Favorite Song Lyrics

[Pedro]

Inspired by the analysis of the merits (or lack thereof) of Nickelback's songs and lyrics in the "Why do most of you hate Nickelback" thread, I thought I'd start a separate topic on people's favorite song lyrics.

 

I'll start with a real oldie: "I Wish I Were In Love Again." I've always appreciated the cynicism and wordplay of Lorenz Hart. The song is from 1937, but it still plays well (with the exception of the black eye reference...spouse abuse isn't quite so casually laughed at now). It's probably best known as a Sinatra song. Here's my favorite part:

 

The furtive sigh
the blackened eye,
the words "I'll love you till the day I day"
the self-deception the believes the lie
I wish I were in love again!

When love congeals
it soon reveals
the faint aroma of performing seals
the double-crossing of a pair of heels.
I wish I were in love again!

[Brian the Automator]

Definitely a big fan of wish you were here.

 

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,

blue skies from pain.

Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?

A smile from a veil?

Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?

Hot ashes for trees?

Hot air for a cool breeze?

Cold comfort for change?

And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here.

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,

Running over the same old ground.

What have you found? The same old fears.

Wish you were here.

[BrewCrewForever]

Pearl Jam "I am Mine" from Riot Act

 

The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

The North is to South what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine

And the feeling, it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at hightide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine

And the meaning, it gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

And the feelings that get left behind
All the innocents broken with lies
Significance, between the lines
(We may need to hide)

And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide

[Menotti80]

I've always been partial to Mrs. Potter's Lullaby by Counting Crows

[trwi7]

Roll with the Changes - REO Speedwagon

 

As soon as you are able

Woman I am willing

To make the break that we

Are on the brink of

My cup is on the table

Our love is spilling

Waiting here for you to

Take and drink of

 

So if youre tired of the

Same old story

Turn some pages

Ill be here when you are ready

To roll with the changes

 

I knew it had to happen

Felt the tables turnin

Got me through my darkest hour

I heard the thunder clappin

Felt the desert burnin

Until you poured on me

Like a sweet sunshower

 

So if youre tired of the

Same old story

Turn some pages

Ill be here when you are ready

To roll with the changes

 

Roll with the changes

 

Of course you don't get to hear the kick ass guitar and keyboard solos in this but that just makes it that much better.

[Fatter than Joey]

Really don't mind if you sit this one out.

 

My words but a whisper -- your deafness a SHOUT.

I may make you feel but I can't make you think.

Your sperm's in the gutter -- your love's in the sink.

So you ride yourselves over the fields and

you make all your animal deals and

your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick.

And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away in

the tidal destruction

the moral melee.

The elastic retreat rings the close of play as the last wave uncovers

the newfangled way.

But your new shoes are worn at the heels and

your suntan does rapidly peel and

your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick.

 

And the love that I feel is so far away:

I'm a bad dream that I just had today -- and you

shake your head and

say it's a shame.

 

Spin me back down the years and the days of my youth.

Draw the lace and black curtains and shut out the whole truth.

Spin me down the long ages: let them sing the song.

 

See there! A son is born -- and we pronounce him fit to fight.

There are black-heads on his shoulders, and he pees himself in the night.

We'll

make a man of him

put him to trade

teach him

to play Monopoly and

to sing in the rain.

 

Really any Tull song will work for me.....

 

If there is one single line I relate to its....

 

"Too old to Rock, but too young to die."

[giffted1]

Weezer - Only in Dreams

 

You can't resist her

She's in your bones

She is your marrow

And your ride home

You can't avoid her

She's in the air

In between molecules

Of Oxygen and Carbon dioxide

 

Only in dreams

We see what it means

Reach out our hands

Hold on to hers

But when we wake

It's all been erased

And so it seems

Only in dreams

 

You walk up to her

Ask her to dance

She says hey, baby

I just might take the chance

You say It's a good thing

That you float in the air

That way there's no way

I will crush your pretty toenails into a thousand pieces

 

Only in dreams

We see what it means

Reach out our hands

Hold on to hers

But when we wake

It's all been erased

And so it seems

Only in dreams

 

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

[And That]

Weezer - Only in Dreams

Awesome! Agreed, one of my favorites.

Most of my favorite song lyrics are by Elliott Smith and most can't be posted here due to content.

