# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/141 "2022-11-22T06:23:51Z")
_I saw her from the corner when she turned and doubled back_ _And started walkin toward a coffee colored Cadillac_ _I was pushin through the crowd to get to where she’s at_ _And I was campaign shouting like a southern diplomat_ Chuck Berry - Nadine ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/142 "2022-11-22T11:51:42Z")
_Their small-town eyes will gape at you_ _In dull surprise when payment due_ _Exceeds accounts received_ _At seventeen_ —Janis Ian, “At Seventeen” (lots of good lines in that song) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/143 "2022-11-22T12:22:36Z")
> [@doc481](#): > > The Doors. Woke up this morning and got myself a BEER. Sure, why not? The future’s uncertain and the end is always near. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/144 "2022-11-22T12:27:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > All we are is dust in the wind [Dude.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvKbbHKpwnU) ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/145 "2022-11-22T12:52:48Z")
A couple of mentions earlier of “Closer to Fine” by the Indigo Girls, but not the best line: **Well, darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable;** **And lightness has a call that’s hard to hear.** ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/146 "2022-11-22T12:54:20Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > > > _Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme_ > > 1952 Vincent Black Lightning > > This would have been my second pick for a Richard Thompson lyric. > > ETA: > > another favorite: > > _But I’ve got a suitcase full of fifty pound notes_ > _And a half-naked woman with her tongue down my throat_ > > “I Feel So Good” From “Mother Knows Best”: _So your baby’s hungry, so your baby’s sick Don’t make babies, that’ll do the trick_ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/147 "2022-11-22T14:28:52Z")
Simon and Garfunkel - _My Little Town_ “In my little town, I never meant nothin. I was just my father’s son.” ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/148 "2022-11-22T14:32:15Z")
Let’s start from the beginning. Shame on me - it’s “Bett **e** ”, not “Bett **y** ”" or “Bett **ie** ”. I knew this. See what happens when you type too damned fast? Actually, I blame a cold for fogging up my head. Second, I’m not a scholar on the song “Bette Davis Eyes”, so I didn’t realize that it was written and performed in the early 70s. Ignorance fought. No, I was saying the phrase “Bette Davis eyes” was a thing before the song was written. I remember hearing the phrase; I remember hearing take-offs on the phrase. I will fully admit that I’m also not a linguist, and my searches on the origins are coming up short. Any of the Googling I’m doing is grossly dominated by the song, and less about the phrase. So, I’m willing to admit my memories may be faulty, however, I will say this: she got her first part because of her eyes; directors did a lot of close-ups of her eyes; her eyes were the subject of many many reviews. Here eyes and her intense performances are what she’s remembered for. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/149 "2022-11-22T14:37:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages.” Though I much prefer the Byrds’ version. I think that can be said about a whole lot of Dylan songs. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/150 "2022-11-22T14:58:09Z")
Sometimes the title says it all: “I fought the law, and the law won.” written by Sonny Curtis first recorded by the Crickets made famous by the Ben Fuller Four also covered by Sam Neely, the Clash, the Dead Kennedys, and Green Day ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/151 "2022-11-22T15:34:30Z")
The sweet, sweet burn of the first drink of the night Underage Knowing that you’re gonna get away with it. Neko Case: Curse of the I-5 Corridor Really the whole song is nothing but great lines. “You were a good man before you knew it” ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/152 "2022-11-22T15:56:05Z")
Does Tom Waits count as “rock”? Because I really like this line from “The Piano Has Been Drinking”: _And you cannot find your waitress with a Geiger counter And she hates you and your friends and you just can’t get served without her_ ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/153 "2022-11-22T16:34:59Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Someone (not Weird Al) did a parody called “Marty Feldman Eyes.” There was a version in my neck of the woods called “'Liz’beth Taylor Thighs.” I leave it to your imagination. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/154 "2022-11-22T16:39:39Z")
I don’t know if it’s Rock or Country, but it’s great: > God does, but I don’t > God will, but I won’t > And that’s the difference > Between God and me Lyle Lovett ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/155 "2022-11-22T17:39:52Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Does Tom Waits count as “rock”? I’d count it. My favorite Tom Waits comes from Step Right Up _The large print givith, and the small print taketh away._ ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/156 "2022-11-22T18:02:42Z")
_All Your Favorite Bands_ by Dawes I hope that life without a chaperone is what you thought it’d be I hope your brother’s El Camino runs forever I hope the world sees the same person that you’ve always been to me And may all your favorite bands stay together I also love their song _A Little Bit of Everything_. Unfortunately, it is not possible to extract a small quote. There are 3 verses, each of which will break your heart, plus an amazing coda. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/157 "2022-11-22T18:49:30Z")
_You know that I ain’t evil, just want to have some fun_ _There’s so much shit in Texas, I’m bound to step in some._ —Johnny Winter, “Dallas” ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/158 "2022-11-22T21:05:05Z")
I’m a big Boston fan, and this is one of my favorite lines from “To Be a Man”: _How can you be a man_ _'Til you see beyond the life you live?_ Which also leads into a really cool stanza: _What does it take to be a man?_ _The will to give and not receive_ _The strength to say what you believe_ _The heart to feel what others feel inside_ _To see what they can see_ ---
**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 22, 2022, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/159 "2022-11-22T21:28:12Z")
Suggesting a whole story about a conscript who doesn’t believe in the war, but still finds himself toting a gun, because _you’re old enough to kill, but not for votin’_ made one hell of a good point in no time flat. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/160 "2022-11-22T21:47:02Z")
It’s better to burn out than fade away. neil young [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=9)