "2022-02-04T10:55:11Z")
Bruce Springsteen, “No Surrender”; _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 did in school_ Gordon Lightfoot, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”; _The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down Of the big lake they call Gichigumi The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore, 26,000 tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty The good ship and true was a bone to be chewed When the gales of November came early_ Ghost, “Life Eternal”; _Can you hear me say your name forever? Can you see me longing for you forever? Would you let me touch your soul forever? Can you feel me longing for you forever, forever? I know the light grows darker down below But in your eyes it’s gone before you know This is the moment of just letting go She said, “If you had life eternal…”_ ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/64 "2022-02-04T13:50:16Z")
Alice in Chains - Last of My Kind So young, so brazen, so unholy I come to you in painted skies You’re broken, taint your ancient story The living challenge to their lies Black Sabbath - Symptom of the Universe Take me through the centuries to supersonic years Electrifying enemy is drowning in his tears All I have to give you is a love that never dies The symptom of the universe is written in your eyes ---
**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:** [February 4, 2022, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/65 "2022-02-04T14:02:38Z")
I wouldn’t claim any _great_ artistic merit for it, but there’s something special about: _Sittin’ in a sleazy snack-bar suckin’_ _Sickly sausage rolls_ _Slippin’ down slowly_ _Slippin’ down sideways_ _Think I’ll sign off the dole_ _'cause the fog on the Tyne is all mine, all mine_ _The fog on the Tyne is all mine_ (Fog On The Tyne, Lindisfarne. Translation: _sign off the dole_ = to cease claiming unemployment benefit.) j ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/66 "2022-02-04T14:17:42Z")
_I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin’ about half past dead_ ---
**Author:** ![ch51](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ch51/32/3111_2.png) [@ch51](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ch51)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/67 "2022-02-04T15:48:18Z")
I knew someone would put Idiot Wind and save me typin’! ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/68 "2022-02-04T16:12:37Z")
“Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.” “Gloria (in Excelsis Deo)” from _Horses_ by Patti Smith First line of the first song from her first album - you know you’re dealing with a badass right out of the gate! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/69 "2022-02-04T16:59:42Z")
Thanks for posting the item about JD. I remember hearing (and this was almost 50 years ago, so I may be mis-remembering it) that for a while Denver – when he was associating with Fat City (Danoff and Nivert) – was hanging around Washington, DC for a spell and the best they could do for mountains were the Blue Ridge and that’s where the song came from. FC had written the lyrics and JD added a few lyrics himself and polished up the music accompaniment. After his solo career really took off, Aspen, Colorado was where he wished to live (and he could finally afford it). Feel free to correct any of this, I’d appreciate it. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2022, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/70 "2022-02-04T17:05:35Z")
Essentially the same as the closing lines, which I just posted in the partner thread: A lovestruck Romeo sings the streets a serenade Laying everybody low with a love song that he made Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade Says something like, “You and me babe, how about it?” j ---
**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:** [February 4, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/71 "2022-02-04T18:16:28Z")
Wipeout. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/72 "2022-02-04T18:48:18Z")
“South Coast” from the poem “The Coast Ballad” My name is Juan Jaro de Castro My father was a Spanish grandee But I won my wife in a card game To Hell with the lords o’er the sea ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/73 "2022-02-04T19:43:19Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Wipeout. Tequila ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/74 "2022-02-04T19:47:58Z")
Van Morrison, “Into The Mystic.” _We were born before the wind…_ Goosebumps. I want that sung at my wedding. ---
**Author:** ![2\_More\_Bits](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2_more_bits/32/4148_2.png) [@2\_More\_Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2_More_Bits)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/75 "2022-02-05T01:40:25Z")
“Daisy, you shouldn’t do the things you do but you’re just so incapable of changing You lie so well I could never even tell what were facts in your artful rearranging” Aimee Mann / Labrador ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/76 "2022-02-05T01:48:21Z")
_Sleepin’ on a planter at the Port Authority_ _Waitin’ for my bus to come_ _Seven scotch-and-sodas at the office party_ _Now I don’t remember where I’m from_ Bright Future In Sales / Fountains of Wayne ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/77 "2022-02-05T01:48:51Z")
Furnace Room Lullaby (Neko Case) _All night, all I hear, all I hear’s your heart_ _How come, how come_ _I twisted you over and under to take you_ _The coals went so wild as they swallowed the rest_ _I twisted you under and under to break you_ _I just couldn’t breathe with your throne on my chest_ ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/78 "2022-02-05T02:12:50Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > > [@Spiff](#): > > > > Wipeout. > > Tequila [Hey!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-hB1TzoG7M) ---
**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:** [February 5, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/79 "2022-02-05T02:41:10Z")
Just about every Pixies opening line qualifies. Nimrod’s Son is a favorite of mine: _One night upon my motorcycle through the desert speed And it smashed my body so that all my friends thought I was dead My sister held me close and whispered to my bleeding head “You are the son of a mother fucker”_ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2022, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866/80 "2022-02-05T04:20:13Z")
“For What It’s Worth” and its opening paranoia. _There’s something happening here_ _But what it is ain’t exactly clear_ _There’s a man with a gun over there_ _Telling me I got to beware_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-opening-lines-in-a-song/958866.md?page=5)