Great Lyrics

Music Room
23

…or another absolute cracker from Mr Joel on the same album; “Vienna”. This track should be required listening for anyone with a hectic lifestyle.

Slow down you crazy child
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you’re so smart tell me
Why are you still so afraid? (mmmmm)

Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You got so much to do and only
So many hours in a day (Ay)

But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through (Oooh)
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down you’re doing fine
You can’t be everything you want to be before your time
Although it’s so romantic on the borderline tonight (tonight)

Too bad, but it’s the life you lead
You’re so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you’re wrong
You know you can’t always see when you’re right (you’re right)

You got your passion, you got your pride
But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don’t imagine they’ll all come true (Oooh)
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

Slow down you crazy child
Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while
It’s alright, you can afford to lose a day or two (oooh)
When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

And you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through (oooh)
Why don’t you realize, Vienna waits for you?

When will you realize, Vienna waits for you?

24

Gotta go with Sondheim. Here’s one in which he’s really showing off - “The Miller’s Son,” from A Little Night Music, It’s a wonderful counterpoint to the songs of all the other characters struggling to work out relationships.

I shall marry the miller’s son,
Pin my hat on a nice piece of property.
Friday nights, for a bit of fun,
We’ll go dancing.
Meanwhile…

It’s a wink and a wiggle and a giggle in the grass
And I’ll trip the light fandango,
A pinch and a diddle in the middle of what passes by.
It’s a very short road
From the pinch and the punch
To the paunch and the pouch
And the pension.
It’s a very short road
To the ten thousandth lunch
And the belch and the grouch
And the sigh.
In the meanwhile,
There are mouths to be kissed
Before mouths to be fed,
And a lot in between
In the meanwhile.
And a girl ought to celebrate what passes by.

Or I shall marry the businessman,
Five fat babies and lots of security.
Friday nights, if we think we can,
We’ll go dancing.
Meanwhile…

It’s a push and a fumble and a tumble in the sheets
And I’ll foot the highland fancy,
A dip in the butter and a flutter with what meets my eye.
It’s a very short fetch
From the push and the whoop
To the squint and the stoop
And the mumble.
It’s not much of a stretch
To the cribs and the croup
And the bosoms that droop
And go dry.
In the meanwhile,
There are mouths to be kissed
Before mouths to be fed,
And there’s many a tryst
And there’s many a bed
To be sampled and seen
In the meanwhile.
And a girl has to celebrate what passes by.

Or I shall marry the Prince of Wales,
Pearls and servants and dressing for festivals.
Friday nights, with him all in tails,
We’ll have dancing.
Meanwhile…

It’s a rip in the bustle and a rustle in the hay
And I’ll pitch the quick fantastic,
With flings of confetti and my petticoats away up high.
It’s a very short way
From the fling that’s for fun
To the thigh pressing un-
Der the table.
It’s a very short day
Till you’re stuck with just one
Or it has to be done
On the sly.
In the meanwhile,
There are mouths to be kissed
Before mouths to be fed,
And there’s many a tryst
And there’s many a bed,
There’s a lot I’ll have missed
But I’ll not have been dead
When I die!
And a person should celebrate everything
Passing by.

And I shall marry the miller’s son… Last Update

1 Like
25

Another this time from the great American poet Lou Reed - The Last Great American Whale.

They say he didn’t have an enemy
His was a greatness to behold
He was the last surviving progeny
The last one on this side of the world
He measured half a mile from tip to tail
silver and black with powerful fins
They say he could split a mountain in two
That’s how we got the Grand Canyon
Some say they saw him at the Great Lakes
Some say they saw him off the coast of Florida
My mother said she saw him in Chinatown
but you can’t always trust your mother.
Off the Carolinas the sun shines brightly in the day
The lighthouse glows ghostly there are night
The chief of a local tribe had killed a racist mayor’s son
and he’d been on death row since 1958
The mayor’s kid was a rowdy pig
spit on Indians and lots worse
The old chief buried a hatchet in his head
life compared to death for him seemed worse
The tribal brothers gathered in the lighthouse to sing
and tried to conjure up a storm or rain
The harbor parted and the great whale sprang full up
and caused a huge tidal wave
The wave crushed the jail and freed the chief
The tribe let out a roar
The whites were drowned
the browns and reds set free
but sadly one thing more
Some local yokel member of the NRA
kept a bazooka in his living room
and thinking he had the chief in his sights
blew the whale’s brains out with a lead harpoon
Well Americans don’t care for much of anything
land and water the least
And animal life is low on the totem pole
with human life not worth much more than infected yeast
Americans don’t care too much for beauty
They’ll sht* in a river, dump battery acid in a stream
They’ll watch dead rats wash up on the beach
and complain if they can’t swim
They say things are done for the majority
Don’t believe half of what you see
and none of what you hear
It’s a lot like what my painter friend Donald said to me
“Stick a fork in their ass and turn them over, they’re done”

