Journal Triv's Journal: The Perfect Song Lyric 47
I need a little help with a paper I'm thinking of writing. The subject is the perfect song lyric.
This is the basic idea: there's lots of music out there. Lots of it sucks. Some of it's good. A small percentage of it is blow-you-away awsome. But sometimes a lyric hits you so hard, a gut-wrenching, purely visceral/emotional response it almost makes the whole song worth listening to just to get to that good bit, even if, without that lyrical punch, it's completely worthless. I'm not talking about a good lyric or a cute turn of phrase, I mean a lyric that instantly fires up your imagination, planting a picture of a scene so eloquently you're left out of breath.
I'm not asking for your favorite lyrics. I'm not asking for what a lyric means to you (it should be apparent in and of itself). I'm asking for a lyric that creates a scene, gives you backstory, tells you much much more than the words do by themselves, all in a few lines.
WARNING: THIS IS NOT EASY. I've been thinking about this for 6 months. I have, as of yet, thought of two.
#1: Don Henley, "The Boys of Summer"
"Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
A little voice inside my head said 'don't look back, you can never look back.'"
and
#2: Third Eye Blind, "Slow Motion"
"Miss Jones taught me English,
but I think I just shot her son."
It's worth noting that these aren't from my favorite bands. I actually pretty much despise "Third Eye Blind" and the rest of that song is absolutely terrible. It's a pity that the lyric is the first one heard in the song - I might listen to the rest of it just to hear it. That's the point, really.
So please, reply here. Tell your friends. Just tell 'em to reply here with their choices. Be sure to include the artist, the song and the lyric. I'm planning to publish this if I get enough of these together, and you'll get credit where it's due (of course). :)
Thanks y'all.
Triv
This is the basic idea: there's lots of music out there. Lots of it sucks. Some of it's good. A small percentage of it is blow-you-away awsome. But sometimes a lyric hits you so hard, a gut-wrenching, purely visceral/emotional response it almost makes the whole song worth listening to just to get to that good bit, even if, without that lyrical punch, it's completely worthless. I'm not talking about a good lyric or a cute turn of phrase, I mean a lyric that instantly fires up your imagination, planting a picture of a scene so eloquently you're left out of breath.
I'm not asking for your favorite lyrics. I'm not asking for what a lyric means to you (it should be apparent in and of itself). I'm asking for a lyric that creates a scene, gives you backstory, tells you much much more than the words do by themselves, all in a few lines.
WARNING: THIS IS NOT EASY. I've been thinking about this for 6 months. I have, as of yet, thought of two.
#1: Don Henley, "The Boys of Summer"
"Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
A little voice inside my head said 'don't look back, you can never look back.'"
and
#2: Third Eye Blind, "Slow Motion"
"Miss Jones taught me English,
but I think I just shot her son."
It's worth noting that these aren't from my favorite bands. I actually pretty much despise "Third Eye Blind" and the rest of that song is absolutely terrible. It's a pity that the lyric is the first one heard in the song - I might listen to the rest of it just to hear it. That's the point, really.
So please, reply here. Tell your friends. Just tell 'em to reply here with their choices. Be sure to include the artist, the song and the lyric. I'm planning to publish this if I get enough of these together, and you'll get credit where it's due (of course).
Thanks y'all.
Triv
Part I (Score:2)
"Running to Stand Still"
U2, "Joshua Tree"
She walks through the streets
With her eyes painted red
Under black belly of cloud in the rain.
In through a doorway
She brings me white golden pearls
Stolen from the sea.
She is ragin'
She is ragin'
And the storm blows up in her eyes.
She will suffer the needle chill
She's running to stand still.
----------------
"Nightswimming"
R.E.M., "Automatic for the People"
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse.
Still, it's so much clearer.
I forgot my shirt at the water's edge.
The moon is low tonight.
----------------
"Belong"
R.E.M., "Out of Time"
Her world collapsed early Sunday morning
She got up from the kitchen table
Folded the newspaper and silenced the radio
Those creatures jumped the barricades
And have headed for the sea, sea
----------------
Re:Part I (Score:2)
"Jeremy"
Pearl Jam, "Ten"
At home, drawing pictures of mountain tops, with him on top
Lemon yellow sun, arms raised in a V
The dead lay in pools of maroon below
----------------
"Rearview Mirror"
Pearl Jam, "VS"
Saw things so much clearer
Once you
Were in my...
