If you’ve heard a great lyric in any song, please do share it - the lyric, artist or band and song
I am not sure they are great lyrics but they resonated with my curious teenage mind, contributing to me becoming aware of the looming risks of climate change back in the 70s, well before it was fashionable to green.
We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago By Hawkwind
Think about the things that we should have done before
The way things are going the end is about to fall
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
Look around and see the warning close at hand
Already weeds are writing their scriptures in the sand
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
The morning sun is rising, casting rays across the land
Already nature’s calling, take heed of the warning
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
Think about the things that we should have done before
The way that things are going the end is about to fall
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
We took the wrong step years ago
A link to a video made 10 years ago using the song to highlight the issues of climate change
It is important to remember we aren’t destroying the planet, it will survive. We are altering it so much that it will not support the human race and many other animals. With time the planet will find a new equilibrium that will allow life to thrive again.
2 Likes
Richard Thompson - The Great Valerio (V3)
Come all you upstart jugglers
Are you really ready yet?
Who will help the tightrope walker
When he tumbles to the net?
So come with me to see Valerio
As he dances through the air
I’m your friend until you use me
And then be sure I won’t be there
3 Likes
God is in the detour - VanWyck
God is in the Detour
I met God at the corner shop, she was looking kinda lonely so I gave her a nod. She smiled back and we started to talk. She said, ‘Ain’t it strange that there are so many different kinds of tea and could you reach the blue one on the highest shelf for me?’
Sure God, whatever you want.
And then she asked me if I had some time for a coffee. And I said, ‘I’ve been dreaming all of my life to have a coffee with you.’ She said, ‘How lovely, nowadays most people are in a hurry. They have lists and plans and stuff they need to do and don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to be said for having a plan, there’s a lot to be gained from acting fast, there’s a whole lot of sense in being direct. But then again, the good stuff seems to happen when you’re on a detour. Come find me on a detour,’
She paid for her tea and then we went outside, the sun shone bright and the cars sped by. She said, ‘I’ve been meaning to look into that, but I guess I got a little sidetracked, cause sometimes I lose track of time and sometimes I don’t mind and let it all just drift away and then I find myself again on a detour, on a detour, you’ll find me on a detour.’
‘There’s a lot to be said for having a plan, there’s a lot to be gained from acting fast, there’s a whole lot of sense in being direct, but then again, the good stuff seems to happen when you’re on a detour, on a detour, on a detour, come join me on a detour’
1 Like
Ballad of the runaway horse - Jennifer Warnes/Rob Wasserman (Original by Leonard Cohen)
Say a prayer for the cowgirl her horse ran away
She’ll walk till she finds him her darlin’ her stray
But the river’s in flood and the roads are awash
And the bridges break up in the panic of loss.
And there’s nothin’ to follow nowhere to go
He’s gone like the summer gone like the snow
And the crickets are breaking her heart with their song
As the day caves in and the night is all wrong.
Did she dream it was he who went galloping past
And bent down the fern broke open the grass
And printed the mud with the well hammered shoe
That she nailed to his feet in the dreams of her youth.
And although he goes grazin’ a minute away
She tracks him all night she tracks him all day
And she’s blind to his presence except to compare
Her injury here with his punishment there.
Then at home on a branch on the highest tree
A songbird sings out so suddenly
And the sun is warm and the soft winds ride
On a willow tree by the riverside.
Ah, the world is sweet and the world is wide
He’s there where the light and the darkness divide
And the steam’s comin’ off him he’s huge and he’s shy
And he steps on the moon when he paws at the sky.
And he comes to her hand but he’s not really tame
He longs to be lost she longs for the same
And he’ll bolt and he’ll plunge through the first open pass
To roll and to feed in the sweet mountain grass.
Or he’ll make a break for the high plateau
Where there’s nothing above and nothing below
It’s time for their burden the whip and the spur
Well she ride with him or will he ride with her.
So she binds herself to her galloping steed
And he binds himself to the woman in need
And there is no space just left and right
And there is no time but there’s day and night.
Then she leans on his neck and whispers low
Whither thou goest I will go
And they turn as one and the head for the plain
No need for the whip oh no need for the rein.
Now the clasp of this union, who fastens it tight
Who snaps it asunder the very next night
Some say it’s him, some say it’s her
Some say love’s like smoke, beyond all repair.
So my darlin’, my darlin’ just let it go by
That old silhouette on the great western sky
And I’ll pick out a tune and they’ll move right along
And they’re gone like smoke and they’re gone like this song.
