# Best single lines in rock lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 20, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262 "2022-11-20T16:21:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/1 "2022-11-20T16:21:51Z")
Best single lines in rock lyrics. My #1 nominee is from “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart: **She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running like a watercolor in the rain** Just pure loveliness. I’m also partial to “Echoes” by Pink Floyd: **And through the window in the wall come streaming in on sunlight wings a million bright ambassadors of morning** My personal favorite single line in rock has to be from “The Great Curve” by Talking Heads: **The world moves on a woman’s hips** A world of light… she’s gonna open our eyes up. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/2 "2022-11-20T16:29:46Z")
From _Hello, I love you_ by the Doors: **Sidewalk crouches at her feet** From Yes’s _And You and I_: **Sad preacher nailed upon the colored door of time** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/3 "2022-11-20T16:30:05Z")
“Little old lady got mutilated late last night.” -Werewolves of London ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/4 "2022-11-20T16:34:37Z")
Gotta go with A Wop Bop a Loo Bop, A Wop Bam Boom. 2nd place: You can have your gold and your diamonds too / all I want is a ring dang doo. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/5 "2022-11-20T16:35:38Z")
I like that old time rock and roll./ Bob Seger ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/6 "2022-11-20T16:37:24Z")
What the hell? I don’t like that one bit. Too much violence against women in rock lyrics, and Zevon is one of the worst offenders. I literally can’t listen to those songs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/7 "2022-11-20T16:41:11Z")
_“And though she feels as if she’s in a play/She is anyway”_ - “Penny Lane” by Paul McCartney ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/8 "2022-11-20T16:45:03Z")
From Floyd’s _Have a Cigar_: _ **Oh, by the way, which one’s Pink?** _ though it works better with the prior line. The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think, Oh, by the way, which one’s Pink? Led Zeppelin, _Thank you_ **“If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.”** Led Zeppelin, _Stairway to Heaven_ **There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven** ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/9 "2022-11-20T16:46:53Z")
I love that old time rock and roll too! 🙂 I wanna see Miles on lead vocals, Taura on drums, Baz on bass, Bel Thorne on lead guitar, Elli on rhythm guitar, and Mark on synthesizer rock out. Simon behind the scenes on the soundboard. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/10 "2022-11-20T16:52:49Z")
_The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face_ Bob Dylan, “Visions Of Johanna” In fact, I could cite almost any single line of that song. (and I swear that I don’t post this to flatter @Johanna 😉) ETA: another Dylan line I love: _The motorcycle black Madonna two-wheeled gypsy queen_ “Gates Of Eden” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/11 "2022-11-20T16:58:47Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > “The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face” > > Bob Dylan, “Visions Of Johanna” > > In fact, I could cite almost any single line of that song. > > (and I swear that I don’t post this to flatter @Johanna 😉) Dude. For _me_ to quote _that_ song would be way too obvious, as my Joan Baez avatar suggests. But I sure am glad you did! 🙂 It’s truly one of the most quotable songs in the world, and your pick is one of the most perfect lines ever written. Ti ringrazio molto. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/12 "2022-11-20T17:16:05Z")
Came in here to post this. One of my fav lines. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/13 "2022-11-20T17:23:22Z")
I’ve got two more I have to post because they are so good/iconic: _Meet the new boss, same as the old boss_ The Who, “We Won’t Get Fooled again” A line that almost has become a common saying. _You might be king of half the world, you’ll not own me as well_ Richard Thompson, “Beeswing” A line that stands on its own, but is even better in the context of a song with wonderful lyrics (and music). ETA: and another Dylan line I have to post. I like it so much that it was my board sig when we still had that: _And if my thought-dreams could be seen_ _They’d probably put my head in a guillotine_ “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding” ---
**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 20, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/14 "2022-11-20T17:25:53Z")
What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground, how can you run when you know? **Neil Young** , _Ohio_ * * * He wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel **Townes Van Zandt** , _Pancho & Lefty_ ---
**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 20, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/15 "2022-11-20T17:27:42Z")
Obligatory Dylan: (Simple Twist Of Fate) _I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring_ Other: Elvis Costello (Watching The Detectives) _She’s filing her nails while they’re dragging the lake_ j ETA: and while I think of it: Other #2: Manic Street Preachers (Motorcycle Emptiness) _Under neon loneliness, motorcycle emptiness_ ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/16 "2022-11-20T17:32:50Z")
Three Dog Night Old Fashion Love Song “And wrapped around the music Is the sound of someone promising they’ll never go” ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/17 "2022-11-20T17:37:09Z")
Beck, from “Cyanide Breath Mint”: _I got a funny feeling they got plastic in the afterlife_ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/18 "2022-11-20T17:37:29Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Other #2: Manic Street Preachers (Motorcycle Emptiness) > > _Under neon loneliness, motorcycle emptiness_ My favorite Manics lyric: _We don’t talk about love, we only wanna get drunk_ “A Design For Life” ETA: and my favorite Nirvana line: _Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old_ “Serve The Servants” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/19 "2022-11-20T17:47:15Z")
I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes You’d know what a drag it is to see you -Bob Dylan, Positively Fourth Street ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/20 "2022-11-20T17:47:41Z")
From the Beatles’ _Old Brown Shoe_: “For your sweet top lip I’m in the queue, baby I’m in love with you.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=2)