# Favorite Song "Lyrically" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822 "2006-12-04T16:47:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a4c791/32.png) [@Frustrated\_Wonderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frustrated_Wonderer)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/1 "2006-12-04T16:47:24Z")
Part of what makes a great song, are its lyrics, this is something that today’s artists have seemingly forgotten. There have been many great songs with great lyrics over the years. One of the most famous songs, based on it’s lyrics is Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”. Don McLean’s “American Pie” and Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” are both songs that have been through serious lyrical scrutiny simply because, people do not understand what the heck these artists are trying to say. This brings me to my question, which is you favorite song or songs, based on its lyrics? My favorite song in this sense would be Billy Joel’s Vienna, and Led Zeppelin’s Rain Song. Vienna is truly a great philosophical piece that deals with slowing down and enjoying life and being a passionate person, and knowing that even when you get old, you can still have a place in society. (Slow down you crazy child, your so ambitious for a Juvenile, but then if your so smart why are you still so afraid? Where’s the fire? what’s the hurry about? you better cool it off before you burn it out") Led Zeppelin’s Rain Song is a much slower song that your typical Led Zeppelin song. It deals with the issue of love and how it can help us through hardships. (“These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall This is the wonder of devotion - I seek the torch we all must hold. This is the mystery of the quotient - Upon us all a little rain must fall”) So, fellow dopers, what are your favorite songs, based on there lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/2 "2006-12-04T18:33:08Z")
Stan Rogers’s “Lies”. Is this the face that won for her the man Whose amazed and clumsy fingers put that ring upon her hand? And thinks ahead to Friday, 'cause Friday will be fine! She’ll look up in that weathered face that loves hers, line for line And too many Springsteen songs to count! ---
**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:** [December 4, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/3 "2006-12-04T18:53:59Z")
I don’t know if I’m answering the question properly or not, but I’ll take a shot at it. I can’t think of any songs that express my philosophy of life or anything, but lots of times, an interesting lyric will be the first thing that grabs me and makes me pay attention to a song. The example that springs immediately to mind would be Levon, by Bernie Taupin/Elton John. (He named his son what? He wants to go where? Tell me more!) Conversely, I can get really pissed off thinking about songs where it’s obvious that the lyricist didn’t try very hard. A song I love that I think uses a lyrical hook in a clever manner would be You’re So Vain, by Carly Simon. First, it has that great imagery “clouds in my coffee”. Then, of course, “I bet you think this song is about you”, which is thought-provoking, since the song obviously \*is \* about him. Another good line is, “Well you’re where you should be all the time/and when you’re not” etc. Good stuff. Another good-lyric song would be Lola, by The Kinks, but I don’t think it’s really a “pure” example…_everything_ about that song is great. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/4 "2006-12-04T19:08:51Z")
Jackson Browne’s “Before The Deluge”: _And in the end they traded their tired wings For the resignation that living brings And exchanged loves bright and fragile glow For the glitter and the rouge And in the moment they were swept before the deluge_ In fact, Jackson Browne holds quite a few of the top slots in my “personal favorite lyrics” list. The only other songwriter that comes close is Springsteen: _Now they’d come so far and they’d waited so long Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong Where the dark of night holds back the light of day And you’ve gotta stand and fight for the price you pay_ ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/5 "2006-12-04T19:18:10Z")
I don’t know exactly why, but when I think about my favorite lyrics, the first verse of George Harrison’s “Old Brown Shoe” always pops into my head. _I want a love that’s right But right is only half of what’s wrong I want a short-haired girl Who sometimes wears it twice as long_ Just a bit of wry flippancy that for some reason is incredibly evocative to me. Fun to sing too. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/6 "2006-12-04T19:25:58Z")
I love _Famous Blue Raincoat_ by Leonard Cohen. Poetic, eerie, seemingly explicit, yet the more you think about them, the less they make sense. And for humor, the tour de force Tom Lehrer pastiche of ‘Clementine’, which is the best bit of rhyming I’ve ever heard: > [@](#): > > That I missed her depressed her young sister named Esther, > This mister to pester she tried. > Now a pestering sister’s a festering blister, > You’re best to resist her, say I. > The mister resisted, the sister persisted, > I kissed her, all loyalty slipped. > When she said I could have her > Her sister’s cadaver > Must surely have turned in its crypt. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/7 "2006-12-04T19:28:09Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] In fact, Jackson Browne holds quite a few of the top slots in my “personal favorite lyrics” list. \* [/QUOTE] Yes. Good call! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/8 "2006-12-04T19:54:54Z")
And Loudon Wainwright III for his wry humor. This summer I swam in a public place And a reservoir to boot At the latter I was informal At the former I wore my suit ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/9 "2006-12-04T20:03:50Z")
“Hallelujah,” for me, has some of the most heart-breaking lines ever. “Origin of Love” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Last time I saw you We’d just split in two You was looking at me I was looking at you You had a way so familiar I could not recognize 'Cause you had blood on your face I had blood in my eyes But I could swear by your expression That the pain down in your soul Was the same As the one down in mine ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/10 "2006-12-04T21:30:33Z")