Say a prayer for the cowgirl…
3 Likes
Richard Thompson - How Will I Ever Be Simple Again
Oh she danced in the street with the guns all around her
All torn like a rag doll, barefoot in the rain
And she sang like a child, toora-day toora-daddy
Oh how will I ever be simple again
She sat by the banks of the dirty grey river
And tried for a fish with a worm on a pin
There was nothing but fever and ghosts in the water
Oh how will I ever be simple again
War was my love and my friend and companion
And what did I care for the pretty and plain
But her smile was so clear and my heart was so troubled
Oh how will I ever be simple again
In her poor burned-out house I sat at her table
The smell of her hair was like cornfields in May
And I wanted to weep and my eyes ached from trying
Oh how will I ever be simple again
So graceful she moved through the dust and the ruin
And happy she was in her dances and games
Oh teach me to see with your innocent eyes, love
Oh how will I ever be simple again
Oh how will I ever be simple again
1 Like
The Island (Paul Brady)
They say the skies of Lebanon are burning.
Those mighty cedars bleeding in the heat.
They’re showing pictures on the television.
Women and children dying in the street
And we’re still at it in our own place.
Still trying to reach the future through the past.
Still trying to carve tomorrow from a tombstone…
But Hey! Don’t listen to me!.
This wasn’t meant to be no sad song.
We’ve heard too much of that before.
Right now I only want to be here with you.
Till the morning dew comes falling.
I want to take you to the island.
And trace your footprints in the sand.
And in the evening when the sun goes down
We’ll make love to the sound of the ocean
They’re raising banners over by the markets
Whitewashing slogans on the shipyard walls
Witchdoctors praying for a mighty showdown
No way our holy flag is gonna fall
Up here we sacrifice our children
To feed the worn-out dreams of yesterday
And teach them dying will lead us into glory…
Now I know us plain folks don’t see all the story.
And I know this peace and love’s just copping out.
And I guess these young boys dying in the ditches.
Is just what being free is all about.
And how this twisted wreckage down on main street.
Will bring us all together in the end.
And we’ll go marching down the road to freedom…
Freedom
Beeswing - Richard Thomson (but… who is it about…?)
I was nineteen when I came to town
They called in the Summer of Love
They were burningbabies, burning flags
The Hawks against the Doves
I took a job in the STeamie
Down on Cauldrum Street
I fell in love with a laundry girl
Was working next to me
She was a rare thing
Fine as a beeswing
So fine a breath of wind might blow her away
She was a lost child
She was running wild, she said
As long as there’s no price on love, I’ll stay
And you wouldn’t want me any other way
Brown hair zig-zag round her face
And a look of half-surprise
Like a fox caught in the headlights
There was an animal in her eyes
She said, young man, O can’t you see
I’m not the factory kind
If you don’t take me out of here
I’ll surely lose my miind
She was a rare thing
Fine as a beeswing
So fine a breath of wind might blow her away
She was a lost child
She was running wild, she said
As long as there’s no price on love, I’ll stay
And you wouldn’t want me any other way
We busked around the market towns
And picked fruit down in Kent
And we could tinker lamps and pots
And knives wherever we went
And I said that we might settle down
Get a few acres dug
Fire burning in the hearth
And babies on the rug
She said O man, you foolish man
It surely sounds like hell
You might be lord of half the world
You’ll not own me as well
She was a rare thing
Fine as a beeswing
So fine a breath of wind might blow her away
She was a lost child
She was running wild, she said
As long as there’s no price on love, I’ll stay
And you wouldn’t want me any other way
We was camping down the Gower one time
The work was pretty good
She thought we shouldn’t wait for frost
And I thought maybe we should
We were drinking more in those days
And tempers reached a pitch
Like a fool I let her run
With the rambling itch
Last I hear she’s sleeping out
Back on Derby beat
White Horse in her hip pocket
And a wolfhound at her feet
And they say she even marriend once
A man named Romany Brown
But even a Gypsy caravan
Was too much settliing down
And they say her flower is faded now
Hard weather and hard booze
But maybe that’s just hte price you pay
For the chains you refuse
She was a rare thing
Fine as a beeswing
And I missher more than ever words could say
If I could just taste
All of her wildness now
If I could hold her in my arms today
Then I wouldn’t want her any other way
1 Like
Have you read his memoir from last year (also called Beeswing)? He covers this there. I won’t spoiler it in case you’re planning to read it.
