# Most impressively sung single line of lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 20, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360 "2021-02-20T19:32:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/41 "2021-02-23T12:53:01Z")
Reggie Watts, “Song about Apples”, when he sings “Hey baby, I like the way that you smile at me” About the 5 minute mark: [Reggie Watts - A Song About Apples (Always Love Yourself) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO1CCXXMzBI) The whole song is fantastic, but that part is particularly special. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/42 "2021-02-23T14:13:52Z")
Whitney Houston, “Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii will always love yooooooooouuuuu”, “The Bodyguard” - 1992 ---
**Author:** ![SterlingArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@SterlingArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingArcher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/43 "2021-02-23T15:00:01Z")
“Hello” by Evanescence. The final lines of the song are hauntingly and beautifully sung. “Suddenly, I know I’m not sleeping. Hello, I’m still here, all that’s left of yesterday.” ---
**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:** [February 23, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/44 "2021-02-23T15:17:56Z")
I’ve always liked Dylan’s opening to Hurricane: “Pistol shots rang out in the barroom night…” Jumps out right at you out of nowhere, exactly like a pistol shot would. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/45 "2021-02-23T18:36:12Z")
Special mention to Lindsey Buckingham for “Holiday Roe oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ode” ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/46 "2021-02-23T18:49:30Z")
Grace Slick singing _Silver Spoon_: Where are the bodies For dinner? I want my food! ---
**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:** [February 23, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/47 "2021-02-23T20:41:06Z")
For the chill it brings, Emmylou singing in Boulder to Birmingham _The last time I felt like this_ _I was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire_ ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/48 "2021-02-23T21:17:57Z")
“Rape, murder, it’s just a shot away” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/njAuEGRthuw/maxresdefault.jpg "Gimme Shelter - Merry Clayton (Vocal)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njAuEGRthuw) ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/49 "2021-02-23T22:02:26Z")
Janis Joplin’s _Booby McGee_ but not the line that everyone quotes - “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose” but the heartrending “I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday” Never has the pain of lost love been so eloquently expressed. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/50 "2021-02-23T22:28:40Z")
Ok - it’s a verse, not a line, but it’s sung so damn quickly and synced up… Frank Zappa and co. And booger bears. [Inca Roads](https://youtu.be/wqp71DOJ3aY?t=554) _Did a booger-bear_ _Come from somewhere out there_ _Did a booger-bear_ _Come from somewhere out there_ _Did the Indians, first on the bill_ _Carve up her hill?_ ---
**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:** [July 10, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/51 "2023-07-10T22:43:49Z")
FOR THE AND OF THE FREEEEEEEEEEEEE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE. - Roseanne ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/52 "2023-07-11T03:11:34Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > For the chill it brings, Emmylou singing in Boulder to Birmingham > > _The last time I felt like this_ > _I was in the wilderness and the canyon was on fire_ I fall asleep listening to trains and highway traffic, and I often think of another line, later in that song… [(a song that’s one of the most plaintive I’ve heard).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klh7sAv9hu4) . _I’ve come to listen for the sound_ _of the trucks as they move down, out on 95 …_ _And pretend that it’s the ocean Coming down to wash me clean, to wash me clean…_ ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/53 "2023-07-11T16:21:29Z")
One of my favorites is at the end of Zeppelin’s “South Bound Suarez,” when Plant repeats a third time “You know it makes me feel back on the ground.” The way he sings it the third time sounds a little like some of his harmonica lines. He sings it the first time at 2:47 and the third time (the one I like) at 3:07. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/HqgE__H3JAM/maxresdefault.jpg "South Bound Saurez (Remaster)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqgE__H3JAM) ---
**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:** [July 11, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/54 "2023-07-11T16:46:20Z")
I can’t not smile when I hear Lowell George sing the words “Spanish Moon” in the [Little Feat song of the same name](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjvrbjHjYeAAxXFFjQIHQ_3AfQQyCl6BAgfEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DbCROkG4SKao&usg=AOvVaw3U4-Q5BZy_0WQTKHzhBHwA&opi=89978449) (especially on the live _Waiting for Columbus_ version). It’s some kind of horny snarl in which he pronounces “moon” like no one else ever: _And if that don’t kill you soon,_ _The women will, down at the Spanish Mrrrrn!_ Singing “[Walking on a Wire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn241z4KwPs)” in concert, Richard Thompson drops the “and” to make this line two sentences, and for some reason the effect is even more devastating than when Linda sang it as one sentence: _I’m walking on a wire. I’m falling._ ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/55 "2023-07-11T17:05:22Z")
For individual lines that are absolutely sublime to my ears: “Sail on silver girl…” (from “Bridge Over Troubled Water”) “Could anybody love him/Or is it just a crazy dream?” (from “The Final Cut” by Pink Floyd) “I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man and so is Lola!” (from “Lola”) “Has he got a friend…for me?” (Linda Thompson from the song of the same name) ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/56 "2023-07-11T23:36:08Z")
Nobody can put sneering contempt into his singing like Dylan: > Idiot wind > Blowing every time you move your teeth > You’re an idiot, babe > It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/57 "2023-07-12T00:49:40Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > Whitney Houston, “Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii will always love yooooooooouuuuu”, “The Bodyguard” - 1992 Dolly Parton sang it better. Harry Nilsson - “Everybody’s Talkin’” I won’t let you leave my love behind I won’t let you _le-(slide up six octaves; hold note for 13 minutes)-eeeeeeeeeeeeeave_. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/58 "2023-07-12T01:05:58Z")
Apparently, I’m a sucker for pathos, because every line I immediately thought of for this is full of heartbreak. First one was the plaintive line that kicks off the _Beatles For Sale_ album: _This happened once before_ _When I came to your door_ _No reply…_ As if that didn’t hit your “abject rejection” nerves enough, he hits the line _“I nearly died…”_ with some pretty raw emotion. > **[No Reply (Remastered 2009)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgFo9STa70E%2F)** > > Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupNo Reply (Remastered 2009) · The BeatlesBeatles For Sale℗ 2009 Calderstone Productions Limited (a division of Uni... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/59 "2023-07-12T07:19:03Z")
Do you hate Christmas music? So do I, except for absolutely every single last line of Darlene Love singing Baby Please Come. Just check it out on this [supercut of her appearances on David Letterman](https://youtu.be/CocL2Hrbi9k). Somehow have to put in an honorable mention for Del Shannon singing [Runaway](https://youtu.be/ziLagAgoPCE) in that inimitable style, > [@](#): > > I wonder > I wo-wo-wo wonder > Why… why-why-why-why-why > She ran away > And I wonder where she will stay > My little runaway > I run-run-run-run runaway ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/60 "2023-07-12T08:23:48Z")
I’ve always been impressed by _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway_, by Genesis. The first song of the concept album, the title track, sets the mood. Here is a young man who thinks he knows who he is, but doesn’t really. _Wonder women, you can draw your blind!_ _Don’t look at me! I’m not your kind._ _ **I’m Rael!** _ _Something inside me has just begun,_ _Lord knows what I have done,_ _And the lamb lies down on Broadway._ That fortissimo shriek that Peter Gabriel gives to “I’m Rael!” followed by his forte lyrics about “_Something_,” then the pianissmo vocals by the rest of the band, set the scene. Rael thinks he knows who he is, but he’s got a lot to learn about who he really is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360.md?page=4)