KVR :: Everything Else (Music related) » What's your coolest song lyric of all time? [View Original Topic]
There are 90 posts in this topic.

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Trojan Badger - Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:39 am

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Following on from the "what's your coolest song part of all time" thread I find myself thinking of fave lyrics, now I've run out of parts...

Especially since it's gone on a Thomas Dolby trip. Not much beats "I love you goodbye"'s opening:

"I would never normally go bowling on a Friday morning in New Orleans"

Although Half Man Half Biscuit come close with "Now you are gone forever, shot by your uncle Trevor"

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CypherOne - Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:50 am

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I was drowning my sorrows, when my sorrows learned to swim - some U2 song that I forget the name of.

Other than that - "stand up, clap your hands, shout thank your Lord, thank you for the world I'm in"

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SecondSkin - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:14 am

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Great one Cypherone! Good luck on the fatherhood, it really is a blast (until a 2 yr old slaps their hand across your keyboard in the middle of a perfect take). Well, even then it is fun.

As I recall, this type of thread ends with everyone quoting full songs....I'm guessing in about 3 pages.

"I realize a miracle is due. I dedicate this melody, to you..."

"When you fail to make the connection, you know how vital it is; and when something slips through your fingers you know how precious it is..." Both from the Chameleons

"A million towers stand before me, I cannot climb them all..." VNV Nation

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CypherOne - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:16 am

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The Birthplace of Techno

are you from Swindon then?

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Patrick9 - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:25 am

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Maybe not cool but definitly a great lyric from Kris Kristofferson's "Sunday morning coming down"

Well, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn't hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

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bluedad - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:26 am

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of course it's cool!
haven't we all been in that state before!

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2windy - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:29 am

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'Philosophy, is the top of a cereal box. Religion, is the smile on a dog.' Edie Brickell - What I am

'C*nt' Donkeytugger - I'd like to mash every tooth in your head!

'All your dreams are made of Strawberry lemonade and you make sure I eat today. You take me walking to where you played when you were young' Oasis - Talk Tonight

'No no, no, n-no no, no ,n-no, no ,no there's no limit' 2Unlimited - No limit

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Patrick9 - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:30 am

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True!

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Karsten Viese - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:30 am

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I think this line by Roger Waters in the song "4.58 AM (Dunroamin, Duncarin, Dunlivin)"

"I nailed ducks to the wall"

would be my favorite

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handy - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:35 am

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"time, flexes like a whore, falls W***ing to the floor"
bowie dont'y'know

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CypherOne - Wed Jun 23, 2004 4:36 am

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ooh good one

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Rock Hardbuns - Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:18 am

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I have wealth beyond messure and my treasures are words
forged by time in a tale of such beauty they cry to be heard
/From The Clerical Conspiracy by Sabbat


With sand between my toes, and water in my eyes
I lost my footing, broke my bones, and spoke to many lies.
/Yours Truly

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Cabinfever - Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:37 am

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punk poet john cooper clarke:

we walked out, tentacle-in-hand,
you could tell that the earthlings did not understand,
they go 'nudge, nudge' when we got on the bus,
saying: 'its extraterrestial, not like us'
and its bad enough with another race,
but f**k me, a monster from outer space !

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sCAB - Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:42 am

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You scumbag, you maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God it's our last

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Len9 - Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:42 am

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"Hands up,
who wants to die?"
-"Sonny's Burning", The Birthday Party

and PLENTY more over the course of
Nick Cave's illustrious career

another personal favourite...

"This moment hangs
like your ragged hair"
-"Celebrate", Fields of the Nephilim

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Len9 - Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:45 am

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"Hands up,
who wants to die?"
-"Sonny's Burning", The Birthday Party

and PLENTY more over the course of
Nick Cave's illustrious career

another personal favourite...

"This moment hangs
like your ragged hair"
-"Celebrate", Fields of the Nephilim

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scuzzphut - Wed Jun 23, 2004 5:50 am

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"On the plaza, the highways curve in over reservoirs"

John Foxx - Plaza -Metamatic... such a cool dude

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endmusik - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:20 am

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"Catalina" by the Descendents

you can't tell me what to do
you can't make me think i love you
shoot it in the arm, you can't hurt me
i'm on my way to catalina
and i'm not going to read your books
my tank's full of squid and it's getting light
and you whores, you can't make me want 'cause i got all the rest i need on the deck of my boat
and you can't take my heart when i'm here
'cause it's a long swim home for your cute little arms

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sjm - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:39 am

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"satan gave me a taco" - beck?

but I'm not going to post the entire lyrics here, you have to hear it

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CypherOne - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:39 am

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"let me take you by the hand and take round the streets of London" - Ralph McTell...classic.

