Lyrics

[Sauntman]

What are some of the songs where the lyrics have moved you? I mean, really touched deep down within your soul? Lyrics that: make you feel happy, make you want to cry, make you ponder philosophically, make you to want to seek God, make you want to go to the gym and pump some iron, help you realize how much you love her? What songs will you never forget? Songs that can always take you back to a particular time in your life? What are your favorite lyrics?

[Darcy H]

I hate to admit it, but I've never been into lyrics much. I really get into a songs groove, but I've never spent much attention to what the singer is saying. I really noticed it when I tried to start singing, and it became readily apparent that I only knew the repetitive chorus of most songs. Not sure why, maybe poor sound systems as a kid and I learned to concentrate more on the beat because I couldn't make out the words. Anyhow, it's something I'm working on, listening more to whats being said.

[The Big G]

Lyrics in "A day in the Life" are just excellent and will always stay with me I think, we all know hole many holes it takes to fill the Albert hall.

 

Also the lyrics by one my favorite songwriters Kevin McDermott "Farewell to jenny Lynd" reminds me of my youth and my hometown of Glasgow.

http://www.kevinmcdermott.co.uk/musclips.html

small sample of the song on here.

 

Thanks nice to think about

[Rampdog]

It's hard for me to pin any one song but Jackson Browne's lyrics have always stirred me. I'm sure alot of that is from the era I grew up in. We've had threads similar to this usually refering to what one listens to during their formulative years. Pre Baby boomers would say Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, etc....todays kids would spout Rap, Hip-hop artists as that is the music that innundates their everyday lives. You got me thinking though.

Ramps

[Billster]

Well, I am the Fourth of July

I\'m throwing you a fire in the sky

You could go blind in my light

But you were looking for an orchid

And I will always be a dandelion

[Guitarzan]

when Allison Kraus sings "nothing at all" it really moves me.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Salt of the Earth, by the Stones.

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

Monster Mash.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by Sasquatch51:

Monster Mash.

[Warthog]

"24" by Switchfoot...

[Guitar55]

The Beatles' "In My Life" by John Lennon. Possibly the most poignant, heartfelt lyric ever written.

[A String]

Originally posted by Guitar55:

The Beatles' "In My Life" by John Lennon. Possibly the most poignant, heartfelt lyric ever written.

Yeah, a lot of songs have lyrics that get to me, but that song has to contain some of the best lyrics ever written.

 

I also like,

The poetic, story line in Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue." And most of Pink Floyd's lyrics (I was always a fan of "Thin Ice" when I was a kid.)

[Pappy P]

Most early Jackson Brown lyrics.

 

Almost anything from Late for The Sky.

 

For a Dancer in particular.

[Ricardo.]

Listening to Linkin Park at 12 as my first non hip-hop group, over and over on end, has ingrained their hopeless lyrics into my skull. I would say the lyrics from the songs off their Hybrid Theory CD (I didn't follow them after that) bring me back to different times and feelings.

[Gruupi]

I'm with Hfx Buzz. I don't get as turned on by lyrics as much as the music. There are some songs that have meaning but thats not my primary concern.

 

That being said. Paul Simon, John Lennon, all had something to say. I like some of Lisa Loeb's songs. I loved Joan Osborne's "One of Us". I like some of Lyle Lovett's songs.

[pollock]

I know you aren't looking for this response, but theres just too many to choose from! I love lyrics as much as the music, well they are music.

 

Blues lyrics are always great, a lot the same, but thats the genre.

 

The lines "the future was wide open" and "the sky was the limit" in Petty's "into the great wide open."

 

Bob Dylan, Neil Young, the beatles, jim morrison, all great lyricists.

 

and then theres: Simon and Garfunkel, IMO, paul simon is the greatest ever.

 

"Sparrow" , "Bleeker Street" , "leaves that are green" , i could go on and on and on....

[Sauntman]

The reason I started this post, besides the fact I have always been into good lyrics, was as I was listening to some CD's over the weekend through headphones I realized how much I like the lyrics to "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche. I can really relate to these lyrics. I am not saying they are my favorite of all-time but, they nailed it with these lyrics IMO.

