# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![caymus28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@caymus28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caymus28)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/81 "2004-05-30T18:28:56Z")
“If I was twice the man I could be, I’d still be half of what you need.” -Nine Inch Nails “Hike up your skirt a little more, and show your world to me” -Dave Matthews Band “I like the way you still say please While you’re looking up at me You’re like my favorite damn disease.” -Nickelback ( I actually hate the song, I just really like the line about the disease" ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/82 "2004-05-30T20:21:02Z")
I didn’t read all the posts, so apologies if these are repeated: **SolGrundy** Soul Coughing is my favorite band of all time (today). From _The Incumbent_ (SC) New York New York I won’t go back Indelible reminder of the steel I lack I gave you seven years, what did you give me back jaw grind, disposition to a panic attack. From _Sweet Lord in Heaven_ Mike Doughty (formerly of Soul Coughing) Oh I have felt Cobain’s sarcoma growing on this will of mine I won’t put more, but look at the lyrics for the songs on ‘skittish’ at [www.superspecialquestions.com](http://www.superspecialquestions.com). Stone Temple Pilots From: _Still Remains_ take a bath I’ll drink the water that you leave if you should die before me ask if you can bring a friend ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/83 "2004-05-30T20:24:38Z")
I could go on forever, but I won’t. Just one more. “You’re awake and trying not to be/ Wrapped around your pillow like a prawn/ And the nighttime’s wrapped around you/ Will be until it drops you on the dawn” - Fountains of Wayne, “No Better Place.” Damn, I wish I could have written that song. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/84 "2004-05-31T00:22:19Z")
I’m not especially an Elvis Costello fan, but I do like these two lines from the very fine ‘middle eight’ (sic) of _Accidents Will Happen_: “It’s the damage that we do and never know It’s the words that we don’t say that scare me so…” ---
**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 31, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/85 "2004-05-31T00:52:02Z")
Someone mentioned Pulp today, and I remembered how much I love the line: > [@](#): > > You can tell some lies about the good times that you’ve had, but I’ve kissed your mother twice, and now I’m working on your dad. ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2004, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/86 "2004-05-31T03:11:57Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > I love this line from **A Case of You** that I wish on a daily basis I wrote it instead > > **Love is touching souls > Surely you touched mine > Because a part of you pours out of me > In these lines from time to time** Then it might be nice if you credited it to Joni Mitchell! 😃 One my favorites of hers: (_People’s Parties_ from **Court and Spark** , one of her best in my opinion) All the people at this party They’ve got a lot of style They’ve got stamps of many countries They’ve got passport smiles Some are friendly Some are cutting Some are watching it from the wings Some are standing in the centre Giving to get something I told you when I met you I was crazy Cry for us all Beauty Cry for Eddie in the corner Thinking he’s nobody And Jack behind his joker And stone-cold Grace behind her fan And me in my frightened silence Thinking I don’t understand I feel like I’m sleeping Can you wake me You seem to have a broader sensibility I’m just living on nerves and feelings With a weak and a lazy mind And coming to people’s parties Fumbling deaf dumb and blind ---
**Author:** ![Feit\_C\_Taj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@Feit\_C\_Taj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feit_C_Taj)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/87 "2004-05-31T06:07:36Z")
From NoFX, _ **The Idiots Are Taking Over** _ “Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool” Short, sweet, and interminably cynical. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/88 "2004-05-31T22:36:06Z")
I might like you better if we slept together _“Never Say Never”, Romeo Void_ Don’t treat me special, oh don’t kiss my ass, Just treat like the way you treat 'em up in first class _“Waitress in the Sky”, The Replacements_ From the Ice Age, to the dole-age There is but one concern I have just discovered _Some girls are bigger than others_ _Stephen Patrick Morrissey_ You’re so pretty when you’re unfaithful to me _“Bone Machine”, Pixies_ ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/89 "2004-06-01T03:29:07Z")
Bob Mould, “Sacrifice / Let There Be Peace” > [@](#): > > And if you’re planning a future > Of indefinite grace > You’d better start removing > The lines of deceit from your face ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/90 "2004-06-08T13:03:29Z")
\*And a blackbird broke the silence As he whistled it so sweet And in Brendan Behan’s footsteps I danced up and down the street And we said goodnight to Broadway Giving it our best regards Tipped our hats to Mr. Cohan Dear old Time Square’s favorite bard And we raised a glass to JFK and a dozen more besides **When I got back to my empty room I suppose I must have cried** \* —“Thousands are Sailing”, The Pogues. Last line describes many a night from my drinking days. _Well, maybe…next year…_ —“Send In the Clowns”, Judy Collins/Stephen Sondheim. “But why do you cry? What does it _mean_?” asked my non-American roommate. Couldn’t explain; still can’t. Poignant Warren Zevon: _We made mad love, shadow love, random love and abandoned love…_ Non-poignant WZ: _The name of the game is be hit and hit back._ _Now the years are rolling by me, they are rocking evenly And I am older than I once was, and younger than I’ll be: that’s not unusual Nor is it strange, after changes upon changes, we are more or less the same After changes, we are more or less the same._ “The Boxer”, Simon and Garfunkel. “Extra” verse they sang at the Concert in Central Park. _Like the fool I am and I’ll always be I’ve got a dream, I’ve got a dream_ “I’ve Got A Name”, Jim Croce. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/91 "2004-06-08T14:45:54Z")
Shiny purple fishes Run laughing thru your fingers And you want to take her with you To the heartland of the Winter ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/92 "2004-06-08T15:39:10Z")