Here's one that can, "Between The Bars":

 

Drink up baby, stay up all night
With the things you could do
You won't but you might
The potential you'll be that you'll never see
The promises you'll only make
Drink up with me now
And forget all about the pressure of days
Do what I say and I'll make you okay
And drive them away
The images stuck in your head

The people you've been before
That you don't want around anymore
That push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still

Drink up baby, look at the stars
I'll kiss you again between the bars
Where I'm seeing you there with your hands in the air
Waiting to finally be caught
Drink up one more time and I'll make you mine
Keep you apart, deep in my heart
Separate from the rest, where I like you the best
And keep the things you forgot

The people you've been before
That you don't want around anymore
That push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still

Outside of Elliott, here's another... Grateful Dead's "Ripple":

 

 If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine

And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,

Would you hear my voice come thru the music,

Would you hold it near as it were your own?

 

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,

Perhaps they're better left unsung.

I don't know, don't really care

Let there be songs to fill the air.

 

Ripple in still water,

When there is no pebble tossed,

Nor wind to blow.

 

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,

If your cup is full may it be again,

Let it be known there is a fountain,

That was not made by the hands of men.

 

There is a road, no simple highway,

Between the dawn and the dark of night,

And if you go no one may follow,

That path is for your steps alone.

 

Ripple in still water,

When there is no pebble tossed,

Nor wind to blow.

 

You who choose to lead must follow,

But if you fall you fall alone,

If you should stand then who's to guide you?

If I knew the way I would take you home.

 

La dee da da da, La da da da da, Da da da, Da da, Da da da da da

La da da da, La da da, Da da, La da da da, La da, Da da. [/pre]

[jason21nl]

I like Johnny Cash doing the song Hurt.

 

I hurt myself today

To see if I still feel

I focus on the pain

The only thing that's real

The needle tears a hold

The old familiar sting

Try to kill it all away

But I remember everything

 

[ Chorus: ]

What have I become

My sweetest friend

Everyone I know goes away

In the end

And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt

 

I wear this crown of thorns

Upon my liar's chair

Full of broken thoughts

I cannot repair

Beneath the stains of time

The feelings disappear

You are someone else

I am still right here

 

[ Chorus: ]

What have I become

My sweetest friend

Everyone I know goes away

In the end

And you could have it all

My empire of dirt

I will let you down

I will make you hurt

 

If I could start again

A million miles away

I would keep myself

I would find a way

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I usually get inspired by lyrics and find out i heard them wrong, anywho

 

I always like this line from Bad Religion

 

"Stones throw from a rock fight"

 

Lyrically, my favorite bands are Local H, Bad Religion, and Cake

[Time for a Miller]

Cake has a lot of my favorite lyrics. I think the song Sheep go to Heaven, goats go to hell, is my current favorite.

[Glennron]

Brand New- "Guernica" Although honestly, any single song by them off Deja Entendu or The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me has amazing lyrics.

I submit no excuse
If this is what I have to do, I owe you every day I wake
If I could I would shrink myself
Sink through your skin to your blood cells
Remove whatever makes you hurt
But I am too weak to be your cure

Also, Only In Dreams is by far the most underrated Weezer song, my favorite by them.

[Weirdos19]

Merle Haggard is my favorite song writer. By far.

 

Ramblin Fever

 

My hat don't stay on the same nail too long,

My ears can't stand to hear the same old song,

If someone ever said I gave a damn,

they damn sure told you wrong,

I got Ramblin Fever in my blood.

 

Ramblin fever,

The kind that can't be measured by degrees,

Ramblin fever,

There ain't no kind of cure for my disease.

 

I kind of like to get out on the road,

and let some pretty lady rub my back,

spend the early morning drinkin coffee,

talkin about when I'll be coming back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AmyintheSouth]

"Wish You Were Here" makes me cry every time I hear it, regardless of my state of mind at the time.

 

The past few days I've been binging on "Broken Hearted People" by Guy Clark, who I'm just starting to get into.

