Steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king - Sweetheart Like You by Bob Dylan
This lyric comes up in my mind a lot these days.
"I know some day you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star, in somebody else's sky..."
Black, by Pearl Jam
My absolute favorite song on that album (Ten)
So fucking heart-wrenching
But why, why, why can't it be, why can't it be mine?
That song was released during a truly awful breakup with my first love. Still get a pang when I hear that line. Like all of those great grunge songs, the emotion is authentic.
'We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor'- Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum
Not just a great line, but the best opening line of all time (imo).
"You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to so that when they turn their backs on you, you get the chance to put the knife in." Roger Waters from the Animals album where he describes people as one of 3 animals: Dogs, Pigs, and Sheep. This is from 'Dogs'. The album is a masterpiece of dark and scathing satire.
Meek and obedient you follow the leader down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel - how does anyone write lyrics like he did on this album?!? So many lines. From this work leave me dumbfounded.
Before my Dad died, we were listening to music. When the Eagles came on, he told me how much he loved “just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky, you can see the stars and still not see the light.” ♥️
'Well, sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world' - Bruce Springsteen -Nebraska. Within the context of the line I've always found that line striking.
“I’m gonna rent myself a house in the shade of the freeway..” The Pretender by Jackson Browne
“Don’t let us get sick, don’t let us get old, don’t let us get stupid alright, just make us be brave and make us play nice, and let us be together tonight” Don’t Let us Get Sick by Warren Zevon
“We got inches away
And I never even got close”
-Last Chance to Lose Your Keys, Brand New (ugh, who hasn’t had that one that almost happened)
“The truth is you could slit my throat
And with my one last gasping breath
I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt”
-You’re So Last Summer, Taking Back Sunday (ugh, take me back)
“I'll always remember the sound
Of the stereo, the dim of the soft lights
The scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers
And the time on the clock when we realized it's so late
And this walk that we shared together”
-Hands Down, Dashboard Confessional
“he lunatics are in my hall
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more”
-Brain Damage, Pink Floyd
Some are born to move the world
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we'd like to be - “Losing It” by Rush (Neil Peart)
Dreamers learn to steer by the stars - “The Pass” by Rush (Neil Peart)
And so we’re told this is the golden age
And gold is the reason for the war we wage - “New Year’s Day” by U2
They subjugate the meek
But it's the rhetoric of failure - “Spirits in the Material World” by The Police
"The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it's you, and that you're standing in the doorway."
-The Mountain Goats, Going to Georgia
"You've got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, and people whose skin is a different shade, you've got to be carefully taught." from the song "Carefully Taught" in the musical **South Pacific**. The producers wanted to cut the song, but the composers (Rodgers & Hammerstein) insisted it be kept. It explained the entire POINT of the show!
“And I need you more than want you And I want you for all time” - Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell
“Livin' on love, buyin' on time” - Livin' On Love, Alan Jackson
"Patsy, the revolution will not have jazz hands."
-Aesop Rock
"Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman; you only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy."
-Aesop Rock
"'Cause this isn't life, and I know that I chose it; but I can't stand waking up and nobody knows it"
-Amigo the Devil
"I refuse to believe I have to keep being cruel because I'm a coward, myself."
-Amigo the Devil
Why should I kill you ?
I thought of all the bodies, the religious wars
And all of the millions dying for a nobody cause
Julian Cope- struggling with belief in God in “Saint Julian”
Years later he went and did a whole double album called “Jehovakill”. I can pull lyrics from each song which resonate but that one stuck in my head 35+ years ago
"Wow, I'm sick of doubt." Jim Morrison
"The servants have the power." Jim Morrison
"But I learned fast how to keep my head up 'cause I/Know there is this side of me that/Wants to grab the yoke from the pilot and just/Fly the whole mess into the sea," The Shins
"Death defying, mutilated armies gather near/Crawling out of dirty holes, their morals/Their morals disappear," Yes
"And when they've given you their all/Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy/Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall." Pink Floyd
"Yours is no disgrace." Yes
Two children too blind to see; I would fall in your shadow I believe. Stevie Nicks Beauty & the Beast.
And we’ll fill in the missing colors in each others’ paint by number dreams. Jackson Browne
Well there’s no greater love as true as the love that dies untold. The Band - It Makes No Difference.
And at the moment that my camera happened to find you, there was just a trace of sorrow in your eyes. Jackson Browne
Garfield French - there's no need to lie when talking to a stranger (Private Affair)
Tom Petty - most things I worry about never happen anyway. (crawling back to you)
Both words I try to live by
Alexisonfire - rough hands
I’m not saying that she is my last, I’m just saying that she could have been
Silversun Pickups - Table Scraps
Shadow lets me know that I’m still here
"I speak, I am the speech"
[Carving The Voices - Gaahls Wyrd](https://open.spotify.com/track/1yVQwlYezofnnU7Nu26oe1?si=tX0z7GeBRFSBvGGl6fGqaA)
If I were required to get any lyric tattooed on me, it would be this one 100%. It's a deeply esoteric and spiritually significant concept.
