# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Redcanoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b487fb/32.png) [@Redcanoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redcanoe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/161 "2022-11-22T22:15:33Z")
Tool - Lateralus “We’ll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one’s been” Pink Floyd - Dogs “And it’s too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around” ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/162 "2022-11-22T23:31:06Z")
Zappa: “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black” **We see them after school in a world of their own** **To some it might seem creepy what they do** **The neighbors on the right sat and watched them every night** **I bet you’d do the same if they was you** ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/163 "2022-11-22T23:40:32Z")
Well, since we’ve abandoned the “single line” concept, here’s favorite stanza from Donovan’s “Happiness Runs”: > _Little pebble upon the sand_ > _Now you’re lying here in my hand_ > _How many years have you been here?_ > _Little human upon the sand_ > _From where I’m lying here in your hand_ > _You to me are but a passing breeze_ ---
**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:** [November 22, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/164 "2022-11-22T23:41:34Z")
Also Chuckie the B: _Marlo Venus was a beautiful lass_ _She had the world in the palm of her hand_ _She lost both her arms in a wrestling match_ _To meet a brown eyed handsome man_ ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/165 "2022-11-23T00:34:44Z")
> When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, Out of the corner of my eye. > I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now **Pink Floyd** _Comfortably Numb_ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/166 "2022-11-23T01:04:37Z")
Post/user name alert ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/167 "2022-11-23T01:21:35Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > It’s better to burn out than fade away. > > neil young More Neil… _But every junkie’s like a settin’ sun_ The Needle and the Damage Done _A dreamer of pictures, I run in the night_ _You see us together chasing the moonlight_ Cinnamon Girl _Hello cowgirl in the sand_ _Is this place at your command_ Cowgirl in the Sand _He came dancing across the water_ _With his galleons and guns_ Cortez the Killer ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/168 "2022-11-23T02:09:39Z")
“A marvel to be seen, dysentary green.” ---
**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 23, 2022, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/169 "2022-11-23T02:45:28Z")
“Last night I saw a naked cowgirl. She was floating across the ceiling.” ZZ Top - _My Head’s in Mississippi_ ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/170 "2022-11-23T03:18:30Z")
Speak for yourself ---
**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 23, 2022, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/171 "2022-11-23T03:22:07Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > _But every junkie’s like a settin’ sun_ > The Needle and the Damage Done A beautifully tragic song. I’ve seen the needle and the damage done. In a similar vein. Needlework the way, never you betray Life of death becoming clearer Metallica ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/172 "2022-11-23T03:35:30Z")
There was also a locally-played remake of “Love Shack” called “Butt Crack.” ---
**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:** [November 23, 2022, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/173 "2022-11-23T04:31:27Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > ObElvisCostello entry: > > > “I don’t know if you are loving some body, I only know it isn’t mine” > > _Alison_ From that number, I thought the following image was quite vivid: _Did he leave your pretty fingers lying in the wedding cake?_ > [@Galactus](#): > > But what a fool believes he sees > No wise man has the power to reason away ACK I just got Micheal McDonalded. My goodness. Give me a sec, here…(_oofed_) > [@digs](#): > > You could have a whole thread on Dylan lyrics, another on Bruce Cockburn… I’d opt more for the Springsteen Bruce, along with Niel, Joni, Bob, Beatles, and several more that could easily warrant their own thread. > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” The greatest thing Kris Kristofferson ever did - penning that. > [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > “And, and then we get naked.” In stiff competition, of course, with _Not when he looked so fierce_ from “Bungalow Bill”. and fly stuff > [@Dropo](#): > > _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” _I guess ya got me under your magic spell_ _Right between heaven and hell_ – JW, “Can’t You Feel It” (Featuring what may well be the happiest, feel-good guitar solo of all time.) > [@Jack\_Burden](#): > > “Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup > They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe” > > Lennon/McCartney _Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letterbox_ is another line (or fragment of?.. certainly stands fine on its own) that I like from “Uni”. Captain Beefheart: _A squid eating dough in a polyetheylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?_ and _When I’m dancing with my love_ _The shadows flicker up above_ _Up above the shadows do the candle mambo._ Not the Dope’s biggest Cat Stevens fan, probably, but I always thought “Sad Lisa” had some fine stuff, like: _She sits in a corner by the door_ _There must be more I can tell her_ _If she really wants me to help her_ _I’ll do what I can to show her the way_ _And maybe one day I will free her_ _Though I know no one can see her_ _Lisa Lisa, sad Lisa Lisa_ Some consider that overwrought in a “precious” way (Paulene Kael opined “mushy-minded lyrics”) - I actually thought that was just really straightforward sublimity. Also the fine way CS sung it. _Lately when I smell you, baby, oh my goddamn._ – Butthole Surfers, “Lady Sniff” ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/174 "2022-11-23T05:07:41Z")
Hour by hour day by day love leaks out and goes away. -The Residents " Love Leaks Out" ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/175 "2022-11-23T14:04:37Z")
To be fair, Zevon warns Jim that his lungs may be ripped out if he doesn’t keep his distance. So, its not a “violence against women” song at all. That’s really a stretch, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/176 "2022-11-23T14:27:19Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > _A screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways_ > _Like a vision she dances across the porch_ > _As the radio plays_ > Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road” > [@Eonwe](#): > > I wanted to add, from the same Thunder Road: > > You ain’t a beauty, but hey, you’re all right, > And that’s all right with me Not even my favorite lines in that song! I’d nominate: _They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets_ And this savage line from Bernie and Elton: _Mongrels who ain’t got a penny sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground_ And of course Mr. Berry: _Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news_ ---
**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 23, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/177 "2022-11-23T14:53:57Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > _A screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways_ > _Like a vision she dances across the porch_ > _As the radio plays_ > Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road” > [@Eonwe](#): > > I wanted to add, from the same Thunder Road: > > You ain’t a beauty, but hey, you’re all right, > And that’s all right with me You guys left out - _Roy Orbison singing for the lonely. Hey, that’s me and I want you only._ ---
**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 23, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/178 "2022-11-23T14:56:27Z")
Thank you! That was powerful and cathartic. The reason _Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me_ is my favorite movie. Catharsis. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/179 "2022-11-23T15:06:34Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > > [@NDP](#): > > > > _A screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways_ > > _Like a vision she dances across the porch_ > > _As the radio plays_ > > Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road” > > > [@Eonwe](#): > > > > I wanted to add, from the same Thunder Road: > > > > You ain’t a beauty, but hey, you’re all right, > > And that’s all right with me > > You guys left out - _Roy Orbison singing for the lonely. Hey, that’s me and I want you only._ I wanted to quote the whole song, but was restricted by the parameters set forth in the OP. All we need, though, is a few more folks to come through with individual lines and we’ll get most of Thunder Road covered! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262/180 "2022-11-23T15:58:16Z")
From the live version of “Ballad of a Thin Man” on _Before the Flood_: “You should be made to be wearing a telephone.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-single-lines-in-rock-lyrics/975262.md?page=10)