# Great lines in songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328 "2004-05-27T13:26:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/21 "2004-05-27T17:20:31Z")
Tom Waits’ catalog is full of jewels, but listening to his song, “Alice” last night made me think these lines might be my favorite: > [@](#): > > Arithmetic arithmetock > Turn the hands back on the clock > How does the ocean rock the boat? > How did the razor find my throat? I just love how the second question is afforded the same sort of detached rhetorical status as the first. There’s a Cop Shoot Cop song that contains the line, “And the clouds outside your windowpane resemble crippled children limping slowly across the sky.” What a way to capture an entire psychological state in just one sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/22 "2004-05-27T17:24:12Z")
_In the clearing stands a Boxer And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him out Or cut him 'till he cried out In his anger and his pain “I am leaving, I am leaving” But the fighter still remains_ ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/23 "2004-05-27T17:28:10Z")
The simple-wisdom ones seem to be staying with me more these days. Life is sad Life is a bust All you can do is do what ya must -Dylan, “Buckets of Rain” You don’t have to lie to me/Just give me tenderness beneath your honesty -Paul Simon, “Tenderness” And there’s a line from a recent Tom Waits song -think it’s “Coney Island Baby”- where the singer’s talking about his honey and says, “the stars make wishes on her eyes.” 🙂 Niiiiice. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/24 "2004-05-27T17:31:16Z")
> [@Kepi](#): > > I would never have thought to describe the color of a pre-dawn sky as “polished steel”, but it is a perfect image. That _is_ an excellent line, although somewhat diminished by the fact Townes Van Zandt used it in a different (and in my mind, more effective) context twenty years earlier in “Pancho and Lefty”: “Pancho was a bandit, boys His horse was fast as polished steel He wore his gun outside his pants For all the honest world to feel” And (again in my opinion) that’s not even the best line in the song! I love this: “Lefty he can’t sing the blues All night long like he used to The dust that Pancho bit down south Ended up in Lefty’s mouth.” **jk1245** , Steve Earle _is_ a hell of a songwriter! When you consider he spent years honing his craft at the feet of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, it’s easy to see why! ---
**Author:** ![pontia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@pontia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pontia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/25 "2004-05-27T17:34:46Z")
> [@](#): > > And of course, just about anything by Dylan classifies as a “great line” **jk1245** is smart, smart, smart! I thought of one (I find it amusing), by George Thorogood… “I drink alone, yeah, with nobody else. Yeah, you know when I drink alone, I prefer to be by myself” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pontia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@pontia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pontia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/26 "2004-05-27T17:51:53Z")
Okay one more… “And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, People hearing without listening, People writing songs that voices never share And no one dared Disturb the sound of silence.” (I think I could do this all day, but should really do some work now.) ---
**Author:** ![Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Ass\_For\_A\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ass_For_A_Hat)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/27 "2004-05-27T18:12:21Z")
\*Here comes the future and you can’t run from it If you’ve got a blacklist, I want to be on it If no one seems to understand Start your own revolution and cut out the middleman So join the struggle while you may The revolution is just a t-shirt away\* Three great lines from “Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards” by Billy Bragg. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/28 "2004-05-27T18:14:05Z")
> [@Kepi](#): > > Anyway, a few days ago, I heard Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman, which I’ve come to the conclusion is a “perfect song”. Everything works - lyrics, melody, orchestration, production. Especially perfect is this line: > > “I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time” > > Wow. Never before have I seen a depth of passion, love and devotion expressed so powerfully in so few words. Absolutely brilliant! As a contrast, I kind of like the elegant simplicity of: “I used to love her, but I had to kill her.” - _Guns & Roses_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/29 "2004-05-27T18:20:25Z")
> [@pontia](#): > > Okay one more… > > “And in the naked light I saw > Ten thousand people, maybe more. > People talking without speaking, > People hearing without listening, > People writing songs that voices never share > And no one dared > Disturb the sound of silence.” You stole the song I was going to mention, but not the particular verse. So I’m going to post them anyway. “**And the people bowed and prayed To the neon God they made.** And the sign flashed out its warning, In the words that it was forming. And the signs said, **the words of the prophets Are written on the subway walls And tenement halls.** And whisper’d in the sounds of silence.” Bolded the parts I like the best. ---
**Author:** ![emekthian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecae2f/32.png) [@emekthian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emekthian)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/30 "2004-05-27T18:53:53Z")
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye/ so you think you can love me and leave me to die/ oh baby/ can’t do this to me baby/ just gotta get out/ just gotta get right out of here Bohemian Raphsody, Queen ---
