Here’s one of mine:
“I woke up alarmed.”
(Liz Phair, Fuck and Run)
mmm
…
We were both young when I first saw you.
“I know you what you know
but you should know by now
that you’re not me”
Rutles
I’m singing this note ‘cause it fits in well with the chords I’m playin’
“My child arrived just the other day …”
Harry Chapin, Cat’s Cradle.
And because it loses its impact somewhat with just that line, let me quote the remainder of the opening verse:
“He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away.”
Incredibly poignant song about realizing your blessings before it’s too late.
It has to be an opening couplet.
I can see her lyin’ back in her satin dress
In a room where you do what you don’t confess.
“Couple in the next room bound to win a prize, been going at it all night long”
Paul Simon Lincoln Duncan
“I heard there was a secret chord,
that David played and it pleased the Lord.
But you don’t really care for music, do you?”
Hallelujah, originally by Leonard Cohen
“I can understand why you’d want a better man,
But why you wanna make him out of me?”
(Peter Holsapple [the dB’s], “Spitting in the Wind”)
Took mine. There are so many good Simon lyrics:
First thing I remember
I was lying in my bed,
Couldn’t’ve been no more
Than one or two. (Late In The Evening)
or
I am just a poor boy
Though my story’s seldom told. (The Boxer)
He was a species on the verge of extinction; she was an Air New Zealand hostess.
Richard Thompson, Let It Blow
“God said to Abraham kill me a son”, Bob Dylan, Highway 61
“Return of the Thin White Duke throwing darts at lover’s eyes”, David Bowie, Station to Station
“She came in through the bathroom window…”
Ever heard it before?
"I woke up in a Soho doorway a policeman knew my name
He said, “You can go sleep at home tonight, if you can get up and walk away”
Frankly, that whole first verse might well be the epitome of rock and roll right there.
Elvis Costello has some great opening lines:
“Oh it’s so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl.” - Alison
“History repeats the old conceits the glib replies the same defeats” - Beyond Belief
“He thought he was the King of America” - Brilliant Mistake
“Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six” - Chelsea
“Oh it’s not easy to resist temptation” - From a Whisper to a Scream
“I wish you’d known me when I was alive, I was a funny feller” - God’s Comic
“Mother, Father, I’m here in the zoo” - Goon Squad
“There’s a smart young woman on a light blue screen who comes into my house every night” - Green Shirt
“You’re upstairs with the boyfriend while I’m left here to listen” - I’m Not Angry
“Calling Mister Oswald with the swastika tattoo” - Less Than Zero
“You never asked me what I wanted. You only asked me why.” Miracle Man
“Romeo was restless, he was ready to kill.” - Mystery Dance
“As I walk through this wicked world searchin’ for light in the darkness of insanity” - Peace, Love, and Understanding
“I was tuning in the shine on the light night dial doing anything my radio advised” - Radio Radio
“Oh I used to be disgusted and now I try to be amused” - Red Shoes
“Giving you more of what for always worked for me before” - Shabby Doll
“I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign” - Tramp the Dirt Down
“Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?” - Veronica
Goddamn Europeans! PJ Harvey, “The Last Living Rose”
Nick Lowe should probably get the credit for that one.
“The mighty grunion are rising up and storming the beach”
(Terry Scott Taylor, “Hey John Wayne”)
In the chilly hours and minutes
Of uncertainty
I want to be
In the warm hold of your loving mind.
If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?–Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Oak’s Anthem” (also known as Free Bird)