# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/61 "2023-07-12T08:26:22Z")
The last line of “God” by John Lennon - “The dream is over.” ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/62 "2023-07-12T15:46:27Z")
Everybody Dance Now! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QW7DEXW7lN0/maxresdefault.jpg "Martha Wash on the Arsenio Hall Show.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW7DEXW7lN0) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/63 "2023-07-12T17:58:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Annie Haslam. The last word of “Song of Scheherazade.” I was lucky to have met Annie when I was a stage hand for a _Renaissance_ concert in Philadelphia in the early 70s. Wonderful lady! Beautiful, powerful voice. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Janis Joplin, _Cry Baby_, any of the choruses “C’mon and cry, baby! Indeed it’s hard to beat Janice’s opening to [Cry Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRhHdFRFBAs) for raw intensity. The lady embodied the blues. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/64 "2023-07-12T19:38:40Z")
Ever sing along with, and try to hold the note in the chorus of, “[Lovely Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEeaS6fuUoA)” the way Bill Withers does? ---
**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 12, 2023, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/65 "2023-07-12T19:57:25Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Dylan I could name a dozen or two lines of his that belong on this list. - _Abe said, where you want this killin’ done?_ - _You just kind of wasted my precious time_ - _Power and greed and corruptible seed seem to be all that there is_ - Etc. Nobody can sing his stuff like he can (or could) – and yet, he’s also the most cover-able rock songwriter ever. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/66 "2023-07-12T22:04:23Z")
Or “I know I know I know…” in _Ain’t No Sunshin_e. ---
**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 12, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/67 "2023-07-12T23:15:51Z")
Love, from Zappa’s “Hungry Freaks, Daddy”, going from unfurled chaos [(“Will not forestall the rising tide of hun-gry, freaks, da-deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”)](https://youtu.be/IDE9MC3jnl0?t=45) and right into measly smarm [(“They won’t go, for no more, great midwestern hardware store.”)](https://youtu.be/IDE9MC3jnl0?t=56) ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2023, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/68 "2023-07-13T04:32:30Z")
So destiny has brought us oh so close together- Judas Priest I’ve always known that the mirror never lies- Queensryche You’re one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan, designed and directed by his red right hand- nick cave ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/69 "2023-07-19T18:01:18Z")
In The Beatles’ “Oh! Darling,” McCartney’s delivery of the last line of verse is incredible. He’s always had an impressively strong high register, but that last line is something else. In my head, it puts the song in an unsettlingly different light. Up to that point, it’s a pretty standard begging-my-baby-not-to-leave-me kind of song, and you can feel sorry for him or not. But in that last line, the way he screams “_I’ll never do you no harm!_” makes him sound deranged and threatening. I wonder how much recording time went into that one and if, at any point, anyone considered using another take. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/70 "2023-07-19T18:09:53Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > 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_. Ironically, I’ve heard a few versions of Everybody’s Talkin that I liked better because, similar to the complaint people had about Whitney’s version of IWALY, Nilsson engages in unnecessary vocal theatrics. Then again it is still a good version. I especially like the “wah, hwah-wah-wah” parts. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/71 "2023-07-19T18:13:10Z")
Zach DeLa Rocha, “Freedom” [“Freedom, YEAH RIGHT”](https://youtu.be/H_vQt_v8Jmw?t=300) (Cued up) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/72 "2023-07-19T18:34:43Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I wonder how much recording time went into that one and if, at any point, anyone considered using another take. > [@Alan Parsons](#): > > Paul came in several days running to do the lead vocal on ‘Oh! Darling’. He’d come in, sing it and say, ‘No, that’s not it, I’ll try it again tomorrow.’ He only tried it once per day, I suppose he wanted to capture a certain rawness which could only be done once before the voice changed. I remember him saying, ‘Five years ago I could have done this in a flash,’ referring, I suppose, to the days of ‘Long Tall Sally’ and ‘Kansas City’. From [here](https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/oh-darling/). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/73 "2023-07-19T18:35:06Z")
Geoff Castellucci (with accompaniment by 3 other Geoff Castelluccis) singing the final line to Sixteen Tons [Click here](https://youtu.be/fzlT80jQ3lo?t=145) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/74 "2023-07-19T18:43:46Z")
Thanks very much for posting that! I swear, I’d added Kansas City to my post, in parentheses just after “_He’s always had an impressively strong high register_,” but I deleted it before posting. It sounds clear to me that he was straining at the upper limits of his vocal range. I wonder what Lennon would have done with the vocals on that tune. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/75 "2023-07-19T18:44:10Z")
Okay, here’s a SUPER deep cut. When Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth games a few years back, Amy MacDonald (who has had some absolutely incredible line deliveries throughout her entire discography) took part in a cover of “[Rhythm of My Heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyrcQCYcn08)” where most of the vocals were contributed by non-celeb Glaswegians. No idea if any of them are trained singers, but when I watch the video (at least once a month since 2017, TBH), some lines never fail to give me goosebumps. The “Born in the shadows” guy and the “I’m higher than a feather” woman especially. The fella who takes over for Amy after the first few lines (“Let the sun shine down on Glasgow town…”) is pretty memorable as well. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/76 "2023-07-19T18:48:07Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > Thanks very much for posting that! You’re welcome. I’ve heard people dismiss that song as a throwaway. It’s as if they just can’t hear singing or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/77 "2023-07-19T18:54:07Z")
Oh, who the fuck knows what’s wrong with people’s ears?!!! 😀 Years ago, I played something for a friend, eagerly waiting to hear his impression. One of the all-time best singers and an inspired performance. He made a face like someone had farted, and snarled, “_And you mean to tell me they **pay** him to sing like that?!_” He was incensed, and I thought for a second that he was joking. A girlfriend had a similar but less extreme reaction to another recording of the same kind of music. Plenty of people are more adventurous about what they’ll put in their mouth than what they’ll put in their ears. Who knows what’s wrong with them? 😀 ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/78 "2023-07-19T19:04:28Z")
The Who’s ‘Behind Blues Eyes’ is a potpourri of every technique Daltrey has in his arsenal. The line “I have hours only lonely, my love is vengeance, that’s never free” impressively drifts from sympathy to menace, so much emotion packed into a little space. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/79 "2023-07-19T19:09:05Z")
Aretha Franklin’s **[Ain’t No Way](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzRA9UzuU8c&ab_channel=RionMantes)** is not only a demonstration of her tremendous power and emotional delivery, but it features Cissy Houston (Whitney’s mother) singing backup. Houston hits some notes that seem impossibly in the stratosphere, and does it repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360/80 "2023-07-19T19:23:23Z")
Rick Danko does a great dance between restraint and pathos in **It Makes No Difference** , with the highlight around the 2:40 mark. _I love you so much, and it’s all I can do,_ _Just to keep myself from telling you,_ _that I’ve never been so alone before._ [From “The Last Waltz”.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k1cHofK-RWA&pp=ygUhSW4gbWFrZXMgbm8gZGlmZmVyZW5jZSBsYXN0IHdhbHR6) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-impressively-sung-single-line-of-lyrics/933360.md?page=5)