# Great \*opening\* lines in songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 18, 2004, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983 "2004-06-18T03:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/21 "2004-06-18T15:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble) I like openings that make me want to hear how the story goes…[/QUOTE] Robert Hunter, primary lyricist for the Grateful Dead, was a master at this. He’d give you the basic set-up of the song, and then leave enough space for you to complete the picture yourself. “We can share the women, we can share the wine. We can share what we’ve got of yours, 'cause we’ve done shared all of mine.” -“Jack Straw” “Well on the day that I was born, Daddy sat down and cried.” -“Half-step Mississippi Uptown Toodleoo” “All of my friends, came to see me last night. I was laying in my bed and dying.” -“St. Peter” “I need a chateau, twenty-one rooms, but one’ll do.” -“West L.A. Fadeaway” “All the years combine, they melt into a dream. A broken angel sings, from a guitar.” -“Stella Blue” ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/22 "2004-06-18T15:41:21Z")
I think the Ramones said it best when they said: “ONETWOTREEFOUR” OK just kidding. Some of my favorites though: The Misfits - Skulls the corpses all hang headless and limp bodies with no surprises and the blood drains down like devil’s rain we’ll bathe tonight The Misfits - Astrozombies with just a touch of my burning hand i send my astro zombies to rape the land prime directive, exterminate the whole human race Elvis Costello - New Lace Sleeves Bad lovers face to face in the morning Shy apologies and polite regrets Slow dances that left no warning of Outraged glances and indiscreet yawning Good manners and bad breath get you nowhere Shriekback - Malaria In the dumb fat side of the heavy, sweaty black Malaria night You can tell the shit from the essence of heaven Shriekback - Faded Flowers This is the sound of poisons the sickness no one knows No one is crying for us this time Our shapes are blurring under miracles of snow ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/23 "2004-06-18T15:44:42Z")
“Insanity is a narrow bridge, it’s banks are reason and desire” - Du Riechst So Gut - Rammstein ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/24 "2004-06-18T18:10:53Z")
Two that pop instantly to mind are : This charming man / The Smiths “Punctured bicycle, on a hillside, desolate. Will nature make a man of me yet?” Sorted for E’s and wizz / Pulp “Oh is this the way they say the future’s meant to feel? Or just twenty thousand people standing in a field?” ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/25 "2004-06-18T18:18:01Z")
The opening lines of this song certainly got my attention the first time I heard it: "You let me violate you. You let me desecrate you. You let me penetrate you. You let me complicate you. Help me. I broke apart my insides. Help me. I’ve got no soul to sell. Help me. The only thing that works for me. Help me get away from myself. I wanna fuck you like an animal…" _Closer_ by Nine Inch Nails ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/26 "2004-06-18T19:32:50Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > I think the Ramones said it best when they said: > > “ONETWOTREEFOUR” For a guy who is waiting for the plane home (tomorrow): Twenty, twenty, twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated Works pretty darned well. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/27 "2004-06-18T19:41:59Z")
I’m singing this note ‘cause it fits in well with the words I’m sayin’ – the Who I met a boy named Frank Hills Right here, in front of The Waverly but unfortunately I lost his address – Hair I get no kick from cocaine – Cole Porter ---
**Author:** ![Gamaliel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@Gamaliel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gamaliel)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/28 "2004-06-18T19:48:56Z")
> [@](#): > > "When I look back on all the crap I learned in high school > It’s a wonder I learned anything at all - Paul Simon, “Kodachrome” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/29 "2004-06-18T20:00:14Z")
**The Sex Pistols** “Anarchy in the UK” I am an antichrist and I am an anarchist **The Band** “The Weight” I pulled into Nazereth, feelin’ 'bout half past dead. I just need to find a place where I can lay my head. Mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed? He grinned at me and shook his head and no was all he said. **The Misfits** “Last Caress” I’ve got something to say I killed your baby today Doesn’t matter much to me As long as it’s dead ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/30 "2004-06-18T20:29:53Z")
“Collapse” by **Soul Coughing** Mid-level manager says he heard about Some mulatto girl, shot him in the mouth And left him in the hotel near the mid-south offices “Hey” by the **Pixies** Hey! Been tryin’ to meet you! ---
**Author:** ![DaToad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@DaToad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaToad)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/31 "2004-06-18T20:35:04Z")
Dylan has a lot of good stuff. I like _Highway 61_ too, but this ain’t bad. “There must be some way out of here,” said the joker to the thief, “There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief”… And another Zappa: “Im a little pimp With my hair gassed back Pair a khaki pants With my shoe shined black I got a little lady . . . And she walks that street Tellin’ all the boys That she can’t be beat” ---