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Tempered Hands - Juliet McConkey
Verse 1]
She stands over the sink, steam curls into the air
Grey like the tendrils of her hair
Running that water a whole lot hotter than most could bear
She doesn’t seem to notice or to care
[Refrain]
Says I’ve got tempered hands
It’s really no big deal
The things that used to burn now I hardly feel
[Verse 2]
He comes home from work, a long day in his eyes
It’s dark like the smudges from a tyre
She puts dinner on our plates and he don’t hesitate to criticise
Shе looks at me with a reassuring smile
[Refrain]
Says I’vе got a tempered mind
It’s really no big deal
The words that used to hurt now I hardly feel
[Bridge]
Well is pain as temporary as they say
Or do we become numb waiting for it to go away?
[Verse 3]
She stares out the window from her electric bed
It’s clear like a tear yet unshed
I ask her how she’s doing and without moving
She say I wish God had taken me instead
'Cause I’ve got a tempered heart
[Refrain]
It’s really no big deal
I used to be in love and now I hardly feel
Oh I used to be in love now I hardly feel
[Outro]
Feel
Feel
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Hand-in-Hand with another guy
You’re dressed to kill, and guess who’s dying…
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Of course. I’m a big RT fan…!!!
I think its perhaps a bit unfair, posting RT’s lyrics here… 
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Thea Gilmore - Regardless
Will you be a friend of mine
Somebody I can trust
Time has picked the jury out
But time is so unjust
From fender down to fetlock
From sinew into steel
This path is so well trodden
But it still feels so unreal
Oh tame the stars or drain the bar
Chain your willingness
I’ll be here oh I’ll be here regardless
One summer blue, one winter blue
You threw me like a lie
An unsuspecting cartoon girl
And a piano from the sky
Yeah, I knew the plotline well
Yeah, I’d heard the song
But I’d never breathed the colour
Until you came along
Oh tame the stars or drain the bar
Chain your willingness
I’ll be here oh I’ll be here regardless
Regardless
Will you be a friend of mine
Or will you turn your head
Miles sing a siren song
And it’s easy to be led
But there is grace in the road movie
And joy in the unknown
And I will just be grateful
For the preview I was shown
Oh tame the stars or drain the bar
Chain your willingness
Well I’ll be here oh I’ll be here regardless
I’ll be here oh I’ll be here regardless
Regardless
B-52’s - Planet Claire
Some say she’s from Mars
Or one of the seven stars
That shine after 3:30 in the morning
Well, she isn’t!
It doesn’t get any better than that, my friends.
Just a single line:
“If I hadn’t seen such riches I could live with being poor.”
(from Sit Down, by James)
And another (which is also the song’s title)"
"Don’t let the teardrops rust your shining heart.’
(by Everything But The Girl)
1 Like
Lloyd Cole Woman in a Bar
Idealized vision of a woman through a smoke filled
Twentieth century screenplay, advancing
Towards protagonist with paperback and beer
Manifestly failing to disappear
Now that the children are asleep
You wanna play but you’re so lazy
She walks into the bar and there you are
Still life water color, ‘Woman In A Window’
Considers role of kitchen sink drama queen
Stage left, protagonist with cigarette and pen
Considers form of racehorses, IBM
Declining issues led advancing
Two to one in slow trading
She walks into the bar and there you are
No longer angry, no longer young, no longer driven
To distraction, not even by Scarlett Johansson
A few moving parts need to be replaced
The engine starts but only on Tuesdays
But look at it this way
Now that the children are asleep
You wanna play but you’re so lazy
She walks into the bar and there you are
Idealized vision of a woman through a smoke filled
Twentieth century screenplay, advancing
Towards protagonist with paperback and beer
Manifestly failing to disappear, to disappear
1 Like
Sorry another that I’ve always liked. Bowie wouldn’t normally spring to mind when thinking of anti war songs but I kind of like the personal touch to his Fantastic Voyage track from the very underrated Lodger album.
In the event that this fantastic voyage
Should turn to erosion and we never get old
Remember it’s true, dignity is valuable
But our lives are valuable too
We’re learning to live with somebody’s depression
And I don’t want to live with somebody’s depression
We’ll get by, I suppose
It’s a very modern world, but nobody’s perfect
It’s a moving world, but that’s no reason
Shoot some of those missiles
Think of us as fatherless scum
It won’t be forgotten
'Cause we’ll never say anything nice again, will we?