 

Now broken hearted people always seem to drink

and tryin' to drown those sorrows ain't as easy as you think

But living with a liar is a hard old way to go

Laughin' just to keep from crying ain't no way to grow old

 

So take me to a barroom driver

set me on a stool

If I can't be her man, I'm damned

if I'll be her fool

 

They say that whiskey ain't the best way, but then I ain't too smart

to think I just found out she was lyin' from the start

So if this is nothing but a bad joke lookin' for a laugh

hold on to your lampshade darlin' cause I'm looking for a hat

 

Can you take me to a barroom driver

set me on a stool

If I can't be her man, I'm damned

if I'll be her fool

 

So get this taxi movin' cause I got no time to lose

there's no time to be choosy, any old bar will do

cause I'm lookin' to get silly and I'm lookin' to get loose

and if that don't get it done darlin', I'll come looking for you

 

Take me to a barroom driver

set me on a stool

If I can't be her man, I'm damned

if I'll be her fool

 

I've also been obsessed with "'Til I Gain Control Again." Rodney Crowell wrote it, but tons of country singers have recorded it, from Willie to Waylon to Emmylou.

 

Just like the sun over the mountaintop

You know I'll always come again

You know I love to spend my morningtime

Like sunlight dancing on your skin

I've never gone so wrong

As for telling lies to you

What you see is what I've been

There is nothing I could hide from you

You see me better than I can

Out on the road that lies before me now

There are some turns where I will spin

I only hope that you can hold me now

'Til I can gain control again

 

And like a lighthouse

you must stand alone

Landmark the sailor's journey's end

No matter what sea

I've been sailing on

I'll always pass this way again

Out on the road that lies before me now

There are some turns where I will spin

I only hope that you can hold me now

Til I can gain control again

[Weirdos19]

More Merle Haggard for you. Two of my favorites, not two of his most popular. Rainbow Stew is 30 years old, and still speaks volumes about what is wrong with society.

 

Rainbow Stew

 

There's a big, brown cloud in the city,

And the Countryside's a sin.

And the price of life is to high to give up,

Gotta come down again.

When the world wide war is over and done,

And the dream of peace comes true.

We'll all be drinkin free bubble-ubb,

and Eatin that Rainbow Stew.

 

When they find out how to burn water,

And the gasoline car is gone.

When the airplane flies without any fuel,

and the sunlight heats our home.

One of these days when the air clears up,

And the sun comes shinin through.

We'll all be drinkin' the free bubble-ubb,

And eatin that rainbow stew.

 

You don't have to get high to get happy,

Just think about what's in store.

When people start doin what they oughta be doin,

Then they won't be booin' no more.

When a President goes through the White House door,

And does what he says he'll do,

We'll all be drinkin that free bubble ubb,

Eatin that rainbow stew.

 

 

It's Not Love (but it's not bad)

 

She's always there each time I needed you,

Holding on to me like I held on to you'

we still don't have what you and I once had;

No, it's not love, but it's not bad.

 

No, It's not love, not like ours was. It's not love,

But it keeps love from driving me mad;

And I don't have to wonder who she's had.

No, it's not love, but it's not bad.

 

I turn to her when you leave me alone,

Sometimes even when you're here, and you're still gone.

She's slowly changing what you leave so sad;

No, it's not love , But it's not bad.

 

 

Courtesy: cowboylyrics.com

[brettac1]

Two favorites:

 

Red House Painters - "Katy Song"

 

some escape some door to open

this path seems the blackest but i

guess it's the soonest

but there in the clearing i

know you'll be wearing

your young aching smile and

waving your hand

can't go with my heart when i

can't feel what's in it i

thought you'd come over

but for some reason you didn't

glass on the pavement under my shoe

without you is all my life amounts to

 

a final sleep no

words from my cutting

mouth to your ear or

taut wicked pinches

from my fingers to your bitter face

that i can't heal

i know tomorrow

you will be

somewhere in london

living with someone

you've got some kind of family

there to turn to

and that's more than i could ever give you

 

a chance for calm

a hope for freedom

outlet from my cold solitary kingdom

by the forest of our spring stay

where you walked away

and left a bleeding part of me

empty and bothered

watching the water

quiet in the corner

numb and falling through

without you what does my life amount to?

 

Van Morrison - "Into the Mystic"

 

We were born before the wind

Also younger than the sun

Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic

Hark, now hear the sailors cry

Smell the sea and feel the sky

Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home

And when that fog horn blows I want to hear it

I don't have to fear it

I want to rock your gypsy soul

Just like way back in the days of old

Then magnificently we will float into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home

And when thst fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it

I don't have to fear it

I want to rock your gypsy soul

Just like way back in the days of old

And together we will float into the mystic

Come on girl...