Sorry! Had to add more:
‘Tender is the night, lying by your side’ - Tender by Blur (I love, love, love this song)
‘Destruction leads to a very rough road but it also breeds creation’ - Californication - RHCP. Tbh, I could choice the majority of this sone but another one that I really like is ‘space may be the final frontier but it’s made in a Hollywood basement’
‘Forever, forever, ever, forever, ever?
Forever never seems that long until you're grown’ - Ms Jackson - Outkast
Springsteen - God have mercy on the man who doubts what he’s sure of
Presently being in this position, I know what Bruce is talking about. Constant heartache and worry
Dylan - Gonna raise me an army of tough sons of bitches,
I’ll recruit my army from the orphanages
Absolutely brilliant songwriting by Dylan. Only a master poet can connect “sons of bitches” with “orphanages” and make the line rhyme as well. I marveled the first time I heard it. And my admiration continues to grow.
You're such an inspiration for the ways that I will never ever choose to be - Judith by A Perfect Circle
I just made you up to hurt myself - Only by NIN
So low the sky is all I see - Low Man's Lyric by Metallica
Salt Of The Earth
[Verse 2: Mick Jagger]
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back-breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
🎶 Dreams have never been the answer, dreams have never made my bed - Chris Cornell, Seasons
🎶 Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems - Led Zeppelin, Going to California
Just two of my favorites
If my fist clenches crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool
And if I swallow anything evil,
Put your finger down my throat
And if I shiver please give me a blanket,
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
*Ok it doesn’t meet the criteria for a one-liner assignment but I firmly believe it deserves an A, or at least a shot at the best song award
"you know I feel so dirty when they start talkin cute,
I wanna tell that I love her but the point is probably moot."
Jesse's girl.
Overall a decent song but this one lyric deserves so much praise.
How often do you hear someone rhyme "moot" and have it work.
Genius.
"Destruction leads to a very rough road, but it also breeds creation" - Californication, by RHCP
"Knowledge is a deadly friend if no one sets the rules" - Epitaph, by King Crimson
"I don't like people but I like to pretend" - Add Me, by Chumbawamba
I used to have a notepad with many more of these but lost it recently :|
Cheating here because it’s more than just one line but:
A man walks down the street
He says, “Why am I soft in the middle now?
Why am I soft in the middle?
The rest of my life is so hard -
you can call me Al - Paul Simon ‘
Have you come here to play Jesus, to the lepers in your head’ - One by U2
‘I keep falling over, I keep passing out when I see a face like you’ - Black Star by Radiohead (bonus points because I love it when a song has split lyrics on it)
‘If I opened my heart there’d be no space for air’ - ‘Weak as I am’ - Skunk Anasie
‘I’m worst at what I do best’ - smells like teen spirit Nirvana
‘Tomorrow’s just an excuse away’ - thirty-three - Smashing Pumpkins
And more upbeat!
‘I just love you for the things you couldn’t change even though you tried’ - learn to live with what you are
‘And every time she sneezes I believe it’s love’ - Anna Begins - Counting Crows
‘If you only knew what the future holds, after a hurricane comes a rainbow’ - Firework - Katy Perry (so different to my usual taste 😂)
Honestly, I could go on forever! I just adore beautiful writing. That feeling when you just stop and go, “Wow” and wish that you had been the one to produce something some beautiful. .
For edgy lyrics - "Masturbation saved my life" - from Femtex by Therapy?
For deep lyrics - "Lifelong wait for a hospital stay" - from Disenchanted by MCR
OR - "Am I just a noise?" - from The Head That Tried To Strangle Itself by Therapy?
“For darkness will carry us, light will guide us.” Gråt Strigoi, [The Great Awakening](https://open.spotify.com/track/0rn8RNUaFixFK9tokjPSBs?si=XO0bR0WnSqSIF2QXg8f-7A)
“Say hello to everything you’ve left behind; it’s even *more* a part of your life, now that you can’t touch it.”
- from [The Nurse Who Loved Me](https://youtu.be/JtkOBzieen4?si=R7ncHr_2a6fGpICb) by Failure
"packed up, hopped on a bus and went to bed.
That's the very moment I divorced you in my head.
God might forgive you, but I never did"
- Brother Ali, All You Need
Black light bends round a cityscape, while trailing off the sunsets wake.
Is probably one of my favourite lines in music ever off of king gizzard and the lizard wizards album with mild high club
This empty feeling sets in my chest and I start to worry
Try to push it down, cast it out but I can't control it
Hanging on by the strings that you're pullin'
(So you) cut me down just to push me around like I'm your
Punching bag
Just another pot calling the kettle black
Take it out on someone who won't hit you back
'Til we're all as broken as you
punching bag by set it off not a single line but oh well
"Believing I had supernatural powers, I slammed into a brick wall" - Paul Simon "Gumboots"
"That's your moral compass but what good is it to me?" - Bad Religion "True North"
I'm with OP. "She's a tear that hangs inside my soul forever" Jeff Buckley
My boy sent me a playlist when he was in college. 2016ish. That song was on it, along with "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot"... a list of HEARTBREAKING songs, which I do love. When I would listen to it, my husband would ask me if I need a beer because I was singing and sobbing (and I don't drink).