**Author:** ![Tit\_Whistle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Tit\_Whistle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tit_Whistle)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/32 "2004-06-18T20:43:52Z")
“You can never give the finger to the blind.” - “Slide”, Luna ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/33 "2004-06-18T21:10:36Z")
Times have changed, And we’ve often rewound the clock Since the Puritans got a shock When they landed on Plymouth Rock. If today, Any shock they should try to stem 'Stead of landing on Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock would land on them. – Cole Porter, ANYTHING GOES ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/34 "2004-06-18T23:44:53Z")
Bruce Springsteen,\* Blinded By the Light\*: “Madman drummers, bummers, and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat In the dumps with the mumps as the adolescent pumps his way into his hat” Twelve billion percent better than the Manfred Mann cover. ---
**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:** [June 19, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/35 "2004-06-19T02:19:47Z")
How about some **Beck**? \*In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey, butane in my veins so I’m out to get the junkie \* - **Loser** ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/36 "2004-06-19T04:17:30Z")
More **Zevon** : Well I went home with a waitress/ The way I always do. How was I to know/ She was with the Russians too? (Lawyers, Guns, and Money) Crazy surrealism from **They Might Be Giants** : All the people are so happy now/ their heads are caving in I’m glad they are a snowman with/ protective rubber skin (Nothing’s Gonna Change My Clothes) And I have to hand it to **Yes** for the sheer chutzpah of opening their 1972 side-long (that’s about twenty minutes for you young whippersnappers ;)) epic Close To The Edge with the immortal couplet: A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace And rearrange your liver to the solid mental grace (Although when I was in college, I had a big crush on a Wiccan girl and a concomitant drinking problem, so that line actually held great personal significance for me!) ---
**Author:** ![angelicate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@angelicate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/angelicate)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/37 "2004-06-19T04:38:00Z")
“It don’t matter if your pants are shiny, if your dick is big or your dick is tiny.” Soul City by Southern Culture on the Skids When my husband was a teenager, he’d gotten his new CMJ magazine in the mail and was listening to the sampler CD. As this soung came on, he thought it sounded like something his mom might like (It’s got a country/rockabilly/whatever sound to it.), so he put it back to the beginning of the track and told her to come in and listen to this song that he thought she’d like. All of a sudden, the opening lines came out, and he freaked out. Luckily, she had a good sense of humor and just laughed. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/38 "2004-06-19T05:05:33Z")
I really like from the **Kink** ’s Death of a Clown: "My makeup is dry and it clags on my chin I’m drowning my sorrows in whisky and gin " **Moby Grape** -Apocalypse: “As I stood upon the meadow in the summer wind today Watching while the long grass did it’s afternoon ballet There came like mountain thunder, the Horseman angel’s cry Apocalypse is now mankind, your time has come to die” My **They Might Be Giants** contributions: Whistling in the Dark - “A woman came up to me and said “I’d like to poison your mind With wrong ideas that appeal to you Though I am not unkind”” James K Polk - “In 1844, the Democrats were split The three nominees for the presidential candidate” **Ben Kweller** - Sha Sha: “When I was a movie star an asteroid had hit the earth and prematurely ended my career. I thought out loud but no one heard me saying” **Camper Van Beethoven** Eye of Fatima - "He’s got the Eye of Fatima on the wall of his room. Two bottles of tequila, three cats and a broom. ’ a little long but The Axe Murderer Song - “Why do lovers park down deserted lanes Near haunted houses or homes for the insane Like the deformed son who was locked in a shed Later escaped when he chopped off their heads” And now my last artist, **Don Mclean** Empty Chairs - “I feel the trembling tingle of a sleepless night Creep through my fingers and the moon is bright Beams of blue come flickering through my window pane Like gypsy moths that dance around a candle flame” Castles in the Air - "And if she asks you why, you can tell her that I told you That I’m tired of castles in the air. " Well I got my money worth… ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/39 "2004-06-19T05:14:28Z")
“Hands Up! Who Wants To Die”-from The Birthday Party’s “Sonny’s Burning” ---
**Author:** ![Mandarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mandarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mandarin)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983/40 "2004-06-19T05:46:32Z")
Donovan~_Catch The Wind_ In the chilly hours meant for uncertainty I want to be In the warm holds of your loving mind… The Crazy world of Arthur Browne~_Fire_ \*\*I AM THE GOD OF HELLS FIRE. AND I BRING YOU FIRE! \*\* [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-opening-lines-in-songs/250983.md?page=3)