In that vein, I present to you “T-Bone” by Neil Young:
"Got mashed potatoes
Got mashed potatoes
Got mashed potatoes
Ain’t got no T-bone
Ain’t got no T-bone
Got mashed potatoes
Got mashed potatoes
Got mashed potatoes
Got mashed potatoes
Ain’t got no T-bone…"
Repeat…
This.
I could list numerous Tom Waits lyrics that many would agree fits the idea of this thread, yet the lyrics have meaning to me, and intense, though completely different meaning to someone else.
I wish old Tom posted here. He doesn’t, does he •eyeballs that poster•?
Correct. But he’s an incredible business man. The guy had a few hits over a few years time close to 40 years ago, and has parlayed that into a net worth of tens of millions of dollars. And he is still a touring concern now at the age of 77.
I get this line. He’s depressed/sad because he’s having trouble with his girlfriend, and all he has the energy for is staring at the floor, and even that’s reminding him of his failure - he doesn’t have the energy to do the bare minimum of cleaning because he is so depressed
How about lyrics that get faded out to the point of silence, just as the very last words are uttered, in Talking Heads’ “Life During Wartime”.
I went to the doctor to see what he could give me
He said son, son you’ve gone too far
'Cause smoking and tripping is all that you do
Yeeeaaaahhh
Black Sabbath, of course
…which reminds me, speaking of doctors.
Back in the mists of time, my mom mentioned one of her fave Beatles lyrics, in “Rocky Racoon”:
Well the doctor came in,
Stinking of gin,
And proceeded to lie on the table.
yeah, that always got my funny bone.
And his guitar gently weeps through the whole situation. Sung by a drug using hippy that would rather just strum out a song on a guiter than doing domestic chores. Love and miss this guy.
MacArthur Park is a great vocal showcase.
Steve Miller may not be the greatest talent, but I would love to be as talentless as him. Everyone hated that song so much it hit #1, and nearly 50 years later, people still talk about the, “pompatus of love.” SOMEBODY GIMME A CHEESEBURGER!
The Turtles were great, and while their lyrics were at times silly, they were silly on purpose, so consider that.
My contributions:
Cisco Kid by War:
We met down on the Fort of Rio Grande
We met down on the Fort of Rio Grande
Eat the salted peanuts out of can
Eat the salted peanuts out the can
Nothing else of note was happening?
Blitzkrieg Bop by The Ramones:
Hey ho, let’s go
Shoot 'em in the back now
What they want, I don’t know
They’re all revved up and ready to go
Shoot them? WTF?
It’s not a throwaway line, because it’s repeated over and over again in the chorus, but in the song “Human”, The Killers ask
Are we human or are we dancer?
Ever since this thread came up, I’ve been trying to remember which old song had earwormed me recently and had a line that bugs me. It just now came to me: Big Girls Don’t Cry–“that’s just an alibi.” Uh, that’s not what the word alibi means…
I know I can’t be the only person in the world who doesn’t require the lyrics of others to perfectly fit conventional sense or understanding. Well, I know for a fact others hate particular genres of music for being “too literal” and using such simple language. I like when writers write things that have meaning to them and they have no need to interpret them for anyone else. Most of these are fairly mundane to me, and I don’t even get high. That said, while I enjoy bands/singers with very quirky and obscure references there are a few that get me mostly for the “cringe” factor.
If I remember correctly this is a quote (or neat quote) of Hunter S Thompson.
OK: I’ll contribute the Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Marc Bolan
O Debora always look like a zebra
Your sunken face is like a galleon
Clawed with mysteries of the Spanish main O Debora.
Well you’re built like a car
You’ve got a hubcap
Diamond star halo
You’re built like a car
Oh yeah
And most of all, Hot Love
Well, she ain’t no witch
And I love the way she twitch, ah, ah, ah…
Well, she’s faster than most
And she lives on the coast, ah, ah, ah…
…I’ll stop there because I don’t want to breach fair use rules. But I could go on with that song and many more.
j
“…And all the colored girls sing…”
Which is exactly what the backup singers do. How is it a throwaway line?
Good thing the room didn’t have carpet or he would’ve had to find a rhyme for “hoovering”. (See the see the love there that’s maneuvering?)
And shall my name until I die
Be nothing but an alibi
I wonder how many other songs misuse that word.
I love The Steve Miller Band - I just bought 11 of their songs to fill a hole in my iTunes catalogue. In fact, I’m listening to “Swing Town” right now. 
My own contribution, from “Into The Night” by Benny Mardones.
“She’s just 16 years old,
Leave her alone,
They said.”
It looks like he has explained it to make it sound less creepy, but I don’t think the explanation actually helps any. 
No, you’re not the only one. It’s called “poetic license.” Many people don’t have the imagination to accept anything but the most literal of interpretations for anything.
Well, then there is the lyrical noodling,
I’m the black ace dog handler,
I’m the waiter on skates
So don’t jump to your foreskin conclusion
'Cause I’m up to my deaf ears
In cold breakfast trays
To be cleared before I can dine on
Your sweet Sunday lunch confusion
This from one of the most refined lyricists in popular music, Ian Anderson.