Rearview mirror...
----------------
"Come Talk to Me"
Peter Gabriel, "Us"
The wretched desert takes its form, the jackal proud and tight
In search of you, I feel my way, through the slowest heaving night
Whatever fear invents, I swear it make no sense
I reach through the border fence
Come down, come talk to me
----------------
"Biko"
Peter Gabriel (P.G. #3)
September '77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead
----------------
Re:Part I (Score:2)
"Polly"
Nirvana, "Nevermind"
Polly wants a cracker
I think I should get off her first
I think she wants some water
To put out the blow torch
----------------
"Like Suicide"
Soundgarden, "Superunknown"
She lived like a murder
How she'd fly so sweetly
She lived like a murder
But she dies
Just like suicide
----------------
"Watching TV"
Roger Waters, "Amused to Death"
I've been watching
In Tiananmen Square
Lost my baby there
My yellow rose
In her bloodstained clothes
She was a short order pastry chef
In a Dim Sum dive on the Yangtze tideway
She had shiny hair
She was the daughter of an engineer
Won't you shed a tear
For my yellow rose
Re:Part I (Score:2)
Triv
Re:Part I (Score:2)
Re:Part I (Score:2)
And if I may stop by when you're livin' in the next town, ten years down the road.
A good time for a dime and a crushed cigarette, makin' bets with your body on the avenue.
Look into my eyes, you say, and you'll see nothing but sincerity.
Almost as if you've got some hope that you'll enlighten me - you're a head-case story.
Eve 6, "Showerhead"
Re:Part I (Score:2)
"Feed the Tree"
Belly, "Star"
This old man I've talked about
Broke his own heart, poured it in the ground
Big red tree grew up and out
Throws up its leaves, spins round and round
I know all this and more
So take your hat off when you're talking to me
And be there when I feed the tree
--------------
"Swordfishtrombones"
Tom Waits, "Swordfishtrombones"
(actually pretty much the entire album
Well he came home from the war
with a party in his head
and an idea for a fireworks display
and he knew that he'd be ready with
a stainless steel machete
and a half a pint of Ballentine's
each day
and he holed up in room above a hardware store
cryin' nothing there but Hollywood tears
and he put a spell on some
poor little Crutchfield girl
and stayed like that for 27 years
--------------
"Mask"
Bauhaus, "Mask"
the man of shadows thinks in clay
dreamed trapped thoughts of suffocation day
he's seen in iron environments
with plastic sweat out of chiselled slits for eyes
Re:Part I (Score:2)
"Well she crept back in the house at half-past three.
Shook her head to see him snorin' in his sleep.
'If he really loved me,' she said, 'I wouldn't have to be so mean'"
Ben Folds Five, The Last Polka
Triv
Re:Part I (Score:2)
"Tommy The Cat"
Primus, "Sailing The Seas Of Cheese"
(con Senor Waits)
Well I remember as it were a meal ago...
Said Tommy the Cat as he reeled back to clear whatever foreign matter
may have nestled its way into his mighty throat.
Many a fat alley rat had met its demise while staring point blank down
the cavernous barrel of this awesome prowling machine.
Truly a wonder of nature this urban predator.
Tommy the cat had many a story to tell,
But it was a rare occasion such as this that he did.
She came slidin' down the alleyway like butter drippin' off a hot biscuit.
The aroma, the mean scent, was enough to arouse suspicion in even the
oldest of Tigers that hung around the hot spot in those days.
The sight was beyond belief.
Many a head snapped for double - even triple - takes as this vivacious
feline made her her way into the delta of the alleyway where the most
virile of the young tabbys were known to hang out.
They hung in droves. Such a multitude of masculinity could only be
found in one place...
And that was O'Malley's Alley!
The air was thick with cat calls (no pun intended),
But not even a muscle in her neck did twitch as she sauntered up into
the heart of the alleyway.
She knew what she wanted.
She was lookin' for that stud bull, she was looking for that he-cat.
And that was me.
Tommy the Cat is my name and I say unto thee...
Say baby do you wanna lay down with me?
Say baby do you wanna lay down by my side?
Ah baby do you wanna lay down with me?
