Awesome Song Lyrics

[ShortOrderCook]

I'm sure this thread will invite plenty of hi-larious replies but there you go, i'm running with it regardless.

 

One of my favourite bands is Modest Mouse, they can be hit and miss but when they get it right i think they're incredible. I love their unique sound but above that i think Issac Brock writes some amazing, thought provoking, powerful lyrics. Particularly with 'Parting of the Sensory', Ocean Breathes Salty' and 'Bukowski' which i will list below; But i want to know what you consider some of the greatest lyrics you've ever heard or some of your favourites and share them here:

 

There's no work in walking in to fuel the talk

I would grab my shoes and then away I'd walk

Through all the stubborn beauty I start at the dawn

Until the sun had fully stopped

Never walking away from

Just a way to pull apart

Dehydrate back into minerals

A life long walk to the same exact spot

 

Carbon's anniversary

The parting of the sensory

Old old mystery

The parting of the sensory

 

Who the hell made you the boss?

We placed our chips in all the right spots

But still lost

Any shithead who had ever walked

Could take the ship and do a much finer job

This fit like clothes made out of wasps

Aw, fuck it I guess I lost

 

The parting of the sensory

Carbon's anniversary

Just part it again if you please

Carbon's anniversary

 

Who the hell made you the boss

If you say what to do I know what not to stop

If you were the ship then who would ever get on

The weather changed it for the worse

And came down on us like it had been rehearsed

And like we hope, but change will surely come

And be awful for most but really good for some

I took a trip to the exact same spot

We pulled the trigger, but we forgot to cock

And every single shot

 

Aw, fuck it I guess we lost

 

Some day you will die and

Somehow something's going to steal your carbon

 

Some day you will die and

Somehow something's going to steal your carbon

 

Well some day you will die somehow and

Something's going to steal your carbon

 

Some day you will die and

Someone's or something's will steal your carbon

 

Some day something will die and

Somehow you'll figure out how

Often you will die somehow and

Something going to steal your carbon

 

Well some day you will die somehow and

Something's going to steal your carbon

 

 

 

 

Your body may be gone, I'm gonna carry you in.

In my head, in my heart, in my soul.

And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both live again.

Well I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Don't think so.

 

Well that is that and this is this.

You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get.

You get away from me. You get away from me.

Collected my belongings and I left the jail.

Well thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell.

I had to think awhile. I had to think awhile.

 

The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?

In your head, in your mouth, in your soul.

And maybe we'll get lucky and we'll both grow old.

Well I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I hope so.

 

Well that is that and this is this.

You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get.

You get away from me. You get away from me.

Collected my belongings and I left the jail.

Well thanks for the time, I needed to think a spell.

I had to think awhile. I had to think awhile.

 

Well that is that and this is this.

Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed,

when the ocean met the sky.

You missed when time and life shook hands and said goodbye.

When the earth folded on itself.

And said "Good luck, for your sake I hope heaven and hell

are really there, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?

You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death?

 

The ocean breathes salty, won't you carry it in?

In your head, in your mouth, in your soul.

The more we move ahead the more we're stuck in rewind.

Well I don't mind. I don't mind. How the hell could I mind?

 

Well that is that and this is this.

You tell me what you want and I'll tell you what you get.

You get away from me. You get away from me.

 

Well that is that and this is this.

Will you tell me what you saw and I'll tell you what you missed,

when the ocean met the sky.

You wasted life, why wouldn't you waste the afterlife?

 

 

 

Woke up this morning and it seemed to me,

that every night turns out to be

A little more like Bukowski.

And yeah, I know he's a pretty good read.

But God who'd wanna be?

God who'd wanna be such an asshole?

God who'd wanna be?

God who'd wanna be such an asshole?

 

Well we sat on the edge of the river,

the crowd screamed, "Sacrifice the liver!"

If God takes life, he's an Indian giver.

So tell me now why, you'll tell me never.

Who would wanna be?

