# Pithy song lyrics you wish you'd written?... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2001, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312 "2001-11-08T23:49:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lesath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@Lesath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lesath)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/61 "2001-11-10T05:15:43Z")
Okay, these are a few personal coices: “This bomb-blast lightning waltz.” U2, A Sort of Homecoming. “Set me aflame and cast me free. Away, you wretched world of tethers.” VNV Nation, Solitary “Seek no more for hollow answers. Answers that lay within you all along.” VNV Nation, Arclight and “Like a roll of thunder chasing the wind.” Live, Lightning Crashes ---
**Author:** ![Lesath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@Lesath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lesath)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/62 "2001-11-10T05:29:34Z")
D’oh, I actually forgot some by October Project, who write some of the most beautiful and poetic lyrics I’ve heard. “In the empty corners of the evening, In the vacant beauty of the wind.” - Something More Than This “And the unforgiving arms of the cradle rock as hard as the face of the city pavement.” - Sunday Morning Yellow Sky “If I could speak in tongues of flame I’d burn forever with your name.” - One Dream And then there’s one that sounds absolutely georgous when sung. There isn’t really any short clip of lyrics I can give. “In a city of faces That never look back Where doors never open And eyes never meet Someone behind me was tracing my steps As I ran through the fog down a cobblestone street.” - After the Fall ---
**Author:** ![WortMeWorry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@WortMeWorry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WortMeWorry)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/63 "2001-11-10T06:42:45Z")
No pecking code respected for the damned.-Pete Townshend,The Sea Refuses No River. Your third grade teacher and your uncle Mel, and all them sinners gonna go to hell. Commander Cody,-Go To Hell. If dreams were thunder, lightning was desire, this old house would have burned down, a long time ago. John Prine,-Angel From Montgomery. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Iron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Big\_Iron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Iron)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/64 "2001-11-10T11:39:05Z")
Too many to mention, but one that comes to mind right now is, “me no wanna be no nice guy.” Pope Bob "You know, it coulda been me you’re listening to on your radio … " ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/65 "2001-11-10T13:58:58Z")
“I’d give up forever to touch you.” (From _Iris_, John Rz…um, the Goo Goo Dolls) “Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” (From _The Boxer_, Paul Simon) ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/66 "2001-11-10T15:13:47Z")
“So they love Jerry Lewis in France-does that make him funny?” -Steve Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Iron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Big\_Iron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Iron)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/67 "2001-11-10T16:18:47Z")
Like unto a moron, I flubbed the line I referred to before – it is, of course, “me no are no nice guy.” But then you all know that … ---
**Author:** ![Halfpint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f0a364/32.png) [@Halfpint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Halfpint)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/68 "2001-11-10T17:45:14Z")
\*\*“And we’re changing our ways, taking different roads, then love, love will tear us apart” - **Joy Division** ,_Love Will Tear Us Apart_ “I was the one who let you know,I was your sorry-ever-after.” - **The Connells** ,_'74-'75_ “Well now everything dies baby that’s a fact,But maybe everything that dies someday comes back,Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty,And meet me tonight in Atlantic City” - **Bruce Springsteen** ,_Atlantic City_ \*\* [/QUOTE] Oh yeah –some of my favourite lyrics. Did you ever hear the Paul Young massacre of the Joy Division song? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milo\_minderbinder \* > \*\*Ah, just about anything by the people’s poet **Billy Bragg** > > [A New England](http://www.web.net/~smorton/Billy_Bragg/A_New_England.html) > > I saw two shooting stars last night > I wished on them but they were only sattelites > Is It wrong to wish on space hardware? > I wish I wish I wish you’d care. \*\* I’m ashamed to admit that only the Kirsty McCOll cover of A New England comes to mind at the moment, which is why the lyrics are (I hope. My brain is fading)“I loved you then as I love you still, I put you on a pedestal, you put me on the pill”. Also, wasn’t Billy Bragg responsible for “How can you lie back and think of England when you don’t even know who’s in the