Bernie Taupin’s “The Greatest Discovery” is a great, simple song of childhood: [http://www.ringtoneextreme.com/ringtonepass/indeex.htm#GO](http://www.ringtoneextreme.com/ringtonepass/indeex.htm#GO) ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/93 "2004-06-08T17:26:00Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > As a contrast, I kind of like the elegant simplicity of: > > “I used to love her, but I had to kill her.” - _Guns & Roses_ Nice. Back to C&W. Charlie Robison’s “You’re Not The Best” has two good lines: _You know a pretty girl she’ll leave you Leave you to drown in your own tears You know an ugly girl she’ll leave you too But then again, who really cares?_ and, of course, the chorous: _You’re not the best but you’re the best that I can do._ ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Amethyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/94 "2004-06-08T18:07:45Z")
Since someone mentioned the Pixies (who are brilliant), this line from the Bloodhound Gang - the Roof is on Fire comes to mind… I’m not black like Barry White no I am white like Frank Black is So if man is five and the devil is six than that must make me seven And what about the Smiths … wonderfully depressing lyrics… And if a ten tonne truck, crashes into us, To die by your side, well the pleasure, the privilege is mine ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/95 "2004-06-08T18:22:58Z")
**Jeff Buckley** , Lover You Should Have Come Over. It’s the perfect song for when you’ve ended a relationship and realised too late that you’ve ruined the best thing in your life. These are my favourite lines. Maybe I’m too young to keep good love from going wrong But tonight you’re on my mind so you’ll never know I’m broken down and hungry for your love with no way to feed it Too young to hold on and too old to break free and run Lonely is the room, the bed is made, the open window lets the rain in Burning in the corner is the only one who dreams he had you with him My body turns and yearns for a sleep that won’t ever come It’s never over, my kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder It’s never over, all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her It’s never over, all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter It’s never over, she’s the tear that hangs inside my soul forever ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/96 "2004-06-08T18:38:06Z")
I’m a major Dylan freak, some of my favorites include: “The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face” and “Harmonicas play the skeleton keys in the rain.” both from _Visions of Johanna_ “I’ve seen all these decoys through a set of deep turquoise eyes and I feel so depressed.” from _No Time to Think_ . Hey, he had the guts to rhyme “decoys” and “turquoise” Well, I spied a girl and before she could leave, “Let’s go and play Adam and Eve.” I took her by the hand and my heart it was thumpin’ When she said, “Hey man, you crazy or sumpin’, You see what happened last time they started.” from _Talking World War III Blues_ “You know it balances on your head Just like a mattress balances On a bottle of wine” from _Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat_ ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/97 "2004-06-08T18:56:46Z")
A bunch of lyrics that Amuse The Hell Out Of Me: BNL, Another Postcard: > [@](#): > > I’ve got some shaved chimps; that’s chimps devoid of any hair > I’ve got depraved chimps dressed up in women’s underwear. A few from Voltaire: Brains: > [@](#): > > BRAINS, BRAINS, I won’t lie, > I’ll drink their brains 'til they’re zombified. > Sure they might think it’s deranged > But they won’t give it a thought > Once I’ve eaten their brain. > BRAINS, BRAINS, It’s okay. > It’s not a matter if it isn’t gray, > And if at first they think it’s strange, > They won’t think twice > If they don’t have a brain! The Man Upstairs: > [@](#): > > According to him Jesus Christ smokes crack > and other sundry things. and > [@](#): > > Please, kill that man upstairs. > if you ever loved me, you’ll do this one thing, > won’t you sweetheart? > Please murder that man upstairs. > if you want to be my friend > you’ll have to prove you mean it. Finally, The USS Make Sh\*t Up > [@](#): > > Bounce a graviton particle beam off the main deflector dish > Thats the way we do things, lad, we’re making shit up as we wish > The Klingons and the Romulans pose no threat to us > 'Cause if we find we’re in a bind we just make some shit up Alanis Morisette, back when she was just Alanis - Oh, Yeah!: > [@](#): > > Now don’t overdo it when you shake your thing > cause you’ll be goin’ insane when you start > to sing > Without special training an amateur > Could be a casualty case if they sing > these words Shonen Knife, Ah Singapore: > [@](#): > > You can’t buy chewing gum anywhere in Singapore > But you can buy peppermint candy > Cause you eat it til it’s gone ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/98 "2004-06-08T20:25:08Z")
One of my favorite lyrics, from “This Kiss”, performed by Faith Hill: Cinderella said to Snow White How does love go so off-course All I wanted was a white knight With a good heart, soft touch, fast horse That one always makes me smile. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/99 "2004-06-08T20:55:09Z")
What! No **Meatloaf** > [@](#): > > Girl: > Will you love me forever? > > Boy: > Let me sleep on it!!! > > Girl: > Will you love me forever!!! > > III. Praying for the End of Time > > Boy: > I couldn’t take it any longer > Lord I was crazed > And when the feeling came upon me > Like a tidal wave > I started swearing to my god and on my mother’s grave > That I would love you to the end of time > I swore that I would love you to the end of time! > > So now I’m praying for the end of time > To hurry up and arrive > Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you > I don’t think that I can really survive > I’ll never break my promise or forget my vow > But God only knows what I can do right now > I’m praying for the end of time > It’s all that I can do > Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!!! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328/100 "2004-06-17T00:55:08Z")
**Lies can often give you power like a coffin filled with flowers gives life to the living, not the dead.** From a song called _[Silver, Sharp and Could Not Care](http://www.rzweb.net/app/lyrics/g3p.html#silver)_ by [The Residents](http://www.rzweb.net/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-lines-in-songs/247328.md?page=6)