# What's your favorite song lyric written in the first person? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2004, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582 "2004-01-15T14:59:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/21 "2004-01-16T01:22:43Z")
**labdad** ’s got it pegged. Steve Earle writes GREAT first person stuff… _Billy Austin, The Other Kind, Over Yonder_… all awesome. Also a special nod to Kris Kristoferson (sp?) for _Sunday Morning Coming Down_… Shawn Mullins’ cover is my favorite… awhich reminds… Shawn writes excellent first person stuff too… _Twin Rocks, Oregon_, springs to mind, but there are many ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/22 "2004-01-16T03:04:01Z")
I rather like the Misfits “Last Caress” [http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/misfits/lastcaress.html](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/misfits/lastcaress.html) (sorry I didn’t make some of the text the link. It’s my first time posting with this new format and I am confused. And frightened) Also, Tool’s “Jerk-Off”; Slipknot’s “My Plague” and “Wait and Bleed”; Metallica’s “Fuel” and “Master of Puppets” and pretty much any of their other songs with “I” or “me” in them ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/23 "2004-01-16T04:25:59Z")
“So here I’m sitting in my car at the same old stoplight. I keep waiting for a change but I don’t know what. So red turns into green turning into yellow, While I’m just frozen here on the same old spot. And all I have to do is to press the pedal. But I’m not.” – Aimee Mann, _It’s Not_. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/24 "2004-01-16T04:49:54Z")
10cc’s “I’m Not in Love”: _I keep your picture, up on my wall It hides a nasty stain that’s lying there So don’t you ask me to give it back, You know it doesn’t mean that much to me_ … and the J. Geils Band’s “Angel is the Centerfold”: \*Slipped me notes under the desk While I was thinkin’ about her dress I was shy – I turned away Before she caught my eye I was shakin’ in my shoes Whenever she flashed those baby-blues Something had a hold on me When angel passed close by\* ---
**Author:** ![PucksRaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecd19e/32.png) [@PucksRaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PucksRaven)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/25 "2004-01-16T04:50:07Z")
Hey, my first CS post. I love song lyrics, I’m tone deaf so if the lyrics don’t move me the music hasn’t a chance. “I don’t want whats best for you where will I be when you’ve found it” -Indigo Girls “Caramia” “it took a long time to become the thing I am to you and you won’t tear it apart without a fight without a heart” -Indigo Girls “Become You” “This fool’s halfway to heaven and just a mile out of hell And I feel like I’m coming home” -Springsteen "Better Days ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/26 "2004-01-16T05:07:04Z")
_I have become comfortably numb . . ._ –Pink Floyd. Also springing to mind is N.I.B. from Black Sabbath: _Look into my eyes, you’ll see who I am/ My name is Lucifer, please take my hand._ Well, whadja expect from a guy named Mephisto? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gyt\_fx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@gyt\_fx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gyt_fx)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/27 "2004-01-16T07:06:17Z")
‘What if I could go to sleep for days; would you count the hours. Or would your restlessness consume, faded memories of me.’ AFI - At a Glance ‘I wish you would take my radio to bathe with you, plugged in and ready to fall.’ Alkaline Trio - Radio ‘But I’m not quite sure what you’ve been told/this unfolds… On labor day I’m not starting with you but the faint of heart.’ Coheed & Cambria - The Velorium Camper I: The Faint of Hearts And many more but those are some from songs I’ve been listening to recently. ---
**Author:** ![DogsLunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@DogsLunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogsLunch)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/28 "2004-01-16T07:21:02Z")
“I got to fold 'cause these hands are too shaky to hold.” - Fiona Apple “Paper Bag” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/29 "2004-01-16T07:34:16Z")
