# 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:** 16
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/301 "2022-12-21T04:20:20Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Nitpick of the nitpick: > As far as I know, the line I quoted is only spoken in the George Thorogood versions of that song. Touché ---
**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:** [December 21, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/302 "2022-12-21T18:08:41Z")
I’ve never been to Scotland, but I have it on good authority that **in and around the lake, mountains come out of the sky and they stand there** Jon Anderson wrote “Roundabout” driving by a loch, and you just know he was smoking a joint the while. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/303 "2022-12-21T18:16:56Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Jon Anderson wrote “Roundabout” driving by a loch, and you just know he was smoking a joint the while. And he didn’t see Nessie? (yes, I know there are numerous lochs, not just Loch Ness.) ---
**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:** [December 22, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/304 "2022-12-22T00:28:46Z")
Funny - came here to post a prog-er too. “I’ve seen, all of the earth, witnessed my birth(!), cried at the sight of a man…and still I don’t know who I aaaaaaamm.” – ELP ---
**Author:** ![4d3fect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/4d3fect/32/9728_2.png) [@4d3fect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4d3fect)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/305 "2022-12-22T00:31:20Z")
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s His hair was perfect WAAAAOOOOOOOO ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/306 "2022-12-22T01:34:14Z")
Today as you listen to this song another 394,000 children were born into this world. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2022, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/307 "2022-12-22T01:57:39Z")
While I’m on a New Model Army kick: “Not everyone here is scared of you, not everyone crosses to the other side” ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/308 "2022-12-24T19:49:08Z")
Just one look I was a bad mess 'Cos that long cool woman had it all Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak So sleep, silent angel Go to sleep And the load Doesn’t weigh me down at all He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother –The Hollies ---
**Author:** ![Ssounder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@Ssounder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ssounder)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/309 "2022-12-25T05:44:22Z")
_ **"There’s a joke that I know very well. It’s one of those that I told you long ago.** _ _ **Take my word I’m a madman don’t you know"…** _ ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/310 "2022-12-25T20:00:00Z")
> [@Ssounder](#): > > Charley Daniels… song “The Devil went down to Georgia”… seems… to be… **loosely** (emphasis added) referencing Robert Johnson’s _Crossroads_…. Loosely is correct. Robert Johnson played the guitar. In _The Devil Went Down to Georgia_, Johnny played the fiddle. Picky, picky, picky. The lyrics to Johnson’s song _Crossroads_ do not mention the Devil. On the other hand, _Me and the Devil_ explicitly mentions the Devil and _Hellhound on My Trail_ implies him. > [@Ssounder](#): > > It’s about… weather [sic] you would trade your soul to be a master of your craft… The Charlie Daniels song reverses the traditional story. Normally, the human summons The Devil to offer their soul in return for wealth, skill, knowledge, etc. (See below.) In this song, the Devil approaches Johnny and proposes the contest. > [@Ssounder](#): > > A rock-n-roll fable that has been around for decades. It’s much older than that. •There were rumors that Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) - arguably the greatest violinist ever - had sold his soul to the Devil for his virtuosity. •In the most famous version, Faust sold his soul to the Devil (also at a crossroads) for material riches and unlimited knowledge. This ancient German legend was novelized in English by Christopher Marlowe (circa 1587) and in German by [Johann Wolfgang von] Goethe in 1876. It has been updated many times. For example, _If at Faust You Don’t Succeed_, by Roger Zelazny (1993). •One of the earliest examples of this story is _Theophilus_, a Greek version from the 6th Century, written by Eutychianus (probably a pseudonym) who claimed to have witnessed the event. (I confess to consulting Wikipedia.) ---
**Author:** ![Steven\_Maven](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steven_maven/32/3272_2.png) [@Steven\_Maven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steven_Maven)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/311 "2022-12-26T16:55:05Z")
> [@4d3fect](#): > > I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s > > His hair was perfect > > WAAAAOOOOOOOO You neglected to include my favorite part of this verse. It’s only one word. _I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s His hair was perfect. **BIP!** WAAAAOOOOOOOO_ What does “bip” mean? I don’t know and I don’t care. I love it. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/312 "2022-12-26T20:03:26Z")
It’s knowing that your door is always open And your path is free to walk That makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag Rolled up and stashed behind your couch Gentle On My Mind Performed by Glen Campbell Written by John Hartford ---
**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:** [December 26, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/313 "2022-12-26T20:08:36Z")
What can I say about Claudette? Ain’t seen her since January She could be respectably married or running a whorehouse in Buenos Aires From The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar Bob Dylan ---
**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:** [December 26, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/314 "2022-12-26T20:11:22Z")
I waited for you on the running boards Near the cypress trees, while the springtime turned Slowly into autumn Idiot Wind - Bob Dylan The whole song is eminently quotable … ---
**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:** [December 26, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/315 "2022-12-26T20:13:13Z")
And yes, i know I didn’t really follow the request for a single line - more supplying couplets. Seems common in this thread. 🤣 ---
**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:** [December 26, 2022, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/316 "2022-12-26T23:07:04Z")
> [@ch51](#): > > What can I say about Claudette? > Ain’t seen her since January > She could be respectably married or running a whorehouse in Buenos Aires > > From The Groom’s Still Waiting At The Altar > Bob Dylan Great quote, great song, off a much-maligned album. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/317 "2022-12-26T23:15:18Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > Great quote, great song, off a much-maligned album. This is the nitpick of the nitpicks: the song wasn’t originally on the “Shot Of Love” album. It was first released four years later in 1985 on "Biograph"and then later added to every re-release of the album. Yeah, “Shot Of Love” didn’t get a lot of love in 1981 and was considered the third installation of Dylan’s born-again phase, but the religious motives were deteriorating, and it had the masterpiece “Every Grain Of Sand”, certainly a religious song, but not Christian but rather pantheistic. And there are a few other outtakes from the album that also belong to Dylan’s strongest songs of the decade, like “Caribbean Wind” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/318 "2022-12-27T01:38:47Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > “Every Grain Of Sand”, certainly a religious song, but not Christian but rather pantheistic how so? ---
**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:** [December 27, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/319 "2022-12-27T01:42:45Z")
How so? Isn’t the whole song about god manifesting in everything, and isn’t that the definition of pantheism? Maybe I shouldn’t have said “not Christian”, because maybe it’s meant as some kind of Christian pantheism, but the song sure is pantheistic. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/320 "2022-12-27T02:15:24Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > How so? Isn’t the whole song about god manifesting in everything, and isn’t that the definition of pantheism? You know a lot more about Dylan than I do, and I was unfamiliar with this particular song—I had to look up the [lyrics](https://www.songfacts.com/lyrics/bob-dylan/every-grain-of-sand). But I don’t see anything in the lyrics that strikes me as being about God “manifesting in everything” in a specifically pantheistic way (as opposed to, say, the way the hand of the Creator can be seen in his creation, or the way there is [nowhere and nothing that is beyond God’s presence](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm+139%3A7-10&version=KJV)). And in the lines “That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand” and “Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand” I see a clear reference to the [words of Jesus](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10%3A29-31&version=NIV): > [@](#): > > Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=17)