Songs with Clever Lines

[BeatleloverKT]

For a dancer  Jackson Browne

The “Late for the sky” album, released in

1974, was a genius masterpiece that I 

couldn’t stop playing! There isn’t one bad

song on it. For a dancer is one of his

finest, a clever song about much more

than being a dancer. From the third verse:

Just do the steps that you’ve been shown

By everyone you’ve ever known

Until the dance becomes your very own

No matter how close to yours

Another’s steps have grown

In the end there is one dance you’ll do alone

[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)

[BeatleloverKT]

Tangled up in blue, 1975.  Dylan. This

song, like all of his songs, is so cleverly

worded it’s hard for me to pick a verse.

Kudos to Dylan for writing this

masterpiece. From Verse 2:

She was married when we first met

Soon to be divorced

I helped her out of a jam I guess

But I used a little too much force

We drove that car as far as we could

Abandoned it out west

Split up on a dark sad night

Both agreeing it was best

She turned around to look at me
As I was walkin’ away

I heard her say over her shoulder

We’ll meet again someday

On the avenue

Tangled up in blue

[DarcyFarrow]

Volcano (U2):

"Your eyes were like landing lights
They used to be the clearest blue
Now you don't see so well
The future's gonna land on you"

[SusanF606311]

Adelaide's Lament by Frank Loesser (from the musical, Guys and Dolls)

The average unmarried female
Basically insecure
Due to some long frustration may react
With psychosomatic symptoms
Difficult to endure
Affecting the upper respiratory tract.

In other words, just from waiting around for that plain little band of gold
A person can develop a cold.

You can spray her wherever you figure the streptococci lurk
You can give her a shot for whatever she's got, but it just won't work
If she's tired of getting the fish eye from the hotel clerk
A person can develop a cold.

The female remaining single
Just in the legal sense
Shows a neurotic tendency, see note: (looks at note)
Chronic organic syndromes
Toxic or hypertense
Involving the eye, the ear, the nose, and throat.

In other words, just from worrying whether the wedding is on or off
A person can develop a cough.

You can feed her all day with the vitamin A and the Bromofizz
But the medicine never gets anywhere near where the trouble is.
If she's getting a kind of name for herself, and the name ain't his
A person can develop a cough.

[BeatleloverKT]

Apple Scruffs (1970)  George Harrison.
The Apple Scruffs were the devoted

admirers  and fans of the Beatles,

so legend says 🤷‍

Now I’ve watched you sitting there

Seen the passers-by all stare

Like you have no place to go 

But there’s so much they don’t know

About Apple Scruffs

[DarcyFarrow]

The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)--U2:

"We got language so we can't communicate
Religion so I can love and hate
Music so I can exaggerate my pain, and give it a name"

[MaVolta]

Written by Rick Nelson, the entire song is a clever description of an evening at "The Garden", but the descriptions of John Lennon and George Harrison in verse two, ingenious! Another talent, gone too soon. RIP Rick.

Garden Party  -  Rick Nelson

Went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends
A chance to share old memories and play our songs again
When I got to the garden party, they all knew my name
No one recognized me, I didn't look the same

People came from miles around, everyone was there
Yoko brought her walrus, there was magic in the air
And over in the corner, much to my surprise
Mr. Hughes hid in Dylan's shoes wearing his disguise

Played them all the old songs, thought that's why they came
No one heard the music, we didn't look the same
I said hello to "Mary Lou", "She Belongs to Me"
When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave

Someone opened up a closet door and out stepped Johnny B. Goode
Playing guitar like a-ringin' a bell and lookin' like he should
If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck
But if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck

And it's all right now, learned my lesson well
You see, ya can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself

[DarcyFarrow]

Late for the Sky (Jackson Browne):

"You never knew what I loved in you
I don't know what you loved in me
Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be"

[BeatleloverKT]

Abracadabra  Steve Miller Band. This

song, about a guy hot for the girl of

his dreams has pretty simple and

predictable lyrics, except for Verse Six:

I feel the magic in your caress

I feel magic when I touch your dress

Silk and satin, leather and lace

Black panties with an Angels face 

[BeatleloverKT]

Piano Man  Billy Joel (1973) This song,

based on his own experience as a

piano-lounge singer for six months just

to pay rent under an assumed name.

He has said he has no idea why the song

became so popular. I find the song extremely

cleverly worded and one of my favs of his.