[pitchleague]

I'm kind of partial to this one, but that's me:

 

Take me out to the ballgame,

Take me out with the crowd,

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,

I don't care if I ever get back,

 

So, let's root, root, root for the home team,

If they don't win it's a shame.

For it's one, two, three strikes you're out

at the old ballgame.

[Hammer]

I still listen to this song quite a bit. Don't know why, but the lyrics work or me.

 

November Rain

 

When I look into your eyes

I can see a love restrained

But darlin' when I hold you

Don't you know I feel the same

'Cause nothin' lasts forever

And we both know hearts can change

And it's hard to hold a candle

In the cold November rain

We've been through this such a long long time

Just tryin' to kill the pain

But lovers always come and lovers always go

An no one's really sure who's lettin' go today

Walking away

If we could take the time to lay it on the line

I could rest my head

Just knowin' that you were mine

All mine

So if you want to love me

then darlin' don't refrain

Or I'll just end up walkin'

In the cold November rain

 

Do you need some time...on your own

Do you need some time...all alone

Everybody needs some time...on their own

Don't you know you need some time...all alone

I know it's hard to keep an open heart

When even friends seem out to harm you

But if you could heal a broken heart

Wouldn't time be out to charm you

 

Sometimes I need some time...on my

own Sometimes I need some time...all alone

Everybody needs some time...on their own

Don't you know you need some time...all alone

 

And when your fears subside

And shadows still remain, ohhh yeahhh

I know that you can love me

When there's no one left to blame

So never mind the darkness

We still can find a way

'Cause nothin' lasts forever

Even cold November rain

 

 

Don't ya think that you need somebody

Don't ya think that you need someone

Everybody needs somebody

You're not the only one

You're not the only one

[Hammer]

My wife doesn't have an account but she said that I should have picked the new song from Tim McGraw.

If you're reading this
And My mama's sitting there
Looks like I only got a one-way ticket over here
I sure wish I could give you one more kiss
And war was just a game we played when we were kids
Well I'm laying down my gun
I'm hanging up my boots
I'm up here with God
And we're BOTH watching over you

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my momma always prayed that it would go
And if you're reading this
I'm already home

If you're reading this
Half way around the world
I won't be there to see the birth of our little girl
I hope she looks like you
I hope she fights like me
Stands up for the innocent and the weak
I'm laying down my gun
I'm hanging up my boots
Tell dad I don't regret that I followed in his shoes

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my momma always prayed that it would go
And if you're reading this
I'm already home

If you're reading this
There's gonna come a day
When you move on and find someone else
And that's okay
Just remember this
I'm in a better place
Where soldiers live in peace
And angels sing Amazing Grace

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
And know my soul
Is where my momma always prayed that it would go
And if you're reading this
If you're reading this
I'm already home

[bullox]

I smashed it like an Idaho Potato - Mos Def

 

Keepin it simple.

[sbrylski]

We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down.

So we grabbed an alligator and we fought another round.

We filled his head with cannon balls, and powdered his behind

And when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind.

[recte44]

One great example of why Rob Thomas is underrated:

 

let it go,

let it roll right off your shoulder

don't you know

the hardest part is over

let it in,

let your clarity define you

in the end

we will only just remember how it feels

 

our lives are made

in these small hours

these little wonders,

these twists & turns of fate

time falls away,

but these small hours,

these small hours still remain

 

let it slide,

let your troubles fall behind you

let it shine

until you feel it all around you

and i don't mind

if it's me you need to turn to

we?ll get by,

it's the heart that really matters in the end

 

our lives are made

in these small hours

these little wonders,

these twists & turns of fate

time falls away,

but these small hours,

these small hours still remain

 

all of my regret

will wash away some how

but i can not forget

the way i feel right now

 

in these small hours

these little wonders

these twists & turns of fate

these twists & turns of fate

time falls away but these small hours

these small hours, still remain,

still remain

these little wonders

these twists & turns of fate

time falls away

but these small hours

these little wonders still remain

[Oldcity]

Maybe not my all-time favorite, but it's way up there. "Admit It" by Say Anything.