Hoagy Carmichael’s **Stardust** _Sometimes I wonder why I spend each lonely night dreaming of a song. The melody haunts my reverie 'til I am once again with you, when our love was new and each kiss an inspiration. But that was long ago and now my consolation is in the stardust of a song._ ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/11 "2006-12-04T21:32:40Z")
I really like Marillion’s _Charting the Single_ for its wordplay Slow French kissing with the Dauphin’s daughter If I fall in love now I’ll be floating in Seine Plastered in Paris I’ve had an Eiffel Gonna make my escape on the midnight train Choo, choo to you - Choo, choo to you - Charting the single Schnapping my fingers on an alcoholiday Sniff round a Fraulein when I’m scent to Cologne ---
**Author:** ![SpartanDC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@SpartanDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpartanDC)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/12 "2006-12-04T21:52:10Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] “Hallelujah,” for me, has some of the most heart-breaking lines ever. [/QUOTE] Dammit, you got to it first. But, yeah, Leonard Cohen could easily own a lot of the spots on this list. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/13 "2006-12-04T22:31:03Z")
Pure and Simple by Lightning Seeds is one of my favourites; Vincent from Don McLean has put me on the edge of crying sometimes just like Miss Sarajevo by U2 and Pavarotti. Many of Loreena McKennitt´s songs have wonderful lyrics, although in many cases those are poems or text extracts from writers, Propspero´s Speech and The Highway Man are in that category, but she also has some lyrics of her own and the Mystic´s Dream is esquisite on it´s evocative poetry. Well, I could go on and on… there are many great lyrics worth remembering to sing along. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/14 "2006-12-04T22:53:41Z")
Moved from IMHO to CS. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/15 "2006-12-04T23:22:45Z")
There is something to be said for “Little old lady got mutilated late last night” We lost a good one when Zevon died. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/16 "2006-12-05T01:53:52Z")
Some Zevon lyrical quotes: _And if California slides into the ocean, Like the mystics and statistics say it will, I predict this motel will be standing, Until I pay my bill._ - from “Desperadoes Under the Eaves” \*I’ve been lying in a bed of coals I’ve been cryng out of control I roll and I tumble Every time I come down I’m too old to die young And too young to die now \* - from ‘Bed of Coals’ I love that line - I’m too old to die young, and too young to die now… and a very apt description of Zevon’s fate, written 25 years earlier. \*4-Aminobiphenyl, hexachlorobenzene Dimethyl sulfate, chloromethyl methylether 2, 3, 7, 8-Tetrachlorodibenzo- para-dioxin, carbon disulfide Dibromochloropane, chlorinated benzenes, 2-Nitropropane, pentachlorophenol, Benzotrichloride, strontium chromate 1, 2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane I went walking in the wasted city Started thinking about entropy Smelled the wind from the ruined river Went home to watch TV And it’s worse when I try to remember When I think about then and now I’d rather see it on the news at eleven Sit back, and watch it run straight down\* ``` - From 'Run Straight Down' ``` Bet you never thought you’d hear a verse containing nothing but the chemical names of various carcinogens… This one contains another of my favorite lines: \*The past seems realer than the present to me now I’ve got memories to last me When the sky is gray The way it is today I remember the times when I was happy Gentle rain Falls on me All life folds back Into the sea We contemplate eternity Beneath the vast indifference of heaven\* - From “The Vast Indifference of Heaven” ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/17 "2006-12-05T02:05:01Z")
Steely Dan is one of my favorite bands for lyrics…I love this part in _Deacon Blues_ : **I crawl like a viper Through these suburban streets Make love to these women Languid and bittersweet** Languid and bittersweet—how often do you hear that phrase? I also like Rush lyrics–_Today’s Tom Sawyer_ and _Trees_…etc. ---
**Author:** ![gredbioz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6a8cbe/32.png) [@gredbioz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gredbioz)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/18 "2006-12-05T02:26:25Z")
There are so many. By no means my favorite, this is one I do quite like: **Lil’ Wayne - Tha Carter II** _All I have in this world is a pistol and a promise, A fist full of dollars, a list full of problems; I’ll address them like P.O. boxes Yeah, I’m from New Orleans, the Creole cockpit We so out of it, zero tolerance Gangsta gumbo, I’ll serve 'em a pot of it_ and something completely different: **The Mountain Goats - Going to Georgia** _The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it’s you and that you are standing in the doorway._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/19 "2006-12-05T04:16:05Z")
Mine would have to be Ira Gershwin’s lyrics to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” They are as close to lyrical perfection as you can get, and still have the power to surprise you no matter how often you hear them. Here’s a safe link: [Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire, a Classic Screen Team at Reel Classics: Lyrics to They Can't Take That Away From Me](http://www.reelclassics.com/Teams/Fred&Ginger/lyrics/canttakethat-lyrics.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2006, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822/20 "2006-12-05T08:11:32Z")
[QUOTE=DeVena] Hoagy Carmichael’s **Stardust** [/QUOTE] Mitchell Parish wrote the lyrics to Star Dust some time after Carmichael wrote the music. For lyrics it’s hard to beat Cole Porter: [Anything Goes](http://www.lyricsondemand.com/c/coleporterlyrics/anythinggoeslyrics.html), [Let’s Misbehave](http://www.lyricskeeper.com/cole_porter-lyrics/225788-lets_misbehave-lyrics.htm), [Night and Day](http://www2.uol.com.br/cante/lyrics/Cole_Porter_-_Night_and_day.htm). . . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-lyrically/382822.md?page=2)