Songs with Clever Lines

[DarcyFarrow]

So which lines jump out at you as especially clever or well written?

To start:  "We have to shout above the din of our Rice Crispies" ("Synchronicity II," the Police)

              "Is her power all in her club sandwich?" ("Waitress," Tori Amos)

[cm9889168]

I've mentioned his song in a few other posts:

"We Didn't Start The Fire"  by Billy Joel

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFTLKWw542g

[DarcyFarrow]

Norgwegian Wood (Beatles):  "So I lit a fire"  [in the fireplace or did he burn the house down?]

[MaVolta]

Norgwegian Wood (Beatles):  "So I lit a fire"  [in the fireplace or did he burn the house down?]

That entire song is a bit "tilted" IMO. 🙃

[MaVolta]

This song paints a portrait of someone who literally painted portraits.  These lines are the ones that really stand out, for me. (one of my favorite songs of all time)

Portraits hung in empty halls
Frameless heads on nameless walls
With eyes that watch the world and can't forget

Vincent  -  Don McLean

[DarcyFarrow]

"Ah, but let's not forget that the folks of Toledo unselfishly gave us the scale.
No springs, honest weight, that's the promise they made,
so smile and be thankful next time you get weighed."

("Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio,"  John Denver)

[1968Hoya46]

Out past the cornfields where the woods got heavy

Out in the back seat of my '60 Chevy

Workin' on mysteries without any clues

Workin' on our night moves

We weren't in love oh no far from it

We weren't searchin' for some pie in the sky summit

We were just young and restless and bored

I used her, she used me

But neither one cared

We were getting our share.

Night Moves: Bob Seger

Seger's nostalgic reminiscence of adolescence, with all its passion, clumsy uncertainty, selfishness and learning. I think he's a great (and perhaps underrated) wordsmith who can really paint a picture.

[BeatleloverKT]

[LouLit01]

Time

Pink Floyd

Far away
Across the field
Tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spell

[BeatleloverKT]

Continuing with the amazing songs of Pink Floyd.

Today I choose “Have a Cigar“

Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar

You’re gonna go far

You’re gonna fly high

You’re never gonna die

You’re gonna make it if you try

They’re gonna love you

And the best line of the song, imo:

We call it “Riding the gravy train”

[LouLit01]

And the best line of the song, imo:

We call it “Riding the gravy train”

I like...

By the way, Which one's Pink?

[MaVolta]

And who else but Pink Floyd would think of this - -

"Wrong, do it again! Wrong, do it again!"
"If you don't eat yer meat, you can't have any pudding
How can you have any pudding if you don't eat yer meat?"
"You, yes, you behind the bike sheds, stand still, laddy"

Another Brick in the Wall

[MaVolta]

Stuck in the Middle with You  -  Stealers Wheel

Well I don't know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain't right,
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you

[LouLit01]

Lawyers Guns and Money

Warren Zevon

I went home with a waitress the way I always do
How was I to know she was with the Russians, too?

I was gambling in Havana, I took a little risk
Send lawyers, guns, and money
Dad, get me out of this!

[LouLit01]

Smuggler's Blues

Glen Frey

Here's your ticket, baby

Take your suitcase in your hand

Here's a little money, now

Do it just the way we planned

You be cool for 20 hours

And I'll pay you 20 grand

[LouLit01]

Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now

My Back Pages

Bob Dylan

[MaVolta]

This entire song is well written. The lyrics are poignant and deliver a powerful message. But, I'll go with these lines from the third verse to this one - - -

Sound of Silence  -  S & G

"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell

[MaVolta]

Whiter Shade of Pale  -  Procol Harum

And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly
Turned a whiter shade of pale

[MaVolta]

Just about anything written by Lennon & McCartney could be filed under this topic! This is a good one.

Across the Universe  -  The Beatles

Words are flowing out
Like endless rain into a paper cup

[BeatleloverKT]

Ditto on anything by the Beatles but

tonight I’m going with 

Whole lotta love   Led Zeppelin

”You need cooling

Baby I’m not fooling 

I’m gonna send ya

Back to schooling”

[LouLit01]

I hope Neil Young will remember

A southern man don't need him 'round anyhow 

Sweet Home Alabama

Lynyrd Skynyrd

[TheGent2U]

Re "Sweet Home, Alabama": Neil and the original Skynyrd were on good terms. He actually played this song with them, live, at least once.

[1968Hoya46]

”Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then”.  

Against The Wind (nice turn of phrase by Bob Seger)

[MaVolta]

Just Dropped In  -  Kenny Rogers & The First Edition

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

[MaVolta]

You're So Vain  -  Carly Simon

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you

[LouLit01]

B-B-B-baby, baby, baby, why you want to treat me this way
You know I'm still your lover boy, I still feel the same way
That's when she told me a story 'bout free milk and a cow
She said no hug-ee no kiss-ee until I get a weddin' vow
My honey, my baby, don't put my love upon no shelf
She said don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself

Keep Your Hands to Yourself

The Georgia Satellites

[BeatleloverKT]

You shook me all night long  AC/DC

All their songs have clever lyrics, imo but this one, with references of a woman

to a car, is their best, imo

[LouLit01]

This should be a fun category!

Sitting in an English garden

Waiting for the sun

If the sun don't come you get a tan

From standing in the English rain.

I am the Walrus

The Beatles

[ls1873]

WAVE  UPON  WAVE  OF  DEMENTED  AVENGERS  MARCH  CHEERFULY  OUT  OF  OBSCURITY  AND  INTO  THE  DREAM......FROM  THE  SONG  SHEEP  BY  PINK  FLOYD.