team”? > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lao Tsu \* > \*\*Gotta agree with the Billy Bragg mention too. Another from him. > > I woke up this morning, to find that we have outlived the myth of trust. > . \*\* Damn damn damn damn damn. Why didn’t I find this thread earlier . I love that lyric. Didn’t realise I was such a big Billy Bragg fan. My boyfriend’s just pointed out he lives down the road from me. I’ll have to go and stalk him 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![milo\_minderbinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@milo\_minderbinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milo_minderbinder)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/69 "2001-11-10T18:02:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Halfpint \* > Also, wasn’t Billy Bragg responsible for “How can you lie back and think of England when you don’t even know who’s in the team”? Don’t know that one, but if you want to check, lyrics for most of his songs are [here](http://www.billybragg.co.uk/releases/song_list/index.html) milo ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2001, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/70 "2001-11-10T23:33:40Z")
“They will tell you you can’t sleep alone in a strange place Then they’ll tell you you can’t sleep with somebody else Sooner or later you sleep in your own space Either way it’s okay to wake up with yourself” Billy Joel, _My Life_ ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/71 "2001-11-11T00:27:43Z")
Tonight we fly Over the mountains, the beach and the sea Over the friends that we’ve known And those that we now know And those whom we’ve yet to meet And when we die Will we be that disappointed or sad If heaven doesn’t exist What will we have missed This life is the best we’ve ever had - **The Divine Comedy** , _Tonight We Fly_ Tell veronica the secrets of the boy you never kissed She’s got everything to gain 'cause she’s a fat girl with a lisp - **Belle & Sebastian** , _Expectations_ A bunch of **Replacements** lyrics: If being wrong’s a crime I’m serving forever If being strong is what you want I need help with this feather If being afraid is a crime, we hang side by side At the swingin’ party down the line - _Swingin’ Party_ Jesus rides beside me He never buys any smokes - _Can’t Hardly Wait_ Hold my life until I’m ready to use it Hold my life because I just might lose it - _Hold My Life_ I used to live at home Now I stay at the house - _Here Comes A Regular_ I’m not as ready as I’ll ever be And I suppose your guess Is more or less as bad as mine - _Never Mind_ And more as I think of them. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/72 "2001-11-11T01:16:28Z")
Great thread. I’m gonna need to check out some of these songs. Welcome…or should I say goodbye? It’s a question how close we are apart –Alphaville You say you don’t believe a thing I say, I say You don’t believe a thing, you say you can’t believe How I don’t understand –Barenaked Ladies When she was three Her Barbies always did it on the first date Now she’s with me There’s never any need for them to demonstrate –Barenaked Ladies Because life, Mrs. Brown Is just one big knees up A night on the town, a storm in a teacup More like a teacup in a storm –Carter USM Are the words to this song concise enough to follow? Is your smart food simple enough to swallow? –Chumbawamba Of course it’s peace we’re for This is war to end all war –Mark Blitzstein, Cradle Will Rock You’d set the table for the barber Sweeney Todd You’d clip the wings of any rising god But man can’t live on hope alone It can be cut, all that is grown Broke your spirit but not your bones And on the river flows –The Levellers ‘Moon of Alabama’ is my favorite country tune It’s got lyrics by a Communist and music by a Jew And when those fellers wrote it they were living in Berlin I guess that is a symbol of the world we’re living in –Momus One perfect couple on four perfect blades We execute two perfect figures of eight But the ice is a mirror in which people see Their nation and their sexuality –Momus I left the normal world behind and started living in A hinterland between dissolution and self-discipline I burned the midnight oil to build my way of seeing Like a miner at the coal face of meaning –Momus If looks could kill I’d kill the men Whose looks would kill you if looks could kill And the men who say ‘No competition’ Know the competition love instills –Momus When I left home I already had five years Of self-abuse under my belt I found certain women who’d let me try anything Just to find out how it felt –Momus I was the last of the window-cleaners I was sacrificed as such When they singled out the ringleaders They said I’d seen too much I only saw what the butler did The chambermaid also I never saw how the other half lived I just washed their windows –Momus Worst of all I stopped loving your body Making you feel so low But my lawyer says no blame can be apportioned For circumstances beyond my control –Momus Originator man, originator man Make me a sun in the palm of your hand A rising and setting sun Deflowering, 