The Great Lyrics Thread

General music discussion.
Dr. Medulla
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The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Dr. Medulla »

I looked to see if we've got one of these catch-all threads for lyrics that impress us, but found nothing, so here we go. I'll offer up a snippet that closes a super-long song, "Fewer Afraid" by The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die.
You believe in something watching over
I think they have a sick sense of humor
As quickly as it happens, they forget
Then it happens again and again and again and again

You cry at the news, I just turn it off
They say there's nothing we can do and it never stops
You believe in a god watching over
I think the world's fucked up and brutal
Senseless violence with no guiding light
I can't live like this, but I'm not ready to die

The world is a beautiful place, but we have to make it that way
Whenever you find home, we'll make it more than just a shelter
If everyone belongs there, it will hold us all together
If you're afraid to die, then so am I
It could work as a mantra for me.

"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

gkbill
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by gkbill »

Hello,

If snippets count, I've always liked this from Archers of Loaf's Web in Front: "You're not the one that let me down, but thanks for offering!".



There's a few more snippets in here as well.

dave202
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Location: Dundee Scotland

Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by dave202 »

I think 'The Fable of the Urban Fox,' by Arab Strap is a fantastic lyric, and some people might even think it's just about foxes!

They came in from the country
They were hounded from their homes
They'd always dreamed about the city
With its towers and spires and domes
So the dog fox and his vixen
Vowed to flee their savage fields
To a land of hope and glory
And a future it could yield

There's no rest however far we roam
Somewhere on this earth, we will find home

But the city didn't want the foxes, the city didn't care
Their help and hope and heart and hearth they dreamed of weren't there
So they scavenged and they foraged
Slept from shitty place to places
Among the hostile architecture
And all the hostile faces

There's no rest however far we roam
Somewhere on this earth, we will find home

And the daily papers found their plight and presence most concerning
Their headlines screamed enough's enough, we're overcome with vermin
These foxes skulk around our streets
The locals live in fear
These scruffy scrounging parasites
They don't belong 'round here

There's no rest however far we roam
Somewhere on this earth, we will find home

One night they met a bulldog
He said, "What you doing here, then?"
They told him of the redcoats, of their fallen the hunted brethren
They said, "There is no going home now, the land we love is cruel"
The dog said, "Fuck off back to Foxland, these streets are fucking full"

There's no rest however far we roam
Somewhere on this earth, we will find home

One cold and hungry night, they find their dinner sitting pretty
The foxes can't believe their luck, who keeps chickens in the city?
But the chicken lover sees them prowl his pricey habitat
So he bashes both their heads in with his trusty cricket bat

There's no rest however far we roam
Somewhere on this earth, we will find home

Mimi
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Mimi »

I don't know, but I've always been impressed with Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs
She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, it's so cute"
She's watching the detectives
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
Long shot of that jumping sign
Invisible shivers running down my spine
Cut to baby taking off her clothes
Close-up of the sign that says: "We never close"
You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake
She is watching the detectives
"Oh, he's so cute"
She is watching the detectives
Oh, and they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Now baby's here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit
Someone's scratching at the window, I wonder, who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
It only took my little fingers to blow you away
Just like watching the detectives
Don't get cute
Just like watching the detectives
I get so angry when the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart

Low Down Low
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Low Down Low »

Always loved this from John Prine, one of my favourite songwriters. Particularly the lines "we lost Davy in the Korean War/And I still don't know what for/Don't matter anymore". So simple and spare, yet conveys so much history and pain. Prine was in his early 20s when he wrote this, which i find quite staggering really.