  • had to change a word apparently
4 Likes
26

Oh dear, an awful idea for a thread - where to start? Three for now:

  1. First, one that comes to mind at every election:

The Last electioneer

The Politician pleads before you
You hear the words but you′ll ignore them
Love of life and liberty are going to take a fall

Well, well, well well I’m only human
You′re not sure and I’m not certain
Have you listened to the liars practising
Their smiling faces blank and grey?

I bring good news to all the people
I’ll heal the sick we′ll all be equal
No more working - buying - consuming - dying -
Everything is taken care of
No more hiding in the dark of night
Trust in me I am the light
I′m good I’m honest
No-one else is left
So will you vote for me?

Vote for me!

———————-

  1. Next, a poignant song reminding me of past lives:

Will you?

You drink your coffee,
I sip my tea,
And we’re sitting here, playing so cool,
Thinking, ‘What will be, will be.’
And it’s getting kind of late now,
Oh, I wonder if you’ll stay now,
Stay now, stay now, stay now,
Or will you just politely say ‘Goodnight’?
I move a little closer to you,
Not knowing quite what to do and I’m
Feeling all fingers and thumbs,
I spill my tea, oh silly me,
It’s getting kind of late now,
I wonder if you’ll stay now,
Stay now, stay now, stay now,
Or will you just politely say ‘Goodnight’?
And then we touch, much too much,
This moment has been waiting for a long, long time,
Makes me shiver,
Makes me quiver,
This moment I am so unsure,
This moment I have waited for,
Well is it something you’ve been waiting for,
Waiting for too?
Take off your eyes,
Bare your soul,
Gather me to you and make me whole,
Tell me your secrets,
Sing me the song,
Sing it to me in the silent tongue.
It’s getting kind of late now,
I wonder if you’ll stay now,
Stay now, stay now, stay now,
Or will you just politely say ‘Goodnight’?

(Followed by one of the few bits of sax music I like)

———————-

  1. Final today, my introduction to the band, a song I find rather haunting.

Script for a Jester’s tear

So here I am once more
In the playground of the broken hearts
One more experience, one more entry
In a diary, self penned
Yet another emotional suicide
Overdosed on sentiments and pride

Too late to say I love you
Too late to restage the play
Abandoning the relics
In my playground of yesterday

I’m losing on the swings
I’m losing on the roundabouts
I’m losing on the swings
I’m losing on the roundabouts
Too much, too soon, too far to go
Too late to play the game is over
The game is over

So here I am once more
In the playground of the broken hearts
I’m losing on the swings
I’m losing on the roundabouts
The game is over, over, over
Over, over, over, over, over

Yet another emotional suicide
Overdosed on sentiments and pride
I’m losing on the swings
I’m losing on the roundabouts
The game is over

Too late to say, “I love you”
Too late to restage the play
The game is over

I act the role in classic style
Of a martyr carved with twisted smile
To bleed the lyric for this song
To write the rights to right my wrongs
An epitaph to a broken dream
To exercise this silent scream
A scream that’s born from sorrow

I never did write that love song
The words just never seemed to flow
Now sad in reflection did I gaze through perfection
And examine the shadows
On the other side of the morning
And examine the shadows
On the other side of morning
Promised wedding now awake
Promised wedding now awake
Awake, awake, awake, awake

The fool escaped from paradise
Will look over his shoulder and cry
Sit and chew on daffodils and struggle to answer why?
As you grow up and leave the playground
Where you kissed your prince and found your frog
Remember the jester that showed you tears
The script for tears

So I’ll hold my peace forever
When you wear your bridal gown
In the silence of my shame the mute
That sang the sirens’ song
Has gone solo in the game
I’ve gone solo in the game
But the game is over

Can you still say you love me?
Can you still say you love me?
Can you still say that you love me?
Do you love me, do you love me?
Do you love me, do you love me?
Do you love me just as you did

Can you still say you love me?
Can you still say you love me?
Can you still say that you love me?
Just as is, just as is

Do you love me, do you love me?
Do you love me?