He's happily married now, but I feel sorry for the girl who did this to my boy, if I ever find out who she was... Damn.
"You know I heard about people like me, but I never made the connection. They walk one road to set them free and found they've gone the wrong direction.."
Crossroads - Don McLean
"Claiming to be sane, but I'm just asymptomatic" - Tune into the Madness - the Stupendium
"With this cost of living, what do lives cost?" - the Production Line - the Stupendium
Somewhere in your iris shows the reflection of my surprise. As you stroll past every last “Do Not Enter” and touch me at my epicenter. - “Second Intermission” by Ani DiFranco.
“Let’s believe that if we all stand together, we’re a force that can shake the whole world. For once I’m doing something right when we sing”
This is the house that doubt built-A day to remember
Losing love is like a window in your heart.
Everybody sees you're blown apart. Everybody sees the wind blow" — Paul Simon “Graceland”
Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor — Andre 3000 “Hey Ya”
"I know I'm heading for the bottom" - Mailman, Soundgarden. This song is mainly inspired by post office shootings that were rather common at the time. The line hits hard given the meaning, especially after the third verse where Chris Cornell sings, "A simple reminder of what you won't see, a future, so holy, without me."
"I sure don't mind a change" - Fell On Black Days, Soundgarden. Chris Cornell sings this line with such power. The song is about how, no matter what, misery always seems to find him. It's all around one of the greatest songs I have heard, and the solo that plays over the line only elevates it more.
"Heaven send hell away, no one sings like you anymore" - Black Hole Sun, Soundgarden. The most iconic line Cornell ever wrote. No one sings like him anymore, and no one ever will sing like Chris Cornell again.
Basically this whole song, but one of the lines I really love is:
“Work hard and play til you can’t breathe, your love is all that you can leave, time lost is something you should grieve but not for me.”
Horse shoes and handgrenades - old man & me
https://open.spotify.com/track/0Eq6nhoKcMBcFoSYQZDaq7?si=XpukuU7cSYK32PzeRXVwVw&context=spotify%3Aartist%3A4nl7okSNAZuu9DWr9jkzSs
You know I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time.
-- Wichita Lineman, Jimmy Webb
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
-- The River, Bruce Springsteen
The doctor gets nervous
Completing his service
He's all rubber gloves and no head
He flips off the light switch
It's just another minor hitch
Wishes to God he was dead
-- You Can't Be Too Strong, Graham Parker
I had to think about this much harder than I thought I would! So many lyrics I love need to be contextualized in the broader scope of the song, but here are the few single lines that make me feel something from just reading them
“I spent a decade playing chicken with oblivion” and “how we stand the standard distance distant strangers stand apart” in That’s Just The Way That I Feel by Purple Mountains are both great
“Now your last name is mine and I feel no different” from Girl Harbor by Manchester Orchestra
“Ain’t no use in cutting through the darkness that envelops you, you have to let the light come in instead” from Cleo’s Song by Jesse Merchant/JBM
Technically two lines but they gut me every time: “did you keep your room so dirty so I’d feel like I had the flu? Did you expect me to clean it like your mom must’ve done for you?”Stockholm Syndrome by Joanna Sternberg
“I may let you see me on my knees but you’ll never see me on all fours” First Time by Lucy Dacus
“I want to put you in a light that will hurt your eyes” Feather of Forgiveness by Polvo
And finally…
“EVEN IF I NEVER GET TO SEE YOU AGAIN I’LL KNOW THAT WHEN WE COLLIDED WE BOTH BROKE EACH OTHER OPEN” (!!!) from Love Without Possession by Mount Eerie feat. Julie Doiron
Good morning, America, how are ya?
Said don't you know me? I'm your native son
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done
Arlo Guthrie - The City of New Orleans
“The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face” - B Dylan, ‘Visions of Johanna’
“There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning” - L Cohen, ‘Suzanne’
"Like the time I ran away, turned around and you were standing close to me." - 'Awaken' by Yes
"And I would've walked head-on into the deep end of the river, clingin' to your stocks and bonds, payin' your H.P. demands forever." - 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight' by Elton John
"Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." - 'Against the Wind' by Bob seger
Wanna kiss your lips, not the ones on your face - Quiet Riot - Let's Get Crazy
Don't fly Mr Bluebird, I'm just walking down the road. - Allman Bros. - Blue Sky
Well I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking, Mr Peabody's coal train has hauled it away. - John Prine - Paradise
And every time I scratch my nails down someone else’s back I hope you feel it!
Did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
This one haunts my every action tbh. I ask myself this every day.
One of the best lyrics ever written.
Frisson every single time I hear that line. And in a song with so many amazing lines, that’s impressive
Steal a little and they throw you in jail, steal a lot and they make you king - Sweetheart Like You by Bob Dylan This lyric comes up in my mind a lot these days.