**John Prine** ’s **Angel From Montgomery**. - I am an old woman Named after my mother My old man was another Child that’s grown old If dreams were lightning And thunder was desire This old house would have burned down a long time ago \* How about Simon and Garfunkel’s **Homeward Bound**? ---
**Author:** ![Treviathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@Treviathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treviathan)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/30 "2004-01-16T07:37:04Z")
Two from Ben Gibbard: _I’m thinking it’s a sign That the freckles in our eyes Are mirror images and when we kiss They’re perfectly aligned_ -“Such Great Heights,” The Postal Service _I put on my overcoat And walked into winter, my teeth chattered rhythms And they were grouped in twos or threes Like a morse code message That’s sent from me to me_ -“I Was a Kaleidoscope,” Death Cab for Cutie ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/31 "2004-01-16T14:10:17Z")
From the Tim Rice/Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus musical “Chess”, “Someone Else’s Story”: Long ago, in someone else’s life time, someone with my name Who looked a lot like me. Came to know a man and made a promise, he’d only have to say And that’s where she would be. Lately, although the feelings run just as deep. The promise she made has grown impossible to keep. It’s a masterpiece. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/32 "2004-01-16T14:49:05Z")
> [@](#): > > I remember how she held me oh so tight > Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then From Bob Seger’s - [Against The Wind](http://www.daily-lyrics-place.com/Against_The_Wind_Lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/33 "2004-01-16T14:51:06Z")
Woahh…where did that sig come from? I must have put that in there years ago! Wonder what it means? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/34 "2004-01-16T15:51:45Z")
“you were pumping iron, while I was pumping irony.” -Robert Plant in “Heaven Knows” This is my favorite because I believe its the worst song lyric ever written. ---
**Author:** ![facil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/db5fbb/32.png) [@facil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/facil)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/35 "2004-01-16T16:20:50Z")
_“Please alow me to introduce myself, i’m a man of wealth and taste. i’ve been around for a long long year, stole many a mans soul and faith.”_ Rolling Stones- Sympathy for the Devil personal favorite of mine. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/36 "2004-01-16T16:30:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I had this dream, where I relished the fray… “…and the screaming filled my head all day.” Great lyrics, great band. I have to concur with **Sam Stone** : just about anything in the first person by Simon and Garfunkel is moving. “I Am a Rock,” “The Boxer,” “The Sound of Silence”: classics all. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/37 "2004-01-16T17:32:21Z")
Ieeeeeeeeeeeeee… Wanna beeeeeeee…ya Anarchy. Or in a different vein: No-one knows what it’s like To be the bad man To be the sad man Behind blue eyes ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/38 "2004-01-16T23:31:29Z")
_That’s When I’ll Reach For My Revolver_ by Mission of Burma > [@](#): > > Once I had my heroes > Once I had my dreams > But all of that is changed now > The truth begins again > The truth is not that comfortable, no > Mother taught us patience > The virtues of restraint > Father taught us boundaries > The knowledge we must go > I’m trying to protect my unity or \*I Don’t Wanna Grow Up \* by Tom Waits > [@](#): > > Seems like folks turn into things that they’d never want > the only thing to live for is today. > I’m gonna put a hole in my T.V. set > I don’t wanna grow up > open up the medicine chest > and I don’t wanna grow up > I don’t wanna have to shout it out > I don’t wanna be filled with doubt > I don’t wanna be a good boy scout > I don’t wannt have to learn to count > I don’t wanna have the biggest amount > I don’t wanna grow up > > […] > > I don’t wanna float a broom > fall in love and get married, then boom > how the hell did I get here so soon? > I don’t wanna grow up Perhaps _Man in Black_ by Johnny Cash? ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/39 "2004-01-17T00:31:46Z")
“As I walk through this wicked world, searching for light in this darkness of insanity, I ask myself is all hope lost? Is there only pain, and hatred, and misery?” -From “(What’s so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” written by Nick Lowe ---
**Author:** ![CurlyD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@CurlyD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurlyD)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2004, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582/40 "2004-01-17T02:42:05Z")
Jackson Browne has been writing kick-ass first person lyrics for 30+ years. The one that always gets me, from _Sky Blue and Black_: You’re the hidden cost and the thing that’s lost In everything I do. And I’ll never stop looking for you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-song-lyric-written-in-the-first-person/224582.md?page=3)