**Author:** ![Mal\_Adroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Mal\_Adroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mal_Adroit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/31 "2004-05-27T19:02:33Z")
> [@Johnny Bravo](#): > > And the people bowed and prayed > To the neon God they made. > And the sign flashed out its warning, > In the words that it was forming. > And the signs said, the words of the prophets > Are written on the subway walls > And tenement halls. > And whisper’d in the sounds of silence. That has gotta be one of the greatest verses of all time. As a pre-teen, “Sounds” was the song that made me sit up and realize how good a lyric could be. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/32 "2004-05-27T19:17:16Z")
I always liked the little lyrical twist in the song “Knowing She’s There” written by Shel Silverstein and recorded by Dr. Hook. The first verse starts out: “Knowing she’s there, Makes it possible to live Knowing she’s there Giving all she’s got to give…” then it goes through a few little couplets about how lovely it is having “her” there all the time, and then there’s a bridge: “So why did it make me take the lady’s love for granted?” And then the final verse: “Now nowing she’s there, instead of being here with me Knowing she’s there Giving him what she gave me…” ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/33 "2004-05-27T19:18:26Z")
**Sublime** : _“She said 'You’re not the only one but you’re the best, Bradley.”_ I love this line. It’s all about a girl who he thought was his girlfriend. She gets called on sleeping around, and admits to it, but flatters his sexual ego so he goes home iwth her anyway. _“Just let the lovin’ take a hold cuz it will if you let it. I’m funky not a junky, but I know where to get it.”_ Kind of tragic since he actually died of a heroin overdose, but it is a catchy line. _“The bars are always open, and the time is always right, and if god’s good word goes unspoken, then the music goes all night.”_ To a kid who likes to go out and party and play music in ‘The city that never sleeps’ this line rings true. Politics and religion should stay out of bars as well. _“Be positive and the love will come back . . .”_ You know it. . . _“Bud Gaugh comes with his M-16, Snow come with the AK to the 47, Lovin’ the lovin’ the lovin’ the lovin’ DJ, All over a town called LA”_ This is the source from whence my screen name was derived! DaLovin’ Dj ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/34 "2004-05-27T19:36:13Z")
Not a great line because of its meaning, but it’s hard to beat the alliteration and rhyming syllables of Warren Zevon’s greatest line: “Little old lady got mutliated late last night.” It’s just too fun to resist singing it. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/35 "2004-05-27T19:46:03Z")
> [@Johnny Bravo](#): > > **the words of the prophets > Are written on the subway walls > And tenement halls.** > And whisper’d in the sounds of silence." Which brings us back to Rush… “For the words of the profits Written on the studio walls Concert hall Echoes with the sound of salesmen” Or one of my favorites “How can anybody be enlightened? Truth is, after all, so poorly lit.” Or from Cowboy Mouth: From _New Orleans_ “Take me back to New Orleans And drop me at my door 'Cause I might love you yes But I love me more” From _Easy_ “Easy to bitch easy to whine Easy to moan easy to cry Harder to work Harder to try Hard to be glad to be alive But it’s really worth it If you give it a try” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/36 "2004-05-27T19:59:49Z")
> [@](#): > > ‘Let them eat cake’ she says > Just like Marie Antoinette Queen - Killer Queen. Just to annoy you all. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DVsickgirlDV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DVsickgirlDV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVsickgirlDV)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/37 "2004-05-27T20:08:46Z")
“But I can’t imagine it in better terms than naked, half-awake, about to shave and go to work” “Nashville” by Liz Phair. It’s a beautiful song about commitment. ---
**Author:** ![pontia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@pontia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pontia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/38 "2004-05-27T20:11:46Z")
> [@Johnny Bravo](#): > > You stole the song I was going to mention, but not the particular verse. So I’m going to post them anyway. > > “**And the people bowed and prayed > To the neon God they made.** > And the sign flashed out its warning, > In the words that it was forming. > And the signs said, **the words of the prophets > Are written on the subway walls > And tenement halls.** > And whisper’d in the sounds of silence.” > > Bolded the parts I like the best. Funny. I had a hard time picking between this verse and the one I posted. Thanks for picking up my slack **JB** ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/39 "2004-05-27T20:12:25Z")
He said “It’s all in your head”. I said, “So’s everything”, but he didn’t get it. Fiona Apple, _Paper Bag_ ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/40 "2004-05-27T21:10:09Z")
someone mentioned **Dr. Hook** … how can we forget the classic _I Got Stoned and I Missed It_? > [@](#): > > Now it took seven months of urging just to get that local virgin > With the sweet face up to my place to fool around a bit > Next day she woke up rosy and she snuggled up so cosy > When she asked me how I liked it Lord it hurt me to admit > > I was stoned and I missed it… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328.md?page=3)