Hello in there

We had an apartment in the city
Me and Loretta liked living there
Well, it'd been years since the kids had grown
A life of their own, left us alone

John and Linda live in Omaha
And Joe is somewhere on the road
We lost Davy in the Korean war
And I still don't know what for, don't matter anymore

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"

Me and Loretta, we don't talk much more
She sits and stares through the back door screen
And all the news just repeats itself
Like some forgotten dream that we've both seen

Someday I'll go and call up Rudy
We worked together at the factory
What could I say if he asks "What's new?"
"Nothing, what's with you? Nothing much to do"

You know that old trees just grow stronger
And old rivers grow wilder every day
Old people just grow lonesome
Waiting for someone to say, "Hello in there, hello"

So if you're walking down the street sometime
And spot some hollow ancient eyes
Please don't just pass 'em by and stare
As if you didn't care, say, "Hello in there, hello"

gkbill
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by gkbill »

Mimi wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 10:29am
I don't know, but I've always been impressed with Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs
She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, it's so cute"
She's watching the detectives
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
Long shot of that jumping sign
Invisible shivers running down my spine
Cut to baby taking off her clothes
Close-up of the sign that says: "We never close"
You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake
She is watching the detectives
"Oh, he's so cute"
She is watching the detectives
Oh, and they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Now baby's here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit
Someone's scratching at the window, I wonder, who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
It only took my little fingers to blow you away
Just like watching the detectives
Don't get cute
Just like watching the detectives
I get so angry when the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
Hello,

Don't get me started with Elvis' lyrics:

I said "I'm so happy I could die!"
She said drop dead and left with another guy

Don't say word if it's just a rumor,
Don't say word if there's any doubt,
Sometimes I think love is just a tumor,
You've got to cut out.

Kory
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Kory »

I can't let this thread go by without adding a couple of Devoto gems:
They will show me what I want to see
We will watch without grief
We stay one step ahead of relief
You tell me we've been praying
For a bright and clever hell
I think we've been forced to our knees but I can't tell

Sometimes I forget that we're supposed to be in love
Sometimes I forget my position

It's so hot in here
What are they trying to hatch?
We must not be frail, we must watch
Now that I'm out of touch with anger
Now I have nothing to live up to
And I don't know when to stop joking
When I stop I hope I am with you
Used to make phantoms I could later chase
Images of all that could be desired
Then I got tired of counting all of these blessings
And then I just got tired
Everything`d be just fine
If I had the right pastime
I`d`ve been Raskolnikov
But Mother Nature ripped me off
In Philadelphia
I`m sure that I felt healthier
Maybe it`s right to be nervous now
"Suck our Earth dick, Martians!" —Doc

Marky Dread
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Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am

Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

gkbill wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 2:02pm
Mimi wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 10:29am
I don't know, but I've always been impressed with Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Nice girls, not one with a defect
Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct
Red dogs under illegal legs
She looks so good that he gets down and begs
She is watching the detectives
"Ooh, it's so cute"
She's watching the detectives
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
Long shot of that jumping sign
Invisible shivers running down my spine
Cut to baby taking off her clothes
Close-up of the sign that says: "We never close"
You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette
She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet
I don't know how much more of this I can take
She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake
She is watching the detectives
"Oh, he's so cute"
She is watching the detectives
Oh, and they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot
They beat him up until the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
You think you're alone until you realize you're in it
Now baby's here to stay, love is here for a visit
They call it instant justice when it's past the legal limit
Someone's scratching at the window, I wonder, who is it?
The detectives come to check if you belong to the parents
Who are ready to hear the worst about their daughter's disappearance
Though it nearly took a miracle to get you to stay
It only took my little fingers to blow you away
Just like watching the detectives
Don't get cute
Just like watching the detectives
I get so angry when the teardrops start
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart
Hello,

Don't get me started with Elvis' lyrics:

I said "I'm so happy I could die!"
She said drop dead and left with another guy

Don't say word if it's just a rumor,
Don't say word if there's any doubt,
Sometimes I think love is just a tumor,
You've got to cut out.
An incredible lyricist.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Sparky
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Sparky »

Kory wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 3:06pm
I can't let this thread go by without adding a couple of Devoto gems:

One of my favorite Devoto songs:
I am angry, I am ill and I'm as ugly as sin
My irritability keeps me alive and kicking
I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit
I know beauty and I know a good thing when I see it
Last edited by Sparky on 22 Apr 2022, 8:33pm, edited 1 time in total.
God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung

Sparky
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Sparky »

