# Your most perfect songwriter **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963 "2009-01-25T22:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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 26, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/21 "2009-01-26T23:29:24Z")
**Warren Zevon** ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/22 "2009-01-26T23:36:58Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Paul Simon has been consistently brilliant through his career. > > And while most people don’t think of them this way, Walter Becker and Donald Fagan are phenomenally good lyricists, once you get past the fact that they write for themselves and not for audiences to get. I think that Fagan does most of the lyrics, but you can never see behind their wall. Hi - are you me? I came in here to post exactly this. Paul Simon, Fagen/Becker and Lennon/Mcartney are the trifecta of songwriting perfection…😃 ---
**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:** [January 26, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/23 "2009-01-26T23:45:00Z")
Came in to post **Shane MacGowan** of **The Pogues** , but was beaten to it. So I’ll put in a nod for **Elvis Costello** , who was only mentioned tangentially. _My Aim Is True_ through _Trust_ is **Beatles** -level consistency. Could’ve gone through _Imperial Bedroom_ if he hadn’t screwed it up by releasing _Almost Blue_ in there. Also, since **Paul Simon** was mentioned, I’d add that I think “Boy in the Bubble” is about as good as lyric-writing gets. And for songwriting pairs, nobody’s going to top **Lennon/McCartney** , obviously, but a few latter-day, punkier carriers of the flame: **Strummer/Jones** of **The Clash** and **Mould/Hart** of **Husker Du**. Others up there for me: **Ray Davies** , **Paul Westerberg** ( **Replacements** albums through _Pleased To Meet Me_, at least), and **Brian Wilson**. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/24 "2009-01-27T15:25:15Z")
If I may throw a few more into the ring: **Difford/Tillbrook Van Morrison Jackson Browne Bruce Cockburn John Prine Townes Van Zandt** ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/25 "2009-01-27T15:33:16Z")
Paul Simon and Warren Zevon already mentioned. I’ll throw Don McClean into the mix. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/26 "2009-01-27T15:40:18Z")
Can I vote for a songwriting team? If so, then I’d like to offer Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/27 "2009-01-27T15:57:29Z")
John Hiatt is on my list. ---
**Author:** ![Airblairxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Airblairxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airblairxxx)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/28 "2009-01-27T19:48:05Z")
Paul Kelly. Australian gent. From “Don’t stand so close to the window”: > [@](#): > > Oh Marlene, how we fell > What we’ve done now we can never tell > Bottle of wine, then another > Suddenly we fell into each other > > Don’t stand so close to the window > Somebody out there might see > > Then the word on the wire > Would be just like Ash Wednesday bush fire > Kiss me quick, kiss me warm > Put your dress on and hurry back home > > Don’t stand so close to the window > Somebody out there might see > And you’re not supposed to be here with me > > There’s a way, there’s a track > One false move and there’s no turning back > Turn the page, close the book > Walk out the door now with never a look > > And don’t stand so close to the window > Somebody out there might see > And you’re not supposed to be here with me > The walls have ears and the darkness eyes don’t you see? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/29 "2009-01-27T19:49:35Z")
I second Pete Townshend and Natalie Merchant. I also like Rivers Cuomo of the more recent guys. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/30 "2009-01-27T22:06:09Z")
I came here to say \*\*Jeff Tweedy \*\*but see that I was beaten to the punch by **Pepperlandgirl**. She posted some great examples of his work. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/31 "2009-01-27T22:26:19Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Shane McGowan of _The Pogues_. The quintessential Irish poet; brilliant…and drunk. > > … > > \*In Manhattans desert twilight > in the death of afternoon, > we stepped hand in hand on Broadway > like the first men on the moon. > > And the blackbird broke the silence > as you whistled it so sweet, > and in Brendan Behan’s footsteps > I danced up and down the street.\* > from “Thousands are Sailing” I agree that MacGowan’s brilliant, but that song wasn’t written by MacGowan. It’s by Philip Chevron. And since MacGowan’s already been mentioned, I’ll go with Conor Oberst. From _Something Vague_: Now and again it seems worse than it is, but mostly the view is accurate. You see your breath in the air as you’ll climb up the stairs to that coffin you call your apartment. And you sink in your chair, brush the snow from your hair and drink the cold away. And you’re not really sure what you’re doing this for but you need something to fill up the days. A few more hours. From _Waste of Paint_: So I have been hanging out down by the train’s depot. No, I don’t ride. I just sit and watch the people there. And they remind me of wind up cars in motion. The way they spin and turn and jockey for positions. And I want to scream out that it all is nonsense. All your lives one track, can’t you see it’s pointless? But then, my knees give under me. My head feels weak and suddenly it is clear to see that it is not them but me, who has lost my self-identity. As I hide behind these books I read, while scribbling my poetry, like art could save a wretch like me, with some ideal ideology that no one can hope to achieve. And I am never real; it is just a sketch of me. From _Lua_: And I’m not sure what the trouble was that started all of this The reasons all have run away but the feeling never did It’s not something I would recommend, but it is one way to live Cause what is simple in the moonlight, by the morning never is What’s so simple in the moonlight, now is so complicated What’s so simple in the moonlight, so simple in the moonlight. From _Hot Knives_: She went to see a Mystic who made medicine from rain And gave up her existence to feel everything, dream others’ dreams Bid farewell to her family with one ecstatic wave (Please take care I love you all) Out the window as the car rolled away She just vanished into a thick mist of change. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/32 "2009-01-28T06:49:33Z")