Say baby?...Say baby?!
Re:Part I (Score:2)
Triv
short ones (Score:1)
I look at my watch it say 9:25 and I think "Oh God I'm still alive!"
We should be on by now.
We should be on by now.
Time [teenagewildlife.com], David Bowie off "Alladin Sane" album.
favorite for depicting a location:
Sitting here now in this bar for hours
While these strange men rent strange flowers
Flood II by Sisters of Mercy off "Floodland"
Best friggin lyrics throughout whole song:
I don't know just where I'm going
But I'm gonna try for the kingdom if I can
'Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man
When I put a spike into my veins
And I tell ya things aren't quite the same
When I'm rushing on my run
And I feel just like Jesus' son
And I guess that I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know
<snip>
Heroin by Lou Reed/Velvet Underground off their debut LP, "The Velvet Underground and Nico" (aka the Bannana album).
On a related note...
He's never early, he's always late
First thing you learn is you always gotta wait
I'm waiting for my man
same album as above, from the song "I'm Waiting for the Man".
I'm sure I'll think of others later on.
P.S. I think I've counted 5 songs about heroin with variations on the "waiting for my man" line.
Re:short ones (Score:2)
Funny you should mention them. I did a review of The Strokes (in the context of Rock and Roll in general) recently, actually a sort of reply to a Strokes review in the L.A. Times. Here's mine: The Modern Age: Why The Strokes Rock [celsius1414.com], in which the Velvet Underground came up. I've been listening to a Best Of of theirs over and over the past week or so.
Re:velvets (Score:1)
anyway... here are a few more possibilities.
Fairytale of New York by Shane MacGowan / the Pouges off the album "If I Should Fall From Grace With God"
It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
I turned my face away
And dreamed about you
The Mercy Seat by Nick Cave (and the Bad Seeds) off Tender Prey [nick-cave.com]
Into the mercy seat I climb
My head is shaved, my head is wired
And like a moth that tries
To enter the bright eye
I go shuffling out of life
Just to hide in death awhile
And anyway I never lied.
Candidate [teenagewildlife.com] Bowie off Diamond Dogs
Well, on the street where you live I could not hold up my head
For I put all I have in another bed
On another floor, in the back of a car
In the cellar of a church with the door ajar
Stay [teenagewildlife.com] Bowie off "Station to Station"
Heartwrecker, heartwrecker, make me delight
Right is so vague when it brings someone new
This time tomorrow I'll know what to do
I know it's happened to you
Stay - that's what I meant to say or do something
But what I never say is stay this time
I really meant to so bad this time
'cause you can never really tell when somebody
Wants something [you want too].
Barrett's Privateers [superb.net] by Stan Rogers off "Home in Halifax" (on many albums)
God damn them all
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns, shed no tears.
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax Peer
The last of Barrett's Privateers
Following the silent hedges
Needing some other kind of madness
Seems like every time I'm alone and driving a dark, twisty road, that comes to mind. Its from "Silent Hedges" off "The Sky's Gone Out". Also, there's:
Slice of Life by Bauhaus off "Burning from the Inside"
Shivering under lamposts
Shivering under glass
Your standing on charisma again
God knows it cannot last
Re:velvets (Score:2)
"It's Christmas, you're drunk and in jail."
Man, I wish that soundtrack wasn't out of print.
Triv
Trisha Yearwood - On A Bus to St. Cloud (Score:1)
I thought I saw you there
With the snow fallin down around ya
like a silent prayer
Once on a street in New York city
With the Jazz and the Sin in the air
Once on a cold LA Freeway
Goin nowhere
my pick (Score:2)
I can't pick a favorite line, so here's the whole thing (minus choruses) reproduced for your reading pleasure.
---------------
Boy child is locked in the fisherman's yard,
a bloodless moon where the oceans die.
A shoal of night stars hang fire in the nets
and the chaos of cages where the crayfish lie.
Where is the fisherman? Where is the goat?
Where is the keeper in his carrion coat?
Eclipse on the moon when the dark bird flies.
Where is the child with his father's eyes?
He's the king of the ninth world,
twisted son of the fog bell's toll.
In each and every lobster cage,
a tortured human soul.
These are the souls of the broken factories,
the subject slaves of the broken crown.