———————-

  1. Edgar Broughton, from the EB Band’s final album Superchip
  2. Hazel O’Connor, from the album Breaking glass
  3. Marillion, title track of the album.
4 Likes
27

I’m going to nominate just one line from 1 song:

“I’ve been waiting all night for someone like you but, you’ll have to do”

From “Run and Run” by 80’s alt-popsters The Psychedelic Furs" , on their 3rd album “Forever Now”

28

My favorite opening line ever :+1:

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29

Before you slip into unconsciousness
I’d like to have another kiss
Another flashing chance at bliss
Another kiss, another kiss

The days are bright and filled with pain
Enclose me in your gentle rain
The time you ran was too insane
We’ll meet again, we’ll meet again

Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
You’d rather fly, I’d rather die

The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, I’ll drop a line

2 Likes
30

Along with Fish mentioned by @Innocent_Bystander I have always enjoyed Tom Mcrae’s lyrics…

End of the World News.

You wake up to the sound of alarms and your
Driving your fabulous car
Listening to the music that reminds you
You used to be young you used to be young

And now you’re searching, for a sign with your name
To define you the king of the game
What will you do when there’s nothing left
For you to earn and for you to learn

So dose me up once is not enough
I can still see the ground
And from this high rise view looking down on you
I’m not the one wasting my time

And every culture has it’s own magazine
And information takes the place of your dreams
Finding ways to fill up the silence
But it’s all that you need turn on your TV

So dose me up once is not enough
I can still see the ground
And from this high rise view looking down on you
I’m not the one wasting my time

This is the end of the world news
This is the end of the world news sponsored by god

So dose me up once is not enough
I can still see the ground
And from this high rise view looking down on you
I’m not the one wasting my time

So dose me up once is not enough
I can still see the ground
And from this high rise view looking down on you
I’m not the one wasting my time

So dose me up once is not enough
I can still see the ground
And from this high rise view looking down on you
I’m not the one wasting my time

31

Here’s looking at you,kid. - The Gaslight Anthem

Love this song. Reminds me of my younger years. Especially the lines:
“But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That will cut you to ribbons sometimes.
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it’s what she says you oughta do.”

Anyway,here are the complete lyrics:

You can tell Gayle, if she calls,
That I’m famous now for all of these rock and roll songs.
And even if that’s a lie, she should’ve given me a try.
When we were kids on the field of the first day of school.
I would’ve been her fool.
And I would’ve sang out your name in those old high school halls.
You tell that to Gayle, if she calls.

And you can tell Jane, if she writes,
That I’m drunk off all these stars and all these crazy Hollywood nights.
And that’s a total deceit, but she should’ve married me.
And tell her I spent every night of my youth on the floor,
Bleeding out from all these wounds.
I would’ve gotten her a ride out of that town she despised.
You tell that to Janey, if she writes.

But boys will be boys and girls have those eyes
That will cut you to ribbons sometimes.
And all you can do is just wait by the moon
And bleed if it’s what she says you oughta do.

You remind Anna, if she asks why,
That a thief stole my heart while she was making up her mind.
I heard she lives in Brooklyn with the cool,
Goes crazy over that New York scene on 7th Avenue.
But I used to wait at the diner, a million nights without her,
Praying she won’t cancel again tonight.
And the waiter served my coffee with a consolation sigh.
You remind Anna, if she asks why.
Tell her it’s all right.

You know it’s hard to tell you this.
Oh it’s hard to tell you this.
Here’s looking at you, Kid.

1 Like
32

Joni Mitchell - Hejira

I’m traveling in some vehicle
I’m sitting in some cafe
A defector from the petty wars
That shell shock love away
There’s comfort in melancholy
When there’s no need to explain
It’s just as natural as the weather
In this moody sky today
In our possessive coupling
So much could not be expressed
So now I’m returning to myself
These things that you and I suppressed
I see something of myself in everyone
Just at this moment of the world
As snow gathers like bolts of lace
Waltzing on a ballroom girl

You know it never has been easy
Whether you do or you do not resign
Whether you travel the breadth of extremities
Or stick to some straighter line
Now here’s a man and a woman sitting on a rock
They’re either going to thaw out or freeze
Listen
Strains of Benny Goodman
Coming through the snow and the pinewood trees
I’m porous with travel fever
But you know I’m so glad to be on my own
Still somehow the slightest touch of a stranger
Can set up trembling in my bones
I know no one’s going to show me everything
We all come and go unknown
Each so deep and superficial
Between the forceps and the stone