Who would wanna be such a control freak?

Well who would wanna be?

Who would wanna be such a control freak?

 

Well see what you wanna see. You should see it all.

Well take what you want from me. You deserve it all.

Nine times out of ten our hearts just get dissolved.

Well I want a better place or just a better way to fall.

 

But one time out of ten, everything is perfect for us all.

Well I want a better place or just a better way to fall.

Here we go!

 

If God controls the land and disease,

keeps a watchful eye on me,

If he's really so damn mighty,

my problem is I can't see,

well who would wanna be?

Who would wanna be such a control freak?

Well who would wanna be?

Who would wanna be such a control freak?

 

Evil home stereo, what good songs do you know?

Evil me, oh yeah I know, what good curves can you throw?

 

Well all that icing and all that cake,

I can't make it to your wedding, but I'm sure I'll be at your wake.

You were talk, talk, talk, talkin' in circles that day,

when you get to the point make sure that I'm still awake, OK?

 

Went to bed and didn't see

why every day turns out to be

a little bit more like Bukowski.

And yeah, I know he's a pretty good read.

But God who'd wanna be?

God who'd wanna be such an asshole?

[Arch Stanton]

I'd encourage people to post just the lyrics they like rather than entire songs, or it all gets a bit 'tl;dr'. YouTube links would be good too.

[Magnum]

Lyrically, I think Don McLean is the fucking boss. I find American Pie an absolutely fascinating song for the various interpretations of its lyrics and the way they can be seen as both really specific to a cultural period, and yet abstract enough to make your own sense of them at the same time. Aside from that, Vincent remains the most moving song I've ever heard. I won't pick lyrics from either one, because the entire songs are perfect and only really work as a whole. One of his lesser known efforts, Castles in the Air, also resonates with me increasingly as I get older:

 

For I will not be part of her cocktail generation,

Partners waltz, devoid of all romance

The music plays and everyone must dance

I'm bowing out, I need a second chance

 

Save me from all the trouble and the pain

I know I'm weak but I can't face that girl again

Tell her the reasons why I can't remain

Perhaps she'll understand if you tell it to her plain

 

And if she asks you why you can tell her that I told you

That I'm tired of Castles in the Air

I've got a dream I want the world to share in castle walls

Just leave me to despair

 

Aside from The Don and on a much more masculine note, Tom Waits - 'Goin' Out West' (the song from the scene where Pitt and Norton walk into the tavern together in Fight Club) is possibly the most manly song ever written:

Well I know karate, voodoo too

I'm gonna make myself available to you

I don't need no make up

I got real scars

I got hair on my chest

I look good without a shirt

 

...

 

Well I don't lose my composure

In a high speed chase

Well my friends think I'm ugly

I got a masculine face

[ShortOrderCook]

I'd encourage people to post just the lyrics they like rather than entire songs, or it all gets a bit 'tl;dr'. YouTube links would be good too.

 

I'd originally intended to do just that myself, but with those particular choices realised i'd end up posting most of it anyway and that it was all important to the story being told, so just banged it all in. I think they are lyrically brilliant throughout, particularly the first two.

 

But yes, i don't mean post entire songs too, you can if you like but a verse, sentence, whatever is all good.

[cobystag]

Metal Church era Mike Howe contains one of my favourite albums, songs and lyrics.

 

a song about the gravity of insurance in medical care and how dubious Dr's can exploit that and patients for their own personal gain.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

 

I prey upon your morbid fear

Of terminal disease

You won't know the difference

Now it's time for surgery

Another shot, another pill

Two weeks therapy

I take all major credit cards

Your money is what I need

 

I'm a healer

I will keep you all alive

I'm a healer

 

A villain at your bedside

Take this and you'll be fine

Severely educated

Just pay your bill on time

I think it's time for another test

I need more of your blood

Sign this affidavit

So my insurance won't go up

 

I'm a healer

I will keep you all alive

I'm a healer

 

Research and development

Spend millions every year

You sickly and decrepit ones

Keep my yacht safe on the pier

 

You're dying on a stretcher

We'll try to save your life

If you can't afford my service

I will let you die

I'm trusted and respected

Says my diploma on the wall

Before I will do anything

I'll give your bank a call

 

I'm a healer

I will keep you all alive

I'm a healer

 

 

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in regards to the homeless and peoples perception of them.