Dead accounting of old guilty promises,
these are the souls of the broken town.
"I have a wager," the brave child spoke.
The fisherman laughed, though disturbed at the joke.
"You will drink what I drink but you must equal me
And if the drink leaves me standing,
A soul shall go free."
"I have here a cask of most magical wine,
a vintage that blessed every ship in the line.
It's wrung from the blood of the sailors who died,
young white bodies adrift on the tide."
"What's in it for me, my pretty young thing?
Why should I whistle, when the caged bird sings?
If you lose your wager with the king of the sea,
you'll spend the rest of forever in the cage with me."
A body lies open in the fisherman's yard,
like the side of a ship where the iceberg rips.
One less soul in the soul cages,
one last curse on the fisherman's lips.
---------------
Also, "8 Ball" by Underworld:
Today / I saw a man / using an empty whisky flask / as a walkie-talkie.
Today / I saw a man / with a flaming 8 ball / tattooed on his arm.
Re:my pick (Score:2)
I need to think about the Sting for a bit, I'll get back to you.
Triv
Re:my pick (Score:2)
Sting's recent work goes to show that 'Easy Listening' isn't.
Re:my pick (Score:2)
When people ask, I tell them that Underworld is Moby for people who are sick of Moby.
Been listening to a lot of Chicane lately, too, but there aren't too many memorable lyrics to be found there.
Re:my pick (Score:2)
<RANT>
It's "Underworld is awesome!"
Underworld is a group, a singular entity and gets the singular verb. Is it just me or is anyone else really bothered by this type of "new age" grammar that has taken over writers today? It's most apparant in places like Rolling Stone & Sports Illustarted (which frequently use a group or team's name as a plural).
</RANT>
By the way, yes. Underworld is awesome.
Re:my pick (Score:2)
This is moot, however, because your usage is not even a standard in American English (read the article). If I want to speak of Underworld as a singular entity, I use the singular. If I speak of the individual members of the group collectively, I use the plural. This is acceptable usage even in American English.
Besides, you do *not* want to go all grammar-nazi on me, bub, especially using a post with spelling errors, missing punctuation, and an ampersand.
Now that we have settled that, let us set our iPods or other musical listening device to Underworld, who are collectively awesome.
more traditional (Score:1)
That saved a wretch like me.
Swing low, sweet chariot.
Comin' for to carry me home.
I can't get over how she set me free.
Oh, lonesome me.
Don Gibson - Lonesome Me (covered by many)
If you lose your money, great God, don't lose your mind.
And if you lose your woman, please don't fool with mine.
Arthur "Blind Willie" Reynolds - Outside Woman Blues (covered by Cream)
He spoke with tears of fifteen years how his dog and him
had just traveled all about.
His dog up and died, he up and died
after 20 years he still grieves
Jerry Jeff Walker - Mr. Bojangles (I'm partial to the David Bromberg cover -- not Sammy Davis Jr.'s version)
Papa was a rolling stone
Wherever he laid his hat was his home
And when he died
All he left us was alone
Temptations - Papa was a Rolling Stone
In her own mad mind she's in love with you.
With you.
Now what you gonna do?
Cream - Strange Brew
Sisters and brothers, daddies, mothers standin' around cryin'
When I reached the scene, the flames were making a ghostly whine
Jimi Hendrix - House Burning Down
Wait a minute something's wrong here
The key won't unlock this door.
Jimi Hendrix - Red House
Tin soldiers and Nixon coming,
We're finally on our own.
This summer I hear the drumming,
Four dead in Ohio.
Neil Young - Ohio
Or Neil's oft quoted:
"It's better to burn out than to fade away"
I promise I'll stop this now
Last verse of... (Score:1)
Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.
suggestion (Score:1)
Her bones will ache, her mouth will shake,
and as the passion dies her magic heart will break.
Cheerio! =)
Lyrics (Score:1, Informative)
LENGTHWISE
Phish - Rift 1993
When you're there, I sleep lengthwise
And when you're gone
I sleep diagonal in my bed
Re:Lyrics (Score:2)
HORSE
Phish - Rift 1993
It's time to sling the baskets
off this overburdend horse
Plant my toes into the ground,
and plan a different course.
Cause if I were here and you were there
I'd meet you in between
and not until my dieing day, confess what I had seen.