Well I looked at the granite markers
Those tribute to finality to eternity
And then I looked at myself here
Chicken scratching for my immortality
In the church they light the candles
And the wax rolls down like tears
There’s the hope and the hopelessness
I’ve witnessed thirty years
We’re only particles of change I know I know
Orbiting around the sun
But how can I have that point of view
When I’m always bound and tied to someone
White flags of winter chimneys
Waving truce against the moon
In the mirrors of a modern bank
From the window of a hotel room

I’m traveling in some vehicle
I’m sitting in some cafe
A defector from the petty wars
Until love sucks me back that way

1 Like
33

Great song and a great album too.

2 Likes
34

Here are a few lines from me:

Valentines Day - ABC
“If you gave me a pound for the moments I missed, and I got dancing lessons for the all lips I should have kissed, I’d be a millionaire, I’d be a Fred Astaire………”

Belfast Child - Simple Minds
“All my life here I have spent, with my faith in God and church and the Government”

More to follow

Great thread - thanks for starting

1 Like
35

Such a difficult choice!!!

For me it has to be ‘The Professor’ - Neil Peart of Rush.
Everyday Glory from the Counterparts album

If the future’s looking dark
We’re the ones who have to shine
If there’s no one in control
We’re the ones who draw the line
Though we live in trying times
We’re the ones who have to try
Though we know that time has wings
We’re the ones who have to fly…

36

I could easily fill this thread with his words, the lyrics to songs are nearly always a piece of modern poetry.

37

The Pass – Presto

Someone set a bad example
Made surrender seem all right
The act of a noble warrior
Who lost the will to fight
…
No hero in your tragedy
No daring in your escape
No salutes for your surrender
Nothing noble in your fate

Yes , Neil was indeed a poet ,sadly missed

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38

Thank you for choosing one of the other two lyrics I was debating quoting - ‘Made surrender seem alright’ gets me everytime. Those who gave up on the band’s later work are really missing out.

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39

EBTG are serial great lyricists, with their songs often being groat little stories - the albums “Idlewild” and “Baby the Stars Shine Bright” being good examples.

From “Oxford Street” from Idlewild:
When I was 10, I thought my brother was God, he’d lie in bed, turn off the light with a fishing rod.
And I learnt the names of all his football team, and I still remembered them, when I was nineteen.

From “Blue Moon Rose” from Idlewild:
I have a friend and she comes from the high plains
Wise as the hills and fresh as the rain
Took me an atlas to find her town
And realise that the world is round

And, completely randomly, from All Right Now” by Free:
Now don’t you wait, or hesitate
Let’s move before they raise the parking rate

40

I’ve always liked Squeeze, I think they turned out great songs with equally good lyrics from the songwriting duo of Tilbrook and Difford. This is “Tempted”, one of my personal faves:

I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste, a flannel for my face
Pajamas, a hairbrush, new shoes and a case
I said to my reflection, “Let’s get out of this place”
Past the church and the steeple, the laundry on the hill
The billboards and the buildings, memories of it still
Keep calling and calling, but forget it all, I know I will

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What’s been going on
Now that you have gone
There’s no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

I’m at the carpark, the airport, the baggage carousel
The people keep on crowding, I’m wishing I was well
I said, “It’s no occasion, it’s no story I can tell”
At my bedside, empty pocket, a foot without a sock
Your body gets much closer, I fumble for the clock
Alarmed by the seduction, I wish that it would stop

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What’s been going on
Now that you have gone
There’s no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

I bought a novel, some perfume, a fortune all for you
But it’s not my conscience that hates to be untrue
I asked of my reflection, “Tell me, what is there to do?”

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
What’s been going on
Now that you have gone
There’s no other
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered

Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
Tempted by the fruit of another
Tempted but the truth is discovered
Tempted by the fruit of another

2 Likes
41

I considered some of the lyrics from various Yes songs…and if I had been born on the same planet as Jon Anderson, I might have known what the hell they were about! :laughing: :laughing:

42

“…and if I had been born on the same planet as Jon Anderson, I might have known what the hell they were about!” :laughing: :laughing:

Well that’s a good point Swanny, I think the same thing could be said for “The Happy Mondays” as Shaun Ryder was off his txxs 24x7 throughout the entire 90’s. “Twisting my melon man”? I case my rest!

1 Like