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blaster78 - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:42 am

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"bitches hoes yo, go get me pies" - donkey t

not really my favourite but definately cheered me up this morning.

edit: just seen the beck one posted above.... b side to looser had a song with the opening lines

"mtv makes me wanna smoke crack
fall out of the window and I'm never comin back"

that i always like.

steve

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Big Karma - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:43 am

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"...Dressed up like a car crash, youre wheels are turning but you're up side down...."


Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
U2
Zooropa

That's me!!

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vurt - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:45 am

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no no
no no no no
no no no no
no no
THERES NO LIMITS

2unlimited 198something
dance music at its best ever

before that

ta ta ta ta ttttt ta ta take or leave us

mel n kim

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CypherOne - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:53 am

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there's Klingons on the starboard bough, starboard bough, starboard bough...

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endmusik - Wed Jun 23, 2004 6:58 am

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someone said something about whole lyrics

I love this song - well worth searching out: Neutral Milk Hotel - Oh Comely from In the Aeroplane over the Sea

one of the most movingly haunting tunes ever - the music is sublime too

Oh Comely

Oh comely
I will be with you when you lose your breath
Chasing the only meaningful memory you thought you had left
With some pretty bright and bubbly terrible scene
That was doing her thing on your chest
But oh comely
It isn't as pretty as you'd like to guess
In your memory
You're drunk on your automy
It doesn't mean anything at all
Oh comely
All of your friends are letting you blow
Bristling and ugly
Bursting with fruits falling out from the holes
Of some pretty bright and bubbly friend
You could need to say comforting things in your ear
But oh comely
There isn't such one friend that you could find here
Standing next to me
He's only my enemy
I'll crush him with everything I own
Say what you want to say
And hang for your hollow ways
Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me

Your father made fetuses
With flesh licking ladies
While you and your mother
Were asleep in the trailer park
Thunderous sparks from the dark of the stadiums
The music and medicine you needed for comforting
So make all your fat fleshy fingers to moving
And pluck all your silly strings
And bend all your notes for me
Soft silly music is meaningful magical
The movements were beautiful
All in your ovaries
All of them milking with green fleshy flowers
While powerful pistons were sugary sweet machines
Smelling of semen all under the garden
Was all you were needing when you still believed in me
Say what you want to say
And hang for your hollow ways
Moving your mouth to pull out all your miracle for me

And I know they buried her body with others
Her sister and mother and 500 families
And will she remember me 50 years later
I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine
Know all your enemies
We know who are enemies are
Know all your enemies
We know who are enemies are

Goldaline my dear
We will fold and freeze together
Far away from here
There is sun and spring and green forever
But now we move to feel
For ourselves inside some stranger's stomach
Place your body here
Let your skin begin to blend itself with mine

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endmusik - Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:02 am

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Belle and Sebastian - The State I am in - classic verse

"I got married in a rush to save a kid from being deported
Now she’s in love
I was so touched, I was moved to kick the crutches
From my crippled friend
She was not impressed that I cured her on the sabbath
So I went to confess
When she saw the funny side, we introduced my child bride
To whisky and gin"

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CypherOne - Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:07 am

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rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, yep yep yep yep, rabbit rabbit rabbit rabbit

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sjm - Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:16 am

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I link that one too

and before I forget, there's also Billy Bragg...
"I look like Robert de Niro,
I drive a Mitsubishi Zero"

"I had an uncle who once played
for Red Star Belgrade"

great stuff (it's actually not quite as banal as would seem when taken out of context)

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SecondSkin - Wed Jun 23, 2004 7:47 am

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Its a widely unknown fact that techno was discovered in my basement in 1981, whilst I was mucking about with a bandmates Mono-Poly. At the time, I only lived a few miles from Belleville, Michigan, home of Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson. I'm pretty sure they had some kind of spy network that alerted them to my discovery, or they were visiting neighbors and heard the ruckus...in any event the rest is history.

edit: love the Billy Bragg quote, I had forgotten that one. BB also did the best Madonna cover ever

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Cordelia - Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:03 am

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"wooo hooo!"
-Blur

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Har - Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:04 am