Not English... (Score:2)
But a rough translation of an award-winning Tamil/ Telugu/ Hindi song (it was simultaneously released in three languages):-
On Machilipatnam's mango tree,
A mynah awaits me.
And when I meet her,
She asks, in this brilliant rainy weather,
Tell me, how pretty is my feather?
To which, here's my answer...
(Jon Black's "Ooh La La" for the West End musical "Bombay Dreams" has the same tune, but isn't a true translation of the original.)
My listing (Score:1)
Then he's taken out a purse of gold
And he has put it upon her knee,
Saying "Give to me my little wee son,
And take thee up thy nurse's fee."
And a fine young gunner I'm sure was he,
And ther very first shot that he did shoot
It killed both the son and the Great Selkie
and
I Once Loved A Lad
That I hated all others that spoke of him ill
But noo he's rewarded me well for my love
He's gone to be wed to another
When I saw my love, to the church go
Wi' bride and bride maidens, they made a fine show
And I followed on wi' a heart fu' of woe
For he's gone to be wed to another
When I saw my love sit down to dine
I sat down beside him and poured out the wine
And I drank to the laddie wha should have been mine
But now he is wed to another
The men o' yon forest, they ask it of me
How many stawberries grow in the salt sea
And I ask of them back with a tear in my e'e
How many ships sail in the forest
So dig me a grave and dig it so deep
And cover it ower with flowers so sweet
And I'll turn in for to take a long sleep
Ad maybe in time I'll forget him
That song is the one of the few things in this world that can scare me. . . .
Re:My listing (Score:2)
Triv
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (Score:1)
a walk on part in the war,
for a lead role in a cage
Since I haven't seen mine... (Score:1)
Tomorrow, Wendy by Concrete Blond
It is complete now - two ends of time are neatly tied
a one-way street, she's walking to the end of the line
and there she meets the faces she sees in her heart and mind
They say - goodbye - tomorrow Wendy's going to die
The rest of the song is good, too, if you like it look it up. I'm not going to post everything since they're all on the web. Next up is Schism by Tool. I find these lyrics very powerful. Again, a snipet:
I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing.
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.
I've done the math enough to know the dangers of our second guessing
Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion between supposed lovers
Last up would be Jubilee by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Same deal, here's a clip:
And I can tell by the way you're talking
That the past isn't letting you go
But there's only so long you can take it all on
And then the wrong's gotta be on its own
And when you're ready to leave it behind you
You'll look back, and all that you'll see
Is the wreckage and rust that you left in the dust
On your way to the jubilee
And I can tell by the way you're standing
With your eyes filling with tears
That it's habit alone keeps you turning for home
Even though your home is right here
Where the people who love you are gathered
Under the wise wishing tree
May we all be considered then straight on delivered
Down to the jubilee
I have a feeling you're going to be reading a lot of lyrics. Hope you post your results back here. Good luck!
--Dave
S&G (Score:1)
On a tour of one night stand, my suitcase and guitar in hand, and every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a man band
Homeward bound, i wish i was, homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts, escaping... home, where my music's playing...home, where my love lies waiting silently for me
and each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories, and every stranger's face i see, reminds me that i long to be homeward bound
I wish i was, homeward bound.
Tonight i'll sing my songs again, i'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity, like emptiness in harmony, i need someone to comfort me
homeward bound
Home, where my thoughts, escaping... home, where my music's playing
also cake (Score:1)
My heart cant forget about this self-defense
And the air is so hot and my breath comes fast
I thumb the cool blade but I know this cant last
from 'shadow stabbing'
Pearl Jam (Score:1)
Alone...listless...
Breakfast table in an otherwise empty room
Young girl...violins...
Center of her own attention
The, mother reads aloud, child,
Tries to understand it
Tries to make her proud
The shades go down, it's in her head
Painted room...can't deny
There's something wrong...
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me...
She holds the hand that holds her down
She will...rise above
Don't call me daughter, not fit to
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me daughter, not fit to be
The picture kept will remind me
Don't call me...
The shades go down
The shades go, go, go...
For that matter, lyrics to some of the other classics - Black, Jeremy, Alive, Evenflow, Corduroy, Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town, etc - are pretty good as well...