 

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Starved for destination, a beggar man by trade

A desperate man needs more than someone else to blame

Friendless he appears, he hides behind his tears

For things he's lost, or things he'll never have at all

 

The forgotten man wanders misplaced in the world

Obscurity is all the eye can see, and I recall

 

All alone again

 

As we pass on by and continue with our day

Can we appraise the quality of life some other way?

 

All alone again

 

When you take a longer look at someone on the run

You may see reflections of yourself becoming one

Take an extra moment when you find yourself at peace

To think about your values and your own affluency

 

Everything you've worked for and everything you've done

May be thrown by the wayside, and you're not the only one

Everything around you may seen worn and overused

But imagine yourself removed from all that you're used to

 

All alone again

 

Once an influential man, once was in his prime

He spends his days repeating lines like "can you spare a dime?"

Shunned by those loved you and by those who were your friends

Can you adjust to a different life of living on the edge?

 

The destitute find meaning in a different way of life

The doorways that they dwell in are shelter in the night

No shining crystal possessions set out for his display

His purpose is to find the food to get him throught the day

 

All alone again

 

Roaming aimless through the streets of supply and demand

Once a gypsy disconnected, no more, no future plans

Self discarded king of ruin, worthless to the world

Fight to keep his sanity, his voice is never heard

 

You may think it thoughtless and his mind is on a string (?)

He always seems to find a reason to get him through the day

 

All alone again

 

He staggers down the alley to drink his spirits by himself

As he prays to God that he wakes up somewhere else

 

 

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in regards to the music industry and people copying others works in regards to samples, the lack of effort and originality.

 

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I just can't believe my ears, some music out these days

The human factor has diminished, in oh so many ways

Fancy footwork gets top bill and I'll put on such a show

One more Midi cable and my band is ready to go

One more moneymaker and I'm set for life

Stealing from others will make my future bright

 

One, make some money; two, overexpose

Sincerity is felt much more when the human factor shows

When the human factor shows

 

I just need a sample cause no one says it's wrong

It's so easy to rip-off using someone else's songs

Everybody wants to be a star in modern days

But if I don't have talent then I'll just get by this way

Changing programs faster than I dare to say

Musicians all make mistakes who needs them anyway?

 

One, make some money; two, overexpose

Sincerity is felt much more when the human factor shows

When the human factor shows

 

I just heard a song today I think I'll use a part

incorporate it my own way and that is just the start

I'll change the lyrics that they wrote to satisfy my needs

I wrote the book. Two easy steps. "How to succeed."

 

I just can't believe my ears, some music out these days

The human factor has diminished, in oh so many ways

Fancy footwork gets top bill and I'll put on such a show

One more Midi cable and my band is ready to go

One more moneymaker and I'm set for life

Stealing from others will make my future bright

 

One, make some money; two, overexpose

Sincerity is felt much more when the human factor shows

When the human factor shows

When the human factor shows

When the human factor shows

 

 

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"Date With Poverty" in regards to money lenders and pretty much this whole borrow/buy now-pay later mentality that has become so apparent over the past few generations.

 

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I live my life the best I can, sometimes I need a change

Losing all my marbles wasn't part of the game

Existing day by day tormented by the telephone

It's hard enough to live my life, why don't you live your own?

 

I pay out money with a check, I never use the cash

Collectors closing in on me, is this some kind of test?

