New entry from this past year:
“I’ve heard love songs that make a Georgia man cry” - Jason Isbell - Stockholm
When the night has come and the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
Checking, I see you’re right. I thought Costello and Lowe had co-written that song but I see Lowe wrote it by himself.
“In a place you only dream of’
Where your soul is always free”
Green Grass and High Tides, the Outlaws.
Bop bop-a-lu-a a-whop bam boo
I cite theses often:
“She was just seventeen, you know what I mean” - Paul McCartney (with edit approval by John Lennon ;))
“I guess I shoulda known, by the way she parked her car sideways that it wouldn’t last” - Prince
Jesus died for somebody’s sins / But not mine
(Patti Smith, Gloria)
He was a hard headed man, he was brutally handsome…
And she was terminally pretty.
In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream. (Bruce Springsteen)
A long, long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile -American Pie
“So I stood by the roadside, the soles of my running shoes gripping the tarmac like gunmetal magnets.”
Elvis co-wrote this one with some guy named Paul McCartney.
Southern trees bear a strange fruit.
Two from me:
“It’s one o’clock and time for lunch (bum de dum de dum dum).”
and
“Imagine there’s no heaven.”
Levon wears his war wound like a crown
He calls his child Jesus
Elton John
Levon
I’m always touching myself
I’ve got nothing else to do…
Squeeze
Touching Me, Touching You
Well since my baby left me, I’ve found a new place to dwell
There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold…
Well its one for the money, two for the show
Welcome to the jungle, we got your disease
Like to tell you about my baby - Them. Needs to be played very loud
It was the third of September, that day I’ll always remember - Temptations , this takes some time to get to the lyrics, especially on the better longer version - but that opening line!
How about a line before the first line?
I know when to go out;
when to stay in…
get things done…
(Do I need to say that it’s Bowie’s “Modern Love”?)
And Bob Weir’s brilliant solo album has a song “Walk in the Sunshine” where he calls out over the opening vamp:
"Look out now… cause here comes some free advice!"
Uno… dos… one two tres quatro!
The Empty Bottle was half empty
The tide was low and I was thirsty
Old 97s “Barrier Reef”