From Verse Five:

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine

He gets me my drinks for free

And he’s quick with a joke or to 

light up your smoke

But there’s someplace that he’d rather be
He says “Bill, I believe this is killing me”

As the smile ran away from his face

”Well I’m sure that I could be a movie star

If I could get out of this place”

[DarcyFarrow]

Winter (Tori Amos)

"But I only can see myself
Skating around the truth who I am
But I know, dad, the ice is getting thin"

[BeatleloverKT]

For a dancer  Jackson Browne

The “Late for the sky” album, released in

1974, was a genius masterpiece that I 

couldn’t stop playing! There isn’t one bad

song on it. For a dancer is one of his

finest, a clever song about much more

than being a dancer. From the third verse:

Just do the steps that you’ve been shown

By everyone you’ve ever known

Until the dance becomes your very own

No matter how close to yours

Another’s steps have grown

In the end there is one dance you’ll do alone

[DarcyFarrow]

True (Concrete Blonde):

"And if I had the choice I'd take the voice I got
Cause it was hard to find. . . .

if I can't walk proud, I'd rather walk away."

[MaVolta]

This list would be incomplete without a song by Stephen Stills. The alliteration in this one is especially brilliant, so I'll go with . . . 

Helplessly Hoping  -  CSN 

Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit 

he runs wishing he could fly
only to trip at the sound of good-bye

Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
at the empty place inside

Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worries
did he hear a good-bye or even

Hello

They are 1 person
They are too alone
They are 3 together
They are for each other

[BeatleloverKT]

She’s so cold  Stones. This song, from the 

incredible Emotional Rescue album spins

a tale of romance, sex and amazingly

about aging. Kudos to Mick and Keith

for writing this clever tune, one of my Stones favs.

This is from the third verse:

Shes so cold, she’s so cold

She’s so cold cold cold

Like a tombstone

She’s so cold, she’s so cold

She’s so cold cold cold like an ice cream cone

She’s so cold she’s so cold

I dare not touch her my hand just froze

[MaVolta]

Written by Don Henley, and a hit for Linda Ronstadt -  The entire song is beautifully written poetry, but these lines are the ones that stand out, to me - 

Desperado

Don't you draw the queen of diamonds boy
She'll beat you if she's able
The queen of hearts is always your best bet
Well, it seems to me some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the things that you can't get

[BeatleloverKT]

Turn the page  Bob Segar. My source said

he wrote or finished writing it on the way

to his next gig. He didn’t have it memorized

or titled. First time he performed it he 

wrote on the bottom Turn the page. True?

maybe, maybe not but from the 4th verse
of this incredible song:

Most times you can’t hear ‘em talk

Other times you can

All the same old cliches

Is that a woman or a man?

And you always seem outnumbered 

You don’t dare make a stand

[MaVolta]

@BeatleloverKT   -  Yes! Bob Seger, another American treasurer! And that's one of my favorite songs of his. 

[DED46]

LOVE INTERRUPTION - Jack White

I want love to, walk right up and bite me
Grab a hold of me and fight me leave me dying on the ground.

And I want love to, split my mouth wide open and
Cover up my ears and never let me hear a sound.

[DarcyFarrow]

For a Dancer (Jackson Browne):

"And somewhere between the time you arrive
And the time you go
May lie a reason you were alive
But you'll never know"

[DarcyFarrow]

Fountain of Sorrow (Jackson Browne):

"And while the future's there for anyone to change still you know it seems
It would be easier sometimes to change the past"

[MaVolta]

Cool little song from 1971, story behind the song here: https://www.songfacts.com/facts/five-man-electrical-band/signs

Signs  -  Five Man Electrical Band

And the sign said "Long-haired freaky people need not apply"
So I tucked my hair up under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said "You look like a fine upstanding young man, I think you'll do"
So I took off my hat, I said "Imagine that. Huh! Me workin' for you!"
Whoa-oh-oh

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

And the sign said anybody caught trespassin' would be shot on sight
So I jumped on the fence and-a yelled at the house, "Hey! What gives you
the right?"
"To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in"
"If God was here he'd tell you to your face, Man, you're some kinda sinner"

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Now, hey you, mister, can't you read?
You've got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can't even watch, no you can't eat
You ain't supposed to be here
The sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside
Ugh!