Mimi wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 10:29am
I don't know, but I've always been impressed with Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Nice girls, not one with a defect
I agree, EC is a fantastic lyricist. I really like this as well:
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung

gkbill
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Joined: 23 Jun 2008, 9:21pm

Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by gkbill »

Sparky wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 8:33pm
Mimi wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 10:29am
I don't know, but I've always been impressed with Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Nice girls, not one with a defect
I agree, EC is a fantastic lyricist. I really like this as well:
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Hello,

New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess

Or

Chapter One: We didn't really get along
Chapter Two: I think I fell in love with you
You said you'd stand by me
In the middle of Chapter Three
But you were up to your old tricks
In Chapters Four, Five and Six.
And I'm giving you a longing look
The way you walk
The way you talk and try to kiss me and laugh
In four or five paragraphs.
All your compliments and your cutting remarks
Are captured here in my quotation marks.

The man has a way with words...

gkbill
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Joined: 23 Jun 2008, 9:21pm

Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by gkbill »

gkbill wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 9:23pm
Sparky wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 8:33pm
Mimi wrote:
22 Apr 2022, 10:29am
I don't know, but I've always been impressed with Watching the Detectives by Elvis Costello
Nice girls, not one with a defect
I agree, EC is a fantastic lyricist. I really like this as well:
Photographs of fancy tricks to get your kicks at sixty-six
He thinks of all the lips that he licks
And all the girls that he's going to fix
She gave a little flirt, gave herself a little cuddle
But there's no place here for the mini-skirt waddle
Capital punishment, she's last year's model
They call her Natasha when she looks like Elsie
I don't want to go to Chelsea
Hello,

New Amsterdam it's become much too much
Till I have the possession of everything she touches
Till I step on the brake to get out of her clutches
Till I speak double dutch to a real double duchess

Or

Chapter One: We didn't really get along
Chapter Two: I think I fell in love with you
You said you'd stand by me
In the middle of Chapter Three
But you were up to your old tricks
In Chapters Four, Five and Six.
And I'm giving you a longing look
The way you walk
The way you talk and try to kiss me and laugh
In four or five paragraphs.
All your compliments and your cutting remarks
Are captured here in my quotation marks.

The man has a way with words...

Low Down Low
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Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 9:08am

Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Low Down Low »

Wouldn't be the biggest EC fan here, but he sure did write some great songs. Shipbuilding and The Ice Cream Man would be my picks from the work that i know.

Marky Dread
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Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Marky Dread »

The humour in Mystery Dance always makes me smile. Two young lovers fumbling around for the first time.

Romeo was restless, he was ready to kill
He jumped out the window 'cause he couldn't sit still
Juliet was waiting with a safety net
He said, "Don't bury me 'cause I'm not dead yet"
Why don't you tell me about the mystery dance
I want to know about the mystery dance
Why don't you show me
'Cause I've tried and I've tried, and I'm still mystified
I can't do it anymore and I'm not satisfied
Well, I remember when the lights went out
And I was tryin' to make it look like it was never in doubt
She thought that I knew, and I thought that she knew
So both of us were willing, but we didn't know how to do it
Well, I was down under the covers in the middle of the night
Tryin' to discover my left foot from my right
You can see those pictures in any magazine
But what's the use of looking when you don't know what they mean?
Why don't you tell me about the mystery dance
I want to know about the mystery dance
Why don't you show me
'Cause I've tried and I've tried, and I'm still mystified
I can't do it anymore and I'm not satisfied
Last edited by Marky Dread on 23 Apr 2022, 5:19am, edited 1 time in total.
Image

Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty


We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.

"Without the common people you're nothing"

Nos Sumus Una Familia

Low Down Low
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Posts: 4922
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 9:08am

Re: The Great Lyrics Thread

Post by Low Down Low »

Low Down Low wrote:
23 Apr 2022, 5:05am
Wouldn't be the biggest EC fan here, but he sure did write some great songs. Shipbuilding and The Ice Cream Man would be my picks from the work that i know.
I meant Delivery man. Obviously :twitch:

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