Borrow is my middle name, the banks give graciously

With interest rates that terrify, they knock you senselessly

 

Bounce a check, lie a bit, do without

I'm in hiding, just leave me be

This is the first step to my date with poverty

 

You sit there in your cushy job and call me on the phone

You want my money and everything I own

I'll pay you soon as I get paid, the check is in the mail

Don't call my home anymore, I've long since jumped bail

 

Bounce a check, lie a bit, do without

I'm in hiding, just leave me be

This is the first step to my date with poverty

I'm in hiding, just leave me be

This is the first step to my date with poverty

 

Living on a shoestring daily, maybe I'll make some money maybe

I hope to make a living someday, then I'll pay you what I owe you

Then you'll get off my back!

 

Someday I'll get ahead of things and life will be so grand

I'll buy a house down my the beach, stick my feet in the sand

For now I'll do what I can do to keep this dream alive

Until I win the lottery I must survive

 

Bounce a check, lie a bit, do without

I'm in hiding, just leave me be

This is the first step to my date with poverty

I'm in hiding, just leave me be

This is the first step to my date with poverty

 

I'm so fuckin' broke

I can't even afford to pay attention

Don't you know who I am?

You got any food?

I need a drink

Aw, fuck you

 

 

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"In Mourning" appears to have been written as result of the Judas Priest suicide trial, but has proven to be relevant over 20 years later as society will always try and lay the blame at a scapegoat for the actions of others. Columbine being a pretty big case in point.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

 

Maybe if you'd listen than you'd know what I just said

If you think the words I'm singing are why your kids are dead

Maybe could it be that no one was there to hear

Did you pay attention to their angers and their fears?

You're trying to find someone to blame who can't be put on trial

The enemy you're looking for is laughing all the while

 

I mourn for those who have been so deceived

You know the last words that they spoke were "Who loves me?"

 

People in glass house should not be throwing stones

A sticker on a record won't give your kids a home

So sad it takes someone to die for you to start to care

Your neglect and misguidance have become your nightmare

I hope and pray this tragedy was not all just in vain

Now you can help somebody else avoid the endless pain

 

I mourn for those who have been so deceived

You know the last words that they spoke were "Who loves me?"

I hope that someday you will stop and realize why do many kids have died

 

Think twice before you point a finger that you may regret

To clear you conscience is your goal, but that is all you'll get

What's done is done, you can't bring them back, Just let go of despair

You keep saying to yourself "If only I'd been there"

 

I mourn for those who have been so deceived

You know the last words that they spoke were "Who loves me?"

I hope that someday you will stop and realize

Just why so many kids have died

 

 

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"In Harm's Way" written about child abuse by their parents and the damage done.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

 

In the empty spaces of the mind, that's here I store my past

A ghostly image that I fear has yet to be surpassed

I pray that I won't carry all the pain 'till the end

 

No direction from your guardian, the one who should protect

I'm innocent of their decisions, I wonder why dad left

Every night I hide in bed and plan to run away...

 

A lonely child with battered eyes

No joy in innocence they cry

Always has to lie his way through life

 

I've fallen down while playing ball

But mom beat me up and down the hall

Just because she had one of those nights

 

Instinct to defend, where does it all end

How does a child get himself out of harm's way?

A lifelong price to pay

 

It's not that mommy hits that hurts me, it's when she goes away

Get home from school all by myself and won't see her for days

A kid deprived of love in life has no alternative in sight

He throws up barriers to get him through

A human life's a gift from God

Your conscience and your heart are gone

You're much to cruel to have a point of view

 

No one to turn to, oh, how dare you

How does a child get himself out of harm's way?

A price no one should pay

 

Can't you see the tears they're crying

Don't you care your kids are dying?

From the senseless torment that you put them through

 

There's different kinds of lies to tell

Abuse is from the pit of hell

A demon with a goal that is to kill

 

You better hear the words I say

Deliverence may be far away

You'll look like you have been run through the mill

 

Instinct to defend, where does it all end

How does a child get himself out of harm's way?