**Andy Partridge** From “Rook”: Rook, rook, read from your book Who murders who and where is the treasure hid? Crow, crow, spill all you know Is that my name on the bell? Rook, rook, gaze in the brook If there’s a secret, can I be part of it? Crow, crow, before I let go Is that my name on the bell? Soar up high, see the semaphore from the washing lines Break the code of the whispering chimneys and traffic signs What’s the message that’s written under the base of clouds? Plans eternal, I know you know, so don’t blurt out loud (All set to some of the most chilling, sepulchral music ever) ---
**Author:** ![MerryMagdalen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@MerryMagdalen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MerryMagdalen)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/33 "2009-01-28T08:20:29Z")
Leonard Cohen. For the simple sweet twist of phrase. Robyn Hitchcock. For the weird simple sweet twist of phrase. (If you’re Googling, also check out The Soft Boys, his previous band.) ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/34 "2009-01-28T08:46:16Z")
Yes, most definitely Leonard Cohen. Three examples pretty much at random: A depressing one, just to maintain the stereotype - **Last Year’s Man** _The rain falls down on last year’s man, an hour has gone by and he has not moved his hand. But everything will happen if he only gives the word; the lovers will rise up and the mountains touch the ground. But the skylight is like skin for a drum I’ll never mend and all the rain falls down amen on the works of last year’s man._ A old political one, but strangely relevant - **Democracy** \*It’s coming through a hole in the air, from those nights in Tiananmen Square. It’s coming from the feel that this ain’t exactly real, or it’s real, but it ain’t exactly there. From the wars against disorder, from the sirens night and day, from the fires of the homeless, from the ashes of the gay: Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. It’s coming through a crack in the wall; on a visionary flood of alcohol; from the staggering account of the Sermon on the Mount which I don’t pretend to understand at all. It’s coming from the silence on the dock of the bay, from the brave, the bold, the battered heart of Chevrolet: Democracy is coming to the U.S.A. \* And, just for the hell of it, one about oral sex - **Light as the Breeze** _She stands before you naked you can see it, you can taste it, and she comes to you light as the breeze. Now you can drink it or you can nurse it, it don’t matter how you worship as long as you’re down on your knees. So I knelt there at the delta, at the alpha and the omega, at the cradle of the river and the seas. And like a blessing come from heaven for something like a second I was healed and my heart was at ease._ Note for Mods: None of these are complete lyrics ( the man can write _long_ songs. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/35 "2009-01-28T09:09:43Z")
Tori Amos: Written about her father and makes me cry thinking of my own. Easily one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard. [Here on YouTube.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWmETxWM0h0) **Winter** \*I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter I put my hand in my fathers glove I run off where the drifts get deeper Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown I hear a voice “You must learn to stand up for yourself Cause I cant always be around.” He says “When you gonna make up your mind? When you gonna love you as much as I do? When you gonna make up your mind, Cause things are gonna change so fast All the white horses are still in bed.” I tell you that Ill always want you near You say that things change my dear \* ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/36 "2009-01-28T09:27:14Z")
A lot of really good choices here. I would add Michelle Shocked, another singer-songwriter from Texas. I was going to say her, and Costello. Richard Thompson, John Hiatt, Paul Westerberg would also be on my short list. In the last few days, I discovered Pandora - the first two names I typed in were Shocked and Costello. I might add a few from this page tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/37 "2009-01-28T13:05:52Z")
No love for Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout? “Cruel is the gospel that sets us all free, then takes you away from me. There is no Chicago urban blues more heartfelt than my lament for you. I’m a liberal guy, too cool for the macho ache with a secret tooth for the cherry on the cake.” “Stella Mater, light is failing, making such a fool of thee, when you’d love to be someone… This is the time, I’ve set aside. From selling old rope, and telling bad jokes, and cul de sac pride. I’ve learnt today, while falling apart, the most eloquent way, to speak or to pray, is straight from the heart. Oh, but to shine like Joan Of Arc you must be prepared to burn.” ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/38 "2009-01-28T13:17:42Z")
I’ll back up Chuck up there with Loudoun Wainright III. He can write good, solid songs about, literally, anything and he’s steeped in the American folk tradition. For me, though, the best singer-songwriter currently active is Jill Sobule. She’s an amazing talent and able to write songs that will leave you confused about your place in the world. She once wrote one about Mary Kay LeTourneau that made her a sympathetic character. However, the greatest American songwriter ever, for my money, is Cole Porter. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/39 "2009-01-28T13:28:51Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > No love for Paddy McAloon of Prefab Sprout? > > . . . > > “Oh, but to shine like Joan Of Arc > you must be prepared to burn.” [QUOTE=Leonard Cohen] It was deep into his fiery heart He took the dust of Joan of Arc, And then she clearly understood If he was fire, oh then she must be wood. I saw her wince, I saw her cry, I saw the glory in her eye. Myself I long for love and light, But must it come so cruel, and oh so bright? [/QUOTE] I’m afraid I’ve never forgiven Prefab Sprout for _Cars and Girls_ - a misreading of Bruce Springsteen on the same level as Reagan thinking _Born in the USA_ was a good patriotic anthem. Good band name, though. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963/40 "2009-01-28T18:40:14Z")
> [@Rico](#): > > I must put in my plug for [Dean Friedman](http://www.deanfriedman.com), > For those of you who only remember him for his pop songs such as _Ariel_, _McDonald’s Girl_ and _Lucky Stars_, you’re missing a lot. I put a dot between the www and the d, you had a comma. I knew Dean years and years ago, he wrote the song “Don’t you ever dare do that again” about me. I was 19, having problems at home, sort of ran away and was living in a friends dump of a basement when he dropped by for a visit. I had the lyrics to Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” written on the wall (they were new at the time). And I was feeling very sorry for myself. I want to say [Jimmy Webb](http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608000761/Jimmy-Webb.html) too. He wrote Wichita Lineman and a whole lot of other great songs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-most-perfect-songwriter/482963.md?page=3)