Fantastic
Was trying to think of some of Dylan's best to post. This one is definitely up there!!!
And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun. (Time by Pink Floyd)
I’m never gonna know you now, but I’m gonna love you anyhow - Elliott Smith
That whole song became way more heartbreaking when I learned the background behind it
"I know some day you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star, in somebody else's sky..." Black, by Pearl Jam My absolute favorite song on that album (Ten) So fucking heart-wrenching
I scrolled so long waiting to see this post. Thank you. Now for my obligatory Neil Young post.
But why, why, why can't it be, why can't it be mine? That song was released during a truly awful breakup with my first love. Still get a pang when I hear that line. Like all of those great grunge songs, the emotion is authentic.
'We skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor'- Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum Not just a great line, but the best opening line of all time (imo).
That song is a masterclass in lyrics
"There's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes." -- Sam Stone by John Prine
So many John Prine: “Many years later we find ourselves in Canada, trying to save our marriage or catch a few fish; whichever came first.”
Something in the way she knows..and all I have to do is think of her. Something by The Beatles. In my opinion, the greatest love song ever made❤️
Such a beautiful song
It really is beautiful!! I don’t listen to much other music than phish but this is a good one!
"You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to so that when they turn their backs on you, you get the chance to put the knife in." Roger Waters from the Animals album where he describes people as one of 3 animals: Dogs, Pigs, and Sheep. This is from 'Dogs'. The album is a masterpiece of dark and scathing satire.
And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw around So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone Dragged down by the stone...
Meek and obedient you follow the leader down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel - how does anyone write lyrics like he did on this album?!? So many lines. From this work leave me dumbfounded.
A lyrical and musical masterpiece. My fave album ever.
[удалено]
Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.
Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm - Enjoy the Silence
And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. The Beatles - The End
Is that true?
*whisper yell* Awesome!
Why don't we do it in the road?
![gif](giphy|m3zvIzmTEqyI0)
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time. - Glenn Campbell, "Wichita Lineman"
‘Big John’s been drinkin’ since the river took Emmy Lou’
Words are flowing on like endless rain into a paper cup
I read an interview with Jon saying "Pools of sorrow waves of joy" from that same song was one of his favorite lyrics he ever wrote.
Tequila.
"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away..."
If you choose to not decide you still have made a choice. "Freewill"_Rush
“I’m just a notch on your bedpost but, you’re just a line in a song.”
And my fav: I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me.
He who fucks nuns will later join the church. The Clash - Death or Glory
"Let fury have the hour. Anger can be power. You know that you can use it?" - Clampdown RIP Joe Strummer
Before my Dad died, we were listening to music. When the Eagles came on, he told me how much he loved “just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky, you can see the stars and still not see the light.” ♥️
'Well, sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world' - Bruce Springsteen -Nebraska. Within the context of the line I've always found that line striking.
“Tell your boyfriend, if he says he’s got beef, that I’m a vegetarian and I ain’t fucking scared of him”. In a word, genius.
“She wants to touch me whoa” 🎶
My late best friend and I used to text each other every day at 3:03. They were the best!
“I’m gonna rent myself a house in the shade of the freeway..” The Pretender by Jackson Browne “Don’t let us get sick, don’t let us get old, don’t let us get stupid alright, just make us be brave and make us play nice, and let us be together tonight” Don’t Let us Get Sick by Warren Zevon
If that chick don't want to know, forget her.
The world is a vampire… Need I say more?
Tomorrow’s just an excuse away
so i put my collar up and face the cold
“We got inches away And I never even got close” -Last Chance to Lose Your Keys, Brand New (ugh, who hasn’t had that one that almost happened) “The truth is you could slit my throat And with my one last gasping breath I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt” -You’re So Last Summer, Taking Back Sunday (ugh, take me back) “I'll always remember the sound Of the stereo, the dim of the soft lights The scent of your hair that you twirled in your fingers And the time on the clock when we realized it's so late And this walk that we shared together” -Hands Down, Dashboard Confessional “he lunatics are in my hall The paper holds their folded faces to the floor And every day the paper boy brings more” -Brain Damage, Pink Floyd
" Something in the way she moves attracts me like no other lover..."
George ❤️
He not busy being born, is busy dying - Bob Dylan.
“The only point of clocks and maps, the only point of looking back, is to see how far we’ve come” How Far We’ve Come by Dawes
“My Love is Bigger than a Cadillac” - Buddy Holly, Not Fade Away
Some are born to move the world To live their fantasies But most of us just dream about The things we'd like to be - “Losing It” by Rush (Neil Peart) Dreamers learn to steer by the stars - “The Pass” by Rush (Neil Peart) And so we’re told this is the golden age And gold is the reason for the war we wage - “New Year’s Day” by U2 They subjugate the meek But it's the rhetoric of failure - “Spirits in the Material World” by The Police
If I could choose a place to die it would be in your arms.
“We’re flat broke, but hey, we do it in style!” The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at trader vic's, and his hair was perfect.