A lifelong price to pay

 

 

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[ColinBollocks]

Well this thread doesn't have any legitimacy if it doesn't have some Leonard Cohen, so I'll oblige. One that I've been fascinated with for a few years is 'A Thousand Kisses Deep'. It's appeared in many forms over the years (like a lot of his stuff).

Here's a compilation of spoken word versions that features different variations of the poem, through the years. AND here's the song it eventually turned into.

I think I prefer the lines in this one.

 

A snippet from the song version:

Confined to sex, we pressed against the limits of the sea.

I saw there were no oceans left for scavengers like me.

I made it to the forward deck,

I blessed our remnant fleet

And then consented to be wrecked,

A Thousand Kisses Deep.

 

I'll add quite possibly his finest work, Tower Of Song. Truly the work of a man that operates at a different skill level than most.

 

Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey

I ache in the places where I used to play

And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on

I'm just paying my rent every day

Oh in the Tower of Song

 

I said to Hank Williams: "how lonely does it get?"

Hank Williams hasn't answered yet

But I hear him coughing all night long

A hundred floors above me

In the Tower of Song

 

I was born like this, I had no choice

I was born with the gift of a golden voice

And twenty-seven angels from the Great Beyond

They tied me to this table right here

In the Tower of Song

 

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll

I'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at all

I'm standing by the window where the light is strong

Ah they don't let a woman kill you

Not in the Tower of Song

 

Now you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure

The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor

And there's a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong

You see, you hear these funny voices

In the Tower of Song

 

I see you standing on the other side

I don't know how the river got so wide

I loved you baby, way back when

And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed

But I feel so close to everything that we lost

We'll never have to lose it again

 

Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back

They're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track

But you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm gone

I'll be speaking to you sweetly

From a window in the Tower of Song

 

I really could pick at least a dozen of his songs as examples of his genius (but who wants that). I think what really shows the quality of his work is the amount of great (and shit) bands/singers that feel compelled to cover his work, just a shame Hallelujah has been ruined a bit though. I'll leave with the chorus from Anthem.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

[Magnum]

Tower of Song is great, love the recent Tom Jones version.

[Joey Joe Joe Jr]

Brand New are my favourite band. Too many lyrics to choose from, so I'll go with an obvious one from one of their bigger songs:

 

From Jesus Christ:

 

'Well, Jesus Christ, I'm alone again

So what did you do those three days you were dead?

'cause this problem's gonna last more than the weekend.

 

Well, Jesus Christ, I'm not scared to die,

I'm a little bit scared of what comes after

Do I get the gold chariot?

Do I float through the ceiling?'

 

 

From Limousine:

 

'A beauty supreme, yeah you were right about me,

Can I get myself out from underneath this guilt that will crush me,

And in the choir I saw a sad messiah,

He was bored and tired of my laments,

'said I died for you one time but never again.'

 

A bit more depressing when you hear the story behind the song.

[Arch Stanton]

Lots of miserable content ITT so far, which is all well and good, but let's lighten it up a little. To this day, this line never fails to bring a smile to my face- it's simple, honest, funny and absolutely captured what Slim Shady was all about in the year 2000.

 

Will Smith don't gotta cuss in his raps to sell his records;

well I do, so fuck him and fuck you too!

 

Rolls off the tongue and sticks straight in your head. It's a belting line, and while taken at face value it isn't big or clever, there is a back story to it, as there usually is whenever Eminem addresses anybody in his lyrics.

[Tommy!]

Here we stand or here we fall

History won't care at all

Make the bed, light the light

Lady mercy won't be home tonight

 

Don't waste no time at all

Don't hear the bell but you answer the call

It comes to you as to us all

Hey, we're just waiting

For the hammer to fall - yeah

 

Oh every night, and every day

A little piece of you is falling away

But lift your face, the western way, baby

Build your muscles as your body decays

 

Yeah, toe your line and play their game

Yeah, let the anaesthetic cover it all

Till one day they call your name

You know it's time for the hammer to fall - yeah

 

Rich or poor or famous

It's true it's all the same - oh no - oh no

Oh lock your door but rain is pouring

Through your window pane - oh no - yeah

Baby now your struggles all vain

 

Mainly the bit in bold but all the song to there is just wonderful I think.