Admit it!
Despite your pseudo-bohemian appearance
And vaguely leftist doctrine of beliefs
You know nothing about art or sex
That you couldn't read in any trendy New York underground fashion magazine
Prototypical non-conformist
You are a vacuous soldier of the thrift store Gestapo
You adhere to a set of standards and tastes
That appear to be determined by an unseen panel of hipster judges
Giving a thumbs up or thumbs down to incoming and outgoing trends and styles of music and art
Go analog baby, you're so post-modern
You're diving face forward into a antiquated past
It's disgusting, it's offensive, don't stick your nose up at me

Yeah, what do you have to say for yourself?
Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah
Yeah, what do you have to say for yourself?
Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah

You spend your time sitting in circles with your friends
Pontificating to each other
Forever competing for that one moment of self-aggrandizing glory
In which you hog the intellectual spotlight
Holding dominion over the entire shallow pointless conversation
Oh, we're not worthy
When you walk by a group of quote-unquote normal people
You chuckle to yourself patting yourself on the back as you scoff
It's the same superiority complex
Shared by the high school jocks who made your life a living hell
And makes you a slave to the competitive capitalist dogma
You spend every moment of your waking life (whining) about

Yeah, what do you have to say for yourself?
Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah
And I say yeah, what do you have to say for yourself?
Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah

'Cause I'm proud of my life and the things that I have done
Proud of myself and the loner I've become
You're free to whine, it will not get you far
I do just fine, my car and my guitar

Proud of my life and the things that I have done
Proud of myself and the loner I've become
You're free to whine, it will not get you far
I do just fine, my car and my guitar, yeah

Well let me tell you this, I am shamelessly self-involved
I spend hours in front of the mirror, making my hair elegantly disheveled
I worry about how this album will sell
Because I believe it will determine the amount of sex I will have in the future
I self medicate with drugs and alcohol to treat my extreme social anxiety

You are a faker (admit it)
You are a fraud (admit it)
Yeah, you're living a lie (hey) living a lie (hey) you're life is living a lie
You don't impress me (admit it)
You don't intimidate me (admit it)
Why don't you bow down, get on the ground, walk this __ plank (yeah!)

Yeah, what do you have to say for yourself
Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah
And I say yeah (what do you..)

Proud of my life and the things that I have done
Proud of myself and the loner I've become
You're free to whine, it will not get you far
I do just fine, my car and my..
Guitar, guitar go!

I drift, drift, drift, drift, drift, yeah
I drift, drift, drift, drift, drift, yeah oh

And I am done with this
I wanna taste the breeze of every great city
My car and my guitar
My car and my guitar
So you'll come to be, made of these urges unfulfilled
Oh no, no, no, no, no
When I'm dead I'll rest
When I'm dead I'll rest, lay still
When I'm dead I'll rest, I'll rest
When I'm dead I'll rest, I'll rest
When I'm dead I'll rest, I'll rest
When I'm dead I'll rest, I'll rest

[thebruce44]

Del from Deltron 3030:

 

Sufferin and f***'em all's the motto

I'm trapped in a bottle

My music's gettin hollow

That's what happens when humanity you follow

Where every leak or info is hard to swallow

 

Sell your Marlboros and car insurance

Put n***** on the moon and can't pay your burdens

I smoke herb and rock a turban

Meditate on the world and whats occurrin

 

Every song on the album has got awesome lyrics with the futuristic theme and amaizing production from Dan the Automator.

[brwrsfan]

Weezer - Only in Dreams

 

You can't resist her

She's in your bones

She is your marrow

And your ride home

You can't avoid her

She's in the air

In between molecules

Of Oxygen and Carbon dioxide

 

Only in dreams

We see what it means

Reach out our hands

Hold on to hers

But when we wake

It's all been erased

And so it seems

Only in dreams

 

You walk up to her

Ask her to dance

She says hey, baby

I just might take the chance

You say It's a good thing

That you float in the air

That way there's no way

I will crush your pretty toenails into a thousand pieces

 

Only in dreams

We see what it means

Reach out our hands

Hold on to hers

But when we wake

It's all been erased

And so it seems

Only in dreams

 

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Only in dreams

Great song, love the lyrics as well. I really think Weezer is vastly underrated as a band. I also really like the lyrics for "In the Garage" but I don't have time to find them online right now.