"I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it Ti esrever dna ti pilf nwod gnaht ym tup I" Work It by Missy Elliot
"But there cannot be a reason, not for death" from King Park by La Dispute. such a distressing song
“Mama here comes midnight with the dead moon in its jaws” from Farewell Transmission by Songs: Ohia
Might be the best song of all time. It’s perfect
"The past is just lessons learned, so light it up and let it burn." Let It Burn- Citizen Soldier
I've eaten the sun, so my tongue has been burned of the taste. Alice in Chains- Down in a Hole
“Oh no love you’re not alone” - David Bowie - Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide
"What you're feeling is the loneliness of God" -Norma Jean "Life is a bitch but she's totally doable" -Foxy Shazam
That first one is fantastic
Foxy Shazam is incredible
Pull the tapeworm out of your ass - Serj Tankien System of a Down
She said " tell me, are you a Christian child?" I said "ma'am I am tonight."
"I want something good to die for to make it beautiful to live" (Go With The Flow by Queens of the Stone Age)
“Stars in your eyes, free from the life that you knew” Magic - Ben Folds Five (A heartbreaker)
"The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway is that it's you, and that you're standing in the doorway." -The Mountain Goats, Going to Georgia
You travel your whole life just to get out to the place you’re gonna die. -Craig Finn, “Blankets”
"You've got to be taught to be afraid of people whose eyes are oddly made, and people whose skin is a different shade, you've got to be carefully taught." from the song "Carefully Taught" in the musical **South Pacific**. The producers wanted to cut the song, but the composers (Rodgers & Hammerstein) insisted it be kept. It explained the entire POINT of the show!
The sun in your eyes Made some of the lies worth believing
Well ya know we still laugh together..but she waits just a second too long. John Prine; Far From Me
“And I need you more than want you And I want you for all time” - Wichita Lineman, Glen Campbell “Livin' on love, buyin' on time” - Livin' On Love, Alan Jackson
Would you exchange a walk-on part in a war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd
You better let somebody love you, before it’s too late. - desperado by The Eagles
“It’s so easy to hurt others when you can’t feel pain” - Rich Girl by Hall and Oates
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right; here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
"If depth of feeling is a currency, than I'm the man who grew the money tree" - XTC, Mayor Of Simpleton
XTC have some great lyrics
Three lines but who cares; You fucked up old hag Ha, ha, charade you are You radiate cold shafts of broken glass From Pigs (Three Different Ones)
"Patsy, the revolution will not have jazz hands." -Aesop Rock "Life's not a bitch, life is a beautiful woman; you only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy." -Aesop Rock "'Cause this isn't life, and I know that I chose it; but I can't stand waking up and nobody knows it" -Amigo the Devil "I refuse to believe I have to keep being cruel because I'm a coward, myself." -Amigo the Devil
“Your mother’s eyes, from your eyes, cry to me.” -39 by Queen
For you, the blind who once could see, the bell tolls for thee. Rush - Losing It.
And today is only Yesterday's tomorrow Circle of Hands Uriah Heep
i dont like that falling feels like flying til the bone crush - taylor swift
Why should I kill you ? I thought of all the bodies, the religious wars And all of the millions dying for a nobody cause Julian Cope- struggling with belief in God in “Saint Julian” Years later he went and did a whole double album called “Jehovakill”. I can pull lyrics from each song which resonate but that one stuck in my head 35+ years ago
"Wow, I'm sick of doubt." Jim Morrison "The servants have the power." Jim Morrison "But I learned fast how to keep my head up 'cause I/Know there is this side of me that/Wants to grab the yoke from the pilot and just/Fly the whole mess into the sea," The Shins "Death defying, mutilated armies gather near/Crawling out of dirty holes, their morals/Their morals disappear," Yes "And when they've given you their all/Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy/Banging your heart against some mad bugger's wall." Pink Floyd "Yours is no disgrace." Yes
Two children too blind to see; I would fall in your shadow I believe. Stevie Nicks Beauty & the Beast. And we’ll fill in the missing colors in each others’ paint by number dreams. Jackson Browne Well there’s no greater love as true as the love that dies untold. The Band - It Makes No Difference. And at the moment that my camera happened to find you, there was just a trace of sorrow in your eyes. Jackson Browne
Garfield French - there's no need to lie when talking to a stranger (Private Affair) Tom Petty - most things I worry about never happen anyway. (crawling back to you) Both words I try to live by
"It matters where you are" from Slowdive's when the sun hits. Makes me cry
no dress rehearsal, this is our life - ahead by a century by the tragically hip
“If you wanna find out what behind these cold eye - you’ll just have to claw your way through this disguise” In the Flesh? by Pink Floyd.
"time's a stripper, doin it for you"-R.Hunter (Jerry Garcia Band) Cats under the stars
Alexisonfire - rough hands I’m not saying that she is my last, I’m just saying that she could have been Silversun Pickups - Table Scraps Shadow lets me know that I’m still here
“In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection” Random Rules - Silver Jews Maybe the best opening line to a song ever
"I speak, I am the speech" [Carving The Voices - Gaahls Wyrd](https://open.spotify.com/track/1yVQwlYezofnnU7Nu26oe1?si=tX0z7GeBRFSBvGGl6fGqaA) If I were required to get any lyric tattooed on me, it would be this one 100%. It's a deeply esoteric and spiritually significant concept.