24 hours, reflowering Going out of fashion Coming back into fashion Catch the fruit as it falls for me Hang it on the tree again –Momus If I slipped away Maybe nobody’d notice They’d probably say It’s just one of those things With a little dismay And a shrug of the shoulders You’d buy a coat Against the cold –Momus Thank you for the memory, this curse you’ve laid on me Like a shooting star I burst into obscurity Live this second first because the rest is history Nothing’s gonna save us now –Momus In the doctor’s surgery I keep my fingers crossed because I know the cost This test for positivity implies Still I do this willingly Because I want to know what I don’t want to know Unthinkable thoughts are thoughts we have to try –Momus Listen to the shells my darling, what you hear is not the sea But whispering, malicious human hearts Adults who don’t wish to know the Duc De Berry’s great chateau And hate the world of childhood and of art We who paint or photograph to stop the dying in its path And fix you in the permanence of spring Can’t stop the prattlers prattling, the rattlesnakes who, rattling See ugliness in every living thing –Momus I wrote this song two hours before we met I didn’t know your name or what you looked like yet –Pulp One man’s whiskey is another man’s tea And I’m not certain if that wisdom applies to me I been learning about life Watching my TV And you should see all the notes I’m taking –Wyrd Sisters I dance in a graveyard of carousel horses I search murky waters for Athena’s sources –Wyrd Sisters ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/73 "2001-11-11T01:18:34Z")
“If you were a priest I would wait at least up untill confession time then crawl into your box.” - Robyn Hitchcock Not the lyrics, but the title of the song _Les Bons Bons des Raison_ by stereolab is pretty clever imho. ---
**Author:** ![Genseric](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Genseric](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Genseric)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/74 "2001-11-11T03:33:19Z")
“Did you exchange a walk on part in the world for a lead role in a cage?” - **Wish You Were Here** by _Pink Floyd_ Damn that’s just a cool line from a great song. Although I’m not religious I always liked this line from _U2_’s **Mysterious Ways** “If you want to kiss the sky, you better learn how to kneel.” ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/75 "2001-11-11T06:18:39Z")
A planet of playthings We dance on the strings Of powers we cannot perceive Rush ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/76 "2001-11-11T06:24:14Z")
“You look good in that sweater, and that aluminum crutch. I’m gonna let you down easy, I’ve got a delicate touch.” Beck ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_the\_Advancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Lance\_the\_Advancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_the_Advancer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/77 "2001-11-11T14:43:09Z")
“A penny for your freedom is worth a thousand more of hollow freedom the world is feeling twice as cold today and there’s no more disguising its decay” —Dillinger Four ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_the\_Advancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Lance\_the\_Advancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_the_Advancer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/78 "2001-11-11T14:44:55Z")
oops…should be “penny for your treason” ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/79 "2001-11-11T15:06:00Z")
_Though you pound this bitter heart, down to molten steel. Cast it in the furnace, of your burning, spinning wheel. I will rise up through the flames, to wrap you in my arms. Brand you with my loving seal, and steal your tender charms._ “Hammer of Love” **Bad Company** _Did my best to love you, Now do your best to leave…_ “Still Around” **Robert Cray** _Skating away, on the thin ice of a new day_ **Jethro Tull** -LOTS more from them ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312/80 "2001-11-11T15:54:48Z")
“Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose, and nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’ but it’s free,” * * * “Well I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head, that didn’t hurt and the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad so I had one more for dessert then I fumbled through my closet for my clothes and found my cleanest dirty shirt” * * * "If you hurt me, you won’t be the first or the last In a lifetime of many mistakes. But I won’t spend tomorrow regretting the past For the chances that I didn’t take. 'Cause I’ll never know 'til it’s over If I’m right or I’m wrong loving you, But I’d rather be sorry for something I’ve done Than for something that I didn’t do." **Kristofferson** was popular in a period of my life when I was feeling sorry for myself. So I guess that his lyrics appealed. Not great poetry, but he could turn a phrase. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pithy-song-lyrics-you-wish-youd-written/92312.md?page=5)