And the sign said, "Everybody welcome. Come in, kneel down and pray"
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all, I didn't have a
penny to pay
So I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said, "Thank you, Lord, for thinkin' 'bout me. I'm alive and doin' fine."
Wooo!

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

[BeatleloverKT]

Sisters of the moon  The Mac, 1979 The

follow up Tusk album has incredible music

on it. This song is just one of those. Kudos

to Stevie for writing this amazing song.

From the 1st verse:

Intense silence

As she walked in the room

Her black robes trailing

Sister of the moon

And a black widow spider makes

More sound than she

And black moons in those eyes of hers

Made more sense to me

[DarcyFarrow]

Valparaiso (Sting):

"And every road I walked would take me down to the sea
With every broken promise in my sack"

[BeatleloverKT]

Make me smile  Chicago, 1970

This song, which I always interpreted as

the guy trying to get the girl to stay, love

him and ultimately smile, is clever in its

simply worded lyrics and message. Love

the vocals by Terry Kath and the driving

beat of the song.  It has been my fav

Chicago song since 1970

Living life is just a game so they say

All the games we used to play fade away

We may now enjoy the dreams we shared

so long ago

Oh my darling

Got to have you

Feel the magic

When I hold you
Cry sweet tears of joy

Touch the sky

[DarcyFarrow]

Lawyers in Love (Jackson Browne):

"Last night I watched the news from Washington (the Capitol)
The Russians escaped while we weren't watching them (as Russians will)
Now we've got all this room, we've even got the moon
And I hear the U.S.S.R will be open soon

As vacation land for lawyers in love"

[MaVolta]

Lawyers in Love (Jackson Browne)

Good one, for sure!

[BeatleloverKT]

Continuing with the musical genius that is

Jackson Browne. He has a knack for

taking  the most mundane topics and

spinning them into genius in song.

This is one of my favs of his, from

the 3rd verse:

Fountain of Sorrow (1974)
Now the things that I remember seem

so distant and so small

Though it really hasn’t been

that long a time

What I was seeing wasn’t what was

happening at all

Although for awhile our path did seem to climb

When you see through love’s illusions

there lies the danger 

And your perfect lover just looks like a 

perfect fool

So you go running off in search

of a perfect stranger

While the loneliness seems to spring from

your life like a fountain from a pool

[BeatleloverKT]

Pump it up  Elvis Costello&the Attractions, 1978

This song, a satire with influences from
Dylan, is one of his best pieces of work.

The lyrics are catchy and the beat is
driving. From the first verse:

I’ve been on tenterhooks, ending in dirty looks

List’ning to the Muzak, thinking ‘bout this ‘n’ that

She said “That’s that, I don’t want to chitter-chat”

Turn it down a little bit or turn it down flat

Pump it up, when you really don’t need it

Pump it up, until you can feel it

[BeatleloverKT]

Are you sitting comfortably  Moody Blues (1969)

One of my favorite tunes by the band. Clever imagery dispersed with Ray’s incredible flute and Justin’s beautiful, haunting voice. Kudos to Justin and Ray for writing this masterpiece:

Take another sip my love and

see what you will see

a fleet of golden galleons

on a crystal sea

Are you sitting comfortably?

Let Merlin cast his spell

[MaVolta]

Like most of what Bono and U2 write, this song is full of imagery, and lyrics that will more than tug at your heartstrings. One of my favorites by U2.

Walk On  -  U2

And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage that you can bring...
And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind

And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong

Walk on, walk on
What you got they can't steal it
No, they can't even feel it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been
A place that has to be believed to be seen
You could have flown away
A singing bird in an open cage
Who will only fly, only fly for freedom

Walk on, walk on
What you've got they can't deny it
Can't sell it, or buy it
Walk on, walk on
Stay safe tonight

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on
walk on

Home, hard to know what it is if you've never had one
Home, I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home
That's where the hurt is

And I know it aches
And your heart it breaks
And you can only take so much
Walk on

Leave it behind
You've got to leave it behind

All that you fashion
All that you make
All that you build
All that you break
All that you measure
All that you steal
All this you feel
All that you reason
All that you care (It's only time)
And I'll never fill up all my mind
All that you sense
All that you speak
All you dress up
And all that you scheme
All you create
All that you wreck
All that you hate

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Paul David Hewson / Adam Clayton / David Evans / Laurence Mullen

Walk On lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management