 

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/q/queensryche/silent%20lucidity_20112774.html

[guitarisawayoflife21]

Dust in the Wind and Cemetery Gates(pantera) have lyrics that get to me.

[Guitarzan]

when i am grumpy i get real moved by Megadeth lyrics.

Dave helps me get my anger out.

sometimes ( an understatement) all the bad news pisses me off and a good headbanging of the rattlehead type allows me to spit back at the stuff that makes me grumpy.

i really am a happy guy...really.

[Justus A. Picker]

I've always like Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull's lyrics. He's good at matching words to music to paint a picture.

 

Ironclad feather-feet pounding the dust

An Octobers day, towards evening.

Sweat-embossed veins standing proud to the plow

Salt, on a deep chest, seasoning.

Last of the line, at an honest days toil

Turning the deep sod under.

Flint at the fetlock chaing the bone,

Flies at the nostril plunder.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by A String:

The poetic, story line in Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue."

I love that song too, but damned if I can understand what happens in it.

[skipclone 1]

I definitely pay attention to lyrics but not always because they move me deeply. I can also appreciate well-constructed, clever lyrics that fit the music and still have meaning-The Finn Brothers, Thomas Dolby and Squeeze back in the 80`s, Joni Mitchell even further back. Still love `Both Sides Now` and `Different Drum` from the 60s. On the current scene Jason Mraz makes some very cool lyrical twists that are not rap at all but have a similar poetic flow.

Gotta agree though, there`s nothing like some good old shouting and screaming, with appropriate face-peeling guitar, to get the rage out of your system. It`s a lot cheaper than breaking stuff.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by A String:

I've always felt it was about him, recalling a girl he met in his youth. He keeps bumping into this same girl in each verse and remembering what was going on during each time. The point of the song (IMO) is he's sort of missing his past. In the end, he wants to return to those days, but realizes that he can't.

Yeah, I'm just puzzled about the other guy in the story. Who's "he" and what's meant by "dealing in slaves"? The song's set in the present (hence the car, the topless bar and so on) so I doubt he means "slaves" in a literal sense? I think it could be a reference to junkies?

 

And how many times does she get divorced? Is the "soon to be divorced" bit about a marriage that's already happening at the beginning of the song or are we talking about what happened after "she froze up inside" while living in Montague St? Why didn't her parents and Dylan's parents like each other? Unless, of course, she was married to Dylan at the start of the song and the "she was married when we first met" is a reference to himself? But if that's the case, why do they have to be so secretive about their relationship?

 

There's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

[A String]

Originally posted by Kramer Ferrington III.:

Originally posted by A String:

I've always felt it was about him, recalling a girl he met in his youth. He keeps bumping into this same girl in each verse and remembering what was going on during each time. The point of the song (IMO) is he's sort of missing his past. In the end, he wants to return to those days, but realizes that he can't.

Yeah, I'm just puzzled about the other guy in the story. Who's "he" and what's meant by "dealing in slaves"? The song's set in the present (hence the car, the topless bar and so on) so I doubt he means "slaves" in a literal sense? I think it could be a reference to junkies?

 

And how many times does she get divorced? Is the "soon to be divorced" bit about a marriage that's already happening at the beginning of the song or are we talking about what happened after "she froze up inside" while living in Montague St? Why didn't her parents and Dylan's parents like each other? Unless, of course, she was married to Dylan at the start of the song and the "she was married when we first met" is a reference to himself? But if that's the case, why do they have to be so secretive about their relationship?

 

There's a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Once again, this is all IMO, as most interpretations of poetry are...

 

I agree with you that dealing with slaves means that his friend was a drug dealer.

 

The first verse is the present. He's thinking about how they met and how her parents disliked him.

 

In the second verse, he is talking about how, when he met her, she was married. I'm assuming it was a bad marriage as he helps her escape by (using to much force) and then packs her into a car and makes a break for it. He leaves her and goes on with his life.

 

The third verse, he talks about how he worked at a few jobs, but he just can't get the girl out of his head.