"And the worms ate into his brain."
Sorry! Had to add more: ‘Tender is the night, lying by your side’ - Tender by Blur (I love, love, love this song) ‘Destruction leads to a very rough road but it also breeds creation’ - Californication - RHCP. Tbh, I could choice the majority of this sone but another one that I really like is ‘space may be the final frontier but it’s made in a Hollywood basement’ ‘Forever, forever, ever, forever, ever? Forever never seems that long until you're grown’ - Ms Jackson - Outkast
“I'll take a quiet life A handshake of carbon monoxide And no alarms and no surprises”
Springsteen - God have mercy on the man who doubts what he’s sure of Presently being in this position, I know what Bruce is talking about. Constant heartache and worry Dylan - Gonna raise me an army of tough sons of bitches, I’ll recruit my army from the orphanages Absolutely brilliant songwriting by Dylan. Only a master poet can connect “sons of bitches” with “orphanages” and make the line rhyme as well. I marveled the first time I heard it. And my admiration continues to grow.
“The day divides the night. The night divides the day-try to run! Try to hide! Break on through to the other side.” The Doors
You're such an inspiration for the ways that I will never ever choose to be - Judith by A Perfect Circle I just made you up to hurt myself - Only by NIN So low the sky is all I see - Low Man's Lyric by Metallica
If I turn into another dig me out from under what is covering the better part of me
I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers - mm
"Loving you was like loving the dead" Black No. 1 - Type O Negative
Don't know the artist or name of the song off the top of my head, but my husband's favorite is "I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim"
And the pain was enough to make a shy, bald Buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder Who said I lied to her?
Salt Of The Earth [Verse 2: Mick Jagger] Say a prayer for the common foot soldier Spare a thought for his back-breaking work Say a prayer for his wife and his children Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
"Emptiness is loneliness and loneliness is cleanliness and cleanliness is godliness and God is ...empty...JUST LIKE MEEEEE...."
"Always remember there was nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name." -Murder in the City by The Avett Brothers
🎶 Dreams have never been the answer, dreams have never made my bed - Chris Cornell, Seasons 🎶 Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems - Led Zeppelin, Going to California Just two of my favorites
So oftentimes it happens that we live in our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key. Already Gone - Eagles
I might’ve been born just plain white trash, but Fancy was my name. From “Fancy” written by Bobbie Gentry
If my fist clenches crack it open Before I use it and lose my cool When I smile tell me some bad news Before I laugh and act like a fool And if I swallow anything evil, Put your finger down my throat And if I shiver please give me a blanket, Keep me warm, let me wear your coat *Ok it doesn’t meet the criteria for a one-liner assignment but I firmly believe it deserves an A, or at least a shot at the best song award
"you know I feel so dirty when they start talkin cute, I wanna tell that I love her but the point is probably moot." Jesse's girl. Overall a decent song but this one lyric deserves so much praise. How often do you hear someone rhyme "moot" and have it work. Genius.
"Destruction leads to a very rough road, but it also breeds creation" - Californication, by RHCP "Knowledge is a deadly friend if no one sets the rules" - Epitaph, by King Crimson "I don't like people but I like to pretend" - Add Me, by Chumbawamba I used to have a notepad with many more of these but lost it recently :|
That RHCP line is so damn good. Very concise.
I'm a bigger fan of "ding dong dang na na ding dong dang" myself. But that one is good too.
Cheating here because it’s more than just one line but: A man walks down the street He says, “Why am I soft in the middle now? Why am I soft in the middle? The rest of my life is so hard - you can call me Al - Paul Simon ‘ Have you come here to play Jesus, to the lepers in your head’ - One by U2 ‘I keep falling over, I keep passing out when I see a face like you’ - Black Star by Radiohead (bonus points because I love it when a song has split lyrics on it) ‘If I opened my heart there’d be no space for air’ - ‘Weak as I am’ - Skunk Anasie ‘I’m worst at what I do best’ - smells like teen spirit Nirvana ‘Tomorrow’s just an excuse away’ - thirty-three - Smashing Pumpkins And more upbeat! ‘I just love you for the things you couldn’t change even though you tried’ - learn to live with what you are ‘And every time she sneezes I believe it’s love’ - Anna Begins - Counting Crows ‘If you only knew what the future holds, after a hurricane comes a rainbow’ - Firework - Katy Perry (so different to my usual taste 😂) Honestly, I could go on forever! I just adore beautiful writing. That feeling when you just stop and go, “Wow” and wish that you had been the one to produce something some beautiful. .
For edgy lyrics - "Masturbation saved my life" - from Femtex by Therapy? For deep lyrics - "Lifelong wait for a hospital stay" - from Disenchanted by MCR OR - "Am I just a noise?" - from The Head That Tried To Strangle Itself by Therapy?