[CTXRussomark]

Alice in Chains - Sludge Factory

 

Call me up, congratulations ain't the real why,

There's no pressure besides brilliance, let's say by day nine,

Endless corporate ignorance lets me control time,

By the way, by the way, by the way

 

I love the whole song but particularly this verse after finding out the apparent story behind it. The band were in the midst of recording when Staley got a call from the record company congratulating him because the Mad Season record had just gone gold, only for the call to end with them saying they expected the new album to be finished by the end of the following week (9 days from then). Staley wrote the above verse and the band took at least another month to finish the album.

[AshC]

Alice Cooper, School's Out.

 

"Well we got no class, and we got no principles..."

 

Genius.

[LaGoosh]

Inspectah Deck's second verse from "CREAM" by Wu Tang Clan is probably my favorite verse in anything ever. The whole thing is brilliant and perfect:

 

It's been twenty-two long hard years of still strugglin

Survival got me buggin, but I'm alive on arrival

I peep at the shape of the streets

And stay awake to the ways of the world cause shit is deep

A man with a dream with plans to make C.R.E.A.M.

Which failed; I went to jail at the age of 15

A young buck sellin drugs and such who never had much

Trying to get a clutch at what I could not... could not...

The court played me short, now I face incarceration

Pacin -- going up state's my destination

Handcuffed in back of a bus, forty of us

Life as a shorty shouldn't be so ruff

But as the world turns I learned life is hell

Living in the world no different from a cell

Everyday I escape from Jakes givin chase, sellin base

Smokin bones in the staircase

Though I don't know why I chose to smoke sess

I guess that's the time when I'm not depressed

But I'm still depressed, and I ask what's it worth?

Ready to give up so I seek the Old Earth

Who explained working hard may help you maintain

To learn to overcome the heartaches and pain

We got stickup kids, corrupt cops, and crack rocks

And stray shots, all on the block that stays hot

Leave it up to me while I be living proof

To kick the truth to the young black youth

But shorty's running wild smokin sess drinkin beer

And ain't trying to hear what I'm kickin in his ear

Neglected, but now, but yo, it gots to be accepted

That what? That life is hectic

[niff]

Tower of Song is great, love the recent Tom Jones version.

 

Its always worth a mention of Everybody Knows also from Cohen. I love the first verse.

 

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded

Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed

Everybody knows that the war is over

Everybody knows the good guys lost

Everybody knows the fight was fixed

The poor stay poor, the rich get rich

That's how it goes

Everybody knows

 

 

One of my favourite songs is from John Mayers first album. The lyrics from 'No Such Thing' really resonate with me, bringing back memories from school.

 

"Welcome to the real world", she said to me

Condescendingly

Take a seat

Take your life

Plot it out in black and white

Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings

And the drama queens

I'd like to think the best of me

Is still hiding

Up my sleeve

 

They love to tell you

Stay inside the lines

That something's better

On the other side

 

I wanna run through the halls of my high school

I wanna scream at the

Top of my lungs

I just found out there's no such thing as the real world

just a lie you've got to rise above

[Allstar69]

There's a guy in the place

He's got a bittersweet face

And he goes by the name of Ebeneezer Goode

His friends call him Eezer and he is the main geezer

And he'll vibe about the place

Like no other man could

He's refined, sublime, he makes you feel fine

Though very much maligned and misunderstood

But if you know Eezer he's a real crowd pleaser

He's ever so good, he's Ebeneezer Goode

 

 

This come out in 92 and I loved it even though i didn't understand what it ment but then I was a innocent 9yr old and got in trouble for singing it in school. Although how the teachers knew what the song was about ill never know