And the wrong words make you listen
In this criminal world
Remember it’s true, loyalty is valuable
But our lives are valuable too
We’re learning to live with somebody’s depression
And I don’t want to live with somebody’s depression
We’ll get by I suppose
But any sudden movement I’ve got to write it down
They wipe out an entire race and I’ve got to write it
Down
But I’m still getting educated but I’ve got to write it down
And it won’t be forgotten
'Cause I’ll never say anything nice again, how can I?
1 Like
Jake Thackray. One of my favourites.
Jumble Sale
My love life was as humble as my features when I stumbled
On the jumble sale. Unbelievable,
The things that you can find there. They’ve got stuff of every kind there
At the jumble sale.
I was down and out, I’d nowhere else to go,
I’d sown my oats, I’d flung my fling.
The parish hall was all lit up, its doors were wide.
I poked my nose inside,
Before I’d time to hide
The vicar asked me in.
Romance perchance prevails
At humdrum jumble sales.
With a jaded eye I eyed the faded piles of lumber
Of the jumble sale, rough and tumble sale
Where ladies of the village fight like visigoths for pillage.
Dear old jumble sale.
But behind the cut glass, brass and pewter pots
The plaster pussy cats, the china gnomes
I saw a girl, a wild eyed butterfly
Junoesque but shy
And just the thing for my
For my mantelpiece at home.
Chick of the bric-a-brac
Pick of the vicar’s knick-knacks
With a pounding pulse I skulked around the bulky counters
Of the jumble sale, fumbling at bundles
Of those long-departed trousers, old pyjama-tops and blouses
Found at jumble sales.
I’d not got the savoir faire, the flair,
I hardly dare look over at her stand.
But with determination which defies belief
All set to come to grief
I grit my snaggle teeth
And I took her by the hand.
One bob per objet d’art
Gratis and carte blanche my heart.
Iacta was my alea, my chips were down and numbered
At the jumble sale. But suddenly my tongue tied,
I just burbled, I just bumbled, I was sure my chance had crumbled
At the jumble sale.
I just stood there in a funk, a dumbstruck booboo
Gawping at her pretty bibelots.
But then she smiled. Not much, but I knew then
I’d see her lips again,
Her bijoux and her gems
And her precious curios.
Perchance romance prevails,
So come to some humdrum jumble sales,
Jumble sales.
Come to some crummy jumble sales.
3 Likes
Eric Burdon and the Animals Sky Pilot
He blesses the boys as they stand in line
The smell of gun grease
And their bayonets they shine
He’s there to help them all that he can
To make them be wanted
He’s a good holy man
Sky pilots
Sky pilots
How high can you fly?
You never, never, never reach the sky
Beside that the young soldiers
Tell them it’s alright
He knows of their fears
In the forthcoming fight
Soon there’ll be blood
And many will die
Mothers and Fathers
Back home they will cry
Sky pilots
Sky pilots
How high can you fly?
You never, never, never reach the sky
He mumbles a prayer
And it ends with a smile
The order is given being
Moved down the line
But he’ll stay behind
And he’ll mediate
But it won’t stop the bleeding
Or ease the hate
As the young men move out
Into the battle zone
He feels good with God
He’s never alone
He feels so tired
And he lays on his bed
Hopes the men will find courage
In the words that he said
Sky pilots
Sky pilots
How high can you fly?
You never, never, never reach the sky.
1 Like
Two of my all-time favourite acts, who have IMHO constantly excelled at writing songs with intelligent, meaningful lyrics are Billy Joel and 10cc.
Just one example from Billy is from his album ‘The Stranger’ (a work of genius from beginning to end): ‘She’s Always a Woman’.
She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes
And she can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child but she’s always a woman to me.
She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth but she’ll never believe you
And she’ll take what you give her as long as it’s free
Yeah, she steals like a thief, but she’s always a woman to me.
Ohhhh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants
She’s ahead of her time.
Ohhh, and she never gives out, and she never gives in
She just changes her mind.
And she’ll promise you more than the garden of Eden
Then she’ll carelessly cut you and laugh while you’re bleeding
But she’ll bring out the best and the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself 'cause she’s always a woman to me.
Ohhh, she takes care of herself, she can wait if she wants
She’s ahead of her time.
Ohhh, and she never gives out, and she never gives in
She just changes her mind.
She is frequently kind and she’s suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases, she’s nobody’s fool
And she can’t be convicted, she’s earned her degree
And the most she will do is throw shadows at you, but she’s always a woman to me.
3 Likes