Two Words: (Score:1)
Tangled Up In Blue
He had a job in the old north woods
Working as a cook for a spell
But he never did like it all that much
And one day the ax just fell.
Well, he drifted down to L.A.
Where he reckoned to try his luck
Workin' for a while on an airplane plant,
Loading cargo onto a truck
But all the while he was alone
The past was close behind,
He seen a lot of women
But she never escaped his mind, and he just grew
Tangled up in blue.
Shelter From The Storm
Suddenly I turned around and she was standin' there
With silver bracelets on her wrists and flowers in her hair.
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of thorns.
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the storm."
The Boxer
When I left my home and family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station
Running scared
Laying low
Seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Lookin for the places
Only they would know.
Maggie's Farm
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
Well, he puts his cigar
Out in your face just for kicks.
His bedroom window
It is made out of bricks.
The National Guard stands around his door.
Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.i>
Visions of Johanna
In the empty lot where the ladies play
blindman's bluff with the key chain
And the all-night girls
they whisper of escapades out on the "D" train
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
Ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane
Louise, she's all right, she's just near
She's delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
That Johanna's not here
The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna
have now taken my place.
Two Words Part 2 (Score:2)
Starkville City Jail
Well, I left my motel room, down at the Starkville Motel,
The town had gone to sleep and I was feelin' fairly well.
I strolled along the sidewalk 'neath the sweet magnolia trees;
I was whistlin', pickin' flowers, swayin' in the southern breeze.
I found myself surrounded; one policeman said: "That's him.
Come along, wild flower child. Don't you know that it's two a.m."
Willie Nelson:
Angel Flying Too Close
And I patched up your broken wings
And hung around for a while
Trying to keep your spirits up
And your fever down
Two Words Part 3 (Score:2)
Terrapin Station
While the storyteller speaks
a door within the fire creaks
suddenly flies open
and a girl is standing there
Eyes alight with glowing hair
all that fancy paints as fair
she takes her fan and throws it
in the lion's den
"Which of you to gain me, tell
will risk uncertain pains of Hell?
I will not forgive you
if you will not take the chance"
The sailor gave at least a try
the soldier being much too wise
strategy was his strength
and not disaster
Truckin'
What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same
Living on reds, vitamin C and cocaine
all a friend can say is "ain't it a shame"
Truckin' -- up to Buffalo
Been thinkin - you got to mellow slow
Takes time - you pick a place to go
and just keep Truckin on
Sitting and staring out of a hotel window
Got a tip they're gonna kick the door in again
I'd like to get some sleep before I travel
but if you got a warrant I guess you're gonna come in
Re:Two Words: (Score:2)
I actually have a fantastic cover of that song by Bruce Hornsby. He takes a background part from the chorus and crafts his whole riff off of it. 'Tis wonderful.
Side note: I make a mean mix CD, give 'em away for Christmas presents. I personally guarantee that on any mix I make you've never heard of half of the bands, and of the bands you know you probably won't know half the recordings.
Triv
Re:Two Words: (Score:2)
Two Words Part 4 (Score:1)
AMERICAN PIE by Don McLean
Verse 1
A long, long time ago... I can still remember how That music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, That I could make those people dance, And maybe they'd be happy for a while. But February made me shiver, With every paper I'd deliver, Bad news on the doorstep... I couldn't take one more step. I can't remember if I cried When I read about his widowed bride But something touched me deep inside, The day the music died. So... (Refrain) Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey and rye Singing "This'll be the day that I die, This'll be the day that I die." (Verse 2) Did you write the book of love, And do you have faith in God above, If the Bible tells you so? Now do you believe in rock 'n roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow? Well I know you're in love with him 'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym You both kicked off your shoes Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck With a pink carnation and a pickup truck But I knew that I was out of luck The day the music died I started singing... (Refrain) (Verse 3) Now for ten years we've been on our own And moss grows fat on a rolling stone But that's not how it used to be When the jester sang for the King and Queen In a coat he borrowed from James Dean And a voice that came from you and me Oh, and while the King was looking down The jester stole his thorny crown The courtroom was adjourned, No verdict was returned. And while Lennon read a book on Marx, The quartet practiced in the park And we sang dirges in the dark The day the music died. We were singing... (Refrain) (Verse 4) Helter Skelter in a summer swelter The birds flew off with the fallout shelter Eight miles high and falling fast It landed foul on the grass The players tried for a forward pass With the jester on the sidelines in a cast Now the halftime air was sweet perfume While sergeants played a marching tune We all got up to dance Oh, but we never got the chance 'Cause the players tried to take the field, The marching band refused to yield. Do you recall what was revealed, The day the music died? We started singing (Refrain) (Verse 5) And there we were all in one place A generation lost in space With no time left to start again So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick Jack Flash sat on a candlestick 'Cause fire is the devil's only friend And as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage No angel born in hell Could break that satan's spell And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite I saw satan laughing with delight The day the music died He was singing... (Refrain) (Verse 6) I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news But she just smiled and turned away I went down to the sacred store Where I'd heard the music years before But the man there said the music wouldn't play And in the streets the children screamed The lovers cried and the poets dreamed But not a word was spoken The church bells all were broken And the three men I admire most The Father Son and Holy Ghost They caught the last train for the coast The day the music died And they were singing... frain 2X)Re:Two Words Part 4a (Score:2)
AMERICAN PIE by Don McLean
(Verse 1)
A long, long time ago...