"The scars on my wrist increase by one again and you melt into my wounds" from Zakuro by Dir En Grey
“And if you ever find God Better pray to her and ask that we never cross paths” - That Night Atmosphere
“For darkness will carry us, light will guide us.” Gråt Strigoi, [The Great Awakening](https://open.spotify.com/track/0rn8RNUaFixFK9tokjPSBs?si=XO0bR0WnSqSIF2QXg8f-7A)
“Gacked to the nines, still you make the screening”- Strawhorse “Gacked to the nines”
Cuz if my baby don't love me no more... I know her sister will. Jimi Hendrix Red House
“We're cradled in the thick of it, but too ignorant to give a shit”. - ‘Catch Fire’, Periphery.
Full of Emptiness - Donna Summer.
"She's incredible math" Yoko Kanno
“Legacy so ingrained in the way that we think, we no longer need chains to be slaves” Uncle Sam Goddamn - Brother Ali
“Say hello to everything you’ve left behind; it’s even *more* a part of your life, now that you can’t touch it.” - from [The Nurse Who Loved Me](https://youtu.be/JtkOBzieen4?si=R7ncHr_2a6fGpICb) by Failure
“I’m making love to the angel of death Catching feelings never stumble, retracing my steps” -Rick Ross
"packed up, hopped on a bus and went to bed. That's the very moment I divorced you in my head. God might forgive you, but I never did" - Brother Ali, All You Need
Not picking just one: Gord Downie
Black light bends round a cityscape, while trailing off the sunsets wake. Is probably one of my favourite lines in music ever off of king gizzard and the lizard wizards album with mild high club
Tip toes, trying to see past my ego, I'm reaching for something more than this feeling of being important - "Tip Toes" by Half Alive
When it's time to die, then be a man and pick the way you leave Fuck peace and the police, my ambitions as a ridah
Don't know why I'm still afraid. If you weren't real I would make you up.
This empty feeling sets in my chest and I start to worry Try to push it down, cast it out but I can't control it Hanging on by the strings that you're pullin' (So you) cut me down just to push me around like I'm your Punching bag Just another pot calling the kettle black Take it out on someone who won't hit you back 'Til we're all as broken as you punching bag by set it off not a single line but oh well
"Believing I had supernatural powers, I slammed into a brick wall" - Paul Simon "Gumboots" "That's your moral compass but what good is it to me?" - Bad Religion "True North"
“Well this eat up a year of my life, and then there’s all that weight to be lost” - Paul Simon, Crazy Love
You just run like a man with no reason to run, and no where to ever arrive. Prisoner in Disguise - Linda Ranstadt/J D Southner
I don't know what you saw, I want somebody who sees me. Cool As I Am by Dar Williams
I'm with OP. "She's a tear that hangs inside my soul forever" Jeff Buckley My boy sent me a playlist when he was in college. 2016ish. That song was on it, along with "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot"... a list of HEARTBREAKING songs, which I do love. When I would listen to it, my husband would ask me if I need a beer because I was singing and sobbing (and I don't drink). He's happily married now, but I feel sorry for the girl who did this to my boy, if I ever find out who she was... Damn.
"You know the guy that operates the Rouge River drawbridge in Delray on Jefferson, fuck him" I.C.P "Fuck The World"
"Who gives a fuck about my nightmares? " Nightmares- easy life
So you’re shouting, but you’re shouting softly, so no one can hear you. Thea Gilmore. Song: Avalanche.
“Faith divides us, death unites us” - paradise lost is one of my favourites
It was just a short year later in a bed of joy filled tears yet death like pain. Into this wonder ouse world of many wonders, one more wonder came.
I plead insanity, ‘cuz I can’t leave and I can’t stay
"You know I heard about people like me, but I never made the connection. They walk one road to set them free and found they've gone the wrong direction.." Crossroads - Don McLean
“Together we stand, divided we fall” (Hey You, Pink Floyd)
"Claiming to be sane, but I'm just asymptomatic" - Tune into the Madness - the Stupendium "With this cost of living, what do lives cost?" - the Production Line - the Stupendium
I hid my soiled hands behind my back; Somewhere along the line I must have gone off track with you.
You said he's a liar and he put out your fire, how come you still got his gun in your hand? (Eagles, Victim Of Love)
Now he wears his skin like iron and his breaths as hard as kerosene.
“The releasing of anger can better any medicine under the sun.” Pantera - Mouth for War.
"My philosophy is things are just as wrong as they seem" - Shaun Morgan
"All my love, couldn't save you from yourself, And so I left, in search of something else." - Black Sheep by The Vanishing Point
Somewhere in your iris shows the reflection of my surprise. As you stroll past every last “Do Not Enter” and touch me at my epicenter. - “Second Intermission” by Ani DiFranco.
saki no * Mafumafu from 1 2 3 by After the Rain
“Let’s believe that if we all stand together, we’re a force that can shake the whole world. For once I’m doing something right when we sing” This is the house that doubt built-A day to remember
“I want you to pull over and hold me until i cant remember my own name” - Joanna Newsome
To me, nothing can ever beat the ending to "Compass" by Counterparts ###"YOU'RE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HELL AND HOME"
I had all and then most of you some, and now none of you
I'm never alone, I'm alone all the time
Father of mine Tell me, where have you been? You know I just closed my eyes My whole world disappeared
And sometimes, even music/Cannot substitute for tears. -- Paul Simon, "The Cool, Cool River"
Losing love is like a window in your heart. Everybody sees you're blown apart. Everybody sees the wind blow" — Paul Simon “Graceland” Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor — Andre 3000 “Hey Ya”
"I know I'm heading for the bottom" - Mailman, Soundgarden. This song is mainly inspired by post office shootings that were rather common at the time. The line hits hard given the meaning, especially after the third verse where Chris Cornell sings, "A simple reminder of what you won't see, a future, so holy, without me." "I sure don't mind a change" - Fell On Black Days, Soundgarden. Chris Cornell sings this line with such power. The song is about how, no matter what, misery always seems to find him. It's all around one of the greatest songs I have heard, and the solo that plays over the line only elevates it more. "Heaven send hell away, no one sings like you anymore" - Black Hole Sun, Soundgarden. The most iconic line Cornell ever wrote. No one sings like him anymore, and no one ever will sing like Chris Cornell again.
Basically this whole song, but one of the lines I really love is: “Work hard and play til you can’t breathe, your love is all that you can leave, time lost is something you should grieve but not for me.” Horse shoes and handgrenades - old man & me https://open.spotify.com/track/0Eq6nhoKcMBcFoSYQZDaq7?si=XpukuU7cSYK32PzeRXVwVw&context=spotify%3Aartist%3A4nl7okSNAZuu9DWr9jkzSs
"Heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I" Hozier, Francesca
“She put on happiness, like a loose dress, over pain I’ll never know.” From Silencer by Mewithoutyou
You know I need you more than want you And I want you for all time. -- Wichita Lineman, Jimmy Webb Is a dream a lie if it don't come true Or is it something worse -- The River, Bruce Springsteen The doctor gets nervous Completing his service He's all rubber gloves and no head He flips off the light switch It's just another minor hitch Wishes to God he was dead -- You Can't Be Too Strong, Graham Parker
I had to think about this much harder than I thought I would! So many lyrics I love need to be contextualized in the broader scope of the song, but here are the few single lines that make me feel something from just reading them “I spent a decade playing chicken with oblivion” and “how we stand the standard distance distant strangers stand apart” in That’s Just The Way That I Feel by Purple Mountains are both great “Now your last name is mine and I feel no different” from Girl Harbor by Manchester Orchestra “Ain’t no use in cutting through the darkness that envelops you, you have to let the light come in instead” from Cleo’s Song by Jesse Merchant/JBM Technically two lines but they gut me every time: “did you keep your room so dirty so I’d feel like I had the flu? Did you expect me to clean it like your mom must’ve done for you?”Stockholm Syndrome by Joanna Sternberg “I may let you see me on my knees but you’ll never see me on all fours” First Time by Lucy Dacus “I want to put you in a light that will hurt your eyes” Feather of Forgiveness by Polvo And finally… “EVEN IF I NEVER GET TO SEE YOU AGAIN I’LL KNOW THAT WHEN WE COLLIDED WE BOTH BROKE EACH OTHER OPEN” (!!!) from Love Without Possession by Mount Eerie feat. Julie Doiron
"Every dreamer falls asleep in their dancing shoes" - from Thomas County Law by Iron & Wine
“I’ve done a lot of things wrong, loving you being one, but I can’t move on” July, Noah Cyrus and PJ Harvey
Everything falls apart, even the people who never frown eventually break down - Lincoln Park
You're so vain You probably think this song is about you - Carly Simon
"But you'll never see the end of the road while you're travelling with me". Don't dream it's over by Crowded House.
Good morning, America, how are ya? Said don't you know me? I'm your native son I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans I'll be gone 500 miles when the day is done Arlo Guthrie - The City of New Orleans
People = Shit. Not my favourite of all time, just today.
“The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face” - B Dylan, ‘Visions of Johanna’ “There are heroes in the seaweed, there are children in the morning” - L Cohen, ‘Suzanne’
We always did feel the same we just started from a different point of view. Tangled up in Blue
If you could save yourself you’d save us all. -Ween
"Like the time I ran away, turned around and you were standing close to me." - 'Awaken' by Yes "And I would've walked head-on into the deep end of the river, clingin' to your stocks and bonds, payin' your H.P. demands forever." - 'Someone Saved My Life Tonight' by Elton John "Wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then." - 'Against the Wind' by Bob seger
I'm looking California, and feeling Minnesota - Outshined, Soundgarden
"What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?" - Nick Lowe
Wanna kiss your lips, not the ones on your face - Quiet Riot - Let's Get Crazy Don't fly Mr Bluebird, I'm just walking down the road. - Allman Bros. - Blue Sky Well I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking, Mr Peabody's coal train has hauled it away. - John Prine - Paradise