 

In the fourth and fifth verse, he bumps into her and they start a relationship. I believe she started him into the drug culture, offering him a pipe and reading poetry.

 

The sixth verse is many years later. Living with her and a group of people (Think hippies and coffee houses). One of the guys starts dealing drugs and suddenly everything falls apart. He makes a break for it and leaves everything behind (including her).

 

The last verse is back in the present again and is him saying he wants to find her. He remembers what it was like back then and would like to recapture those days. At the same time, he realizes that he can't because they have all moved on, gotten jobs and that point in time no longer exists. As I said before, there is no going home.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by A String:

The first verse is the present. He's thinking about how they met and how her parents disliked him.

I suppose that if you add a "then" to "And I was standin' on the side of the road" turning it to "And then I was standin' on the side of the road" it makes a lot more sense. The first verse describes two things (lying in bed and standing by the side of the road) as happening concurrently.

 

 

Originally posted by A String:

In the second verse, he is talking about how, when he met her, she was married.... and then packs her into a car and makes a break for it. He leaves her and goes on with his life.

But they'd made a run for it and all. Well, maybe it didn't work out?

 

 

Originally posted by A String:

In the fourth and fifth verse, he bumps into her and they start a relationship. I believe she started him into the drug culture, offering him a pipe and reading poetry.

See, that's another bit I find confusing! Why would she say "you look like the silent type" if she already knows him? She'd already know whether he was the silent type or not. This makes me believe that the one in the bar is a different woman altogether.

 

 

Originally posted by A String:

The sixth verse is many years later. Living with her and a group of people (Think hippies and coffee houses). One of the guys starts dealing drugs and suddenly everything falls apart. He makes a break for it and leaves everything behind (including her).

Yeah, but it's her that has to sell all her stuff. Why? I thought they were together and she would have got some of the drug money? Unless when he talks about "selling" he means things like principles, ideals and all that? Or is the "he" a reference to Dylan himself? (you know, taking the 3rd party approach to externalize everything?)

[A String]

I think she was married to someone else at the start. She doesn't remember him when they meet up in the topless bar because, when he helped her get away from her husband, it was a brief encounter. I think he just packed her up and gave her a drive somewhere. Maybe punched out the husband etc.

 

After a period of time passes and he can't get her out of his head, he bumps into her. She doesn't remember who he is although she recognizes him ("don't I know your name", "Studies the lines of his face".)

 

In the Sixties, it was not uncommon for a group of people to live together. Dylan actually did this back in the days when he played the coffee houses.

 

I think this verse is referring to how, one of the guys he lived with sold drugs. His, now wife, had to sell all of her things to support their habits and eventually the whole group fell apart. He left and didn't look back.

 

There is evidence of this in the last verse when he is talking about "All the people we used to know, they're an illusion to me now".

[Justus A. Picker]

I don't think you should look for a literal linear story in there. Dylan chose the words to fit a loose sense of story but live often switches verses around. As long as the rhyme scheme fits, it's cool.

 

I think "slaves" refers to prostitutes working for a pimp. Fits the strip joint reference.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by Justus A. Picker:

I think "slaves" refers to prostitutes working for a pimp. Fits the strip joint reference.

Now THAT is interesting. I'd never thought of that one before. Maybe when she sold "all of the things that she owned", that included her body, her soul and all that stuff.

 

Good interpretation!

[A String]

Originally posted by Kramer Ferrington III.:

Originally posted by Justus A. Picker:

I think "slaves" refers to prostitutes working for a pimp. Fits the strip joint reference.

Now THAT is interesting. I'd never thought of that one before. Maybe when she sold "all of the things that she owned", that included her body, her soul and all that stuff.

 

Good interpretation!

Yeah, that one hadn't occurred to me either.

[S. Yeti Bigfoot, Esq.]

Hmm....sometimes there is no hidden, deep, or prophetic meaning. Sometimes the songwriter was just writing a song and there is no profound life's story hidden in there....sometimes he was just filling space on an album and trying to find words that rhyme....

 

except for Monster Mash. Now THERE'S a deep, meaningful song.