I can still remember how
That music used to make me smile.
And I knew if I had my chance,
That I could make those people dance,
And maybe they'd be happy for a while.
But February made me shiver,
With every paper I'd deliver,
Bad news on the doorstep...
I couldn't take one more step.
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside,
The day the music died.
So...
(Refrain)
Bye bye Miss American Pie,
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ol' boys were drinkin whiskey and rye
Singing "This'll be the day that I die,
This'll be the day that I die."
(Verse 2)
Did you write the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock 'n roll?
Can music save your mortal soul?
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well I know you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm 'n' blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew that I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singing...
(Refrain)
(Verse 3)
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rolling stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the King and Queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the King was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned,
No verdict was returned.
And while Lennon read a book on Marx,
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died.
We were singing...
(Refrain)
Re:Two Words Part 4b (Score:2)
(Verse 4)
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with the fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field,
The marching band refused to yield.
Do you recall what was revealed,
The day the music died?
We started singing
(Refrain)
(Verse 5)
And there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
And as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in hell
Could break that satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing...
(Refrain)
(Verse 6)
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father Son and Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singing...
(Refrain 2X)
Adding to the collection (Score:1)
Tell you my love where to hide me away
tell you my love where to find me again
why cry, leggy smile I never had
star inner style
golden dreams that passed me by
Tell you my love reckless nights passed away
as I tried not to hate
I won't care what they say
why cry, leggy smile I never had
star inner style
golden dreams that passed me by
You said I'm on fire
well I don't think so and she said fine
you said no lies
well I don't think so and she said fine
I'll close my eyes and die
"Warlord - Aliens"
Through Pioneer 10 and Voyager 1
We've launched our knowledge to other suns
Aspiring and reaching for the highest of beings
We've lost our search for the world's basic needs
The Aliens - inside our machines! The Aliens - inside our dreams!
The Aliens . . . The Aliens, The Aliens are here!
Through fiction and lies we gaze at the skies
For flying saucers and men with three eyes
Creating those monsters we seek to destroy
Like children at play smashing their toys!
"Warlord - Lost and Lonely Days"
She came to me I thought i found her
the girl of all my dreams
And until then I did not know what
happiness could bring
We laughed we cried side by side
the summers turned to years
But winter came the skies have grayed
from happiness to tears
She said she would never leave me
never let me go
But now she's left with me this feeling
so sad and so alone
She went away I tried to find her
I cried aloud her name
I realized it was goodbye
the heartache and the pain
Why did she go away and leave me with the heartache
Why did she leave me with the pain
If I could tell her so I'd tell her that I love her
and all my dreams have gone away
these Lost and Lonely Days
If you could feel the way I feel about you
hear the things I say
If you could see the way I am without you
these Lost and Lonely Days
Short and concise (Score:1)
-Simon and Garfunkel
April come she will, when streams are ripe and swell with rain
May she will stay, resting in my arms again
June she'll change her tune, in restless walks she'll prowl the night
July she will fly, and give no warning to her flight
August die she must, the autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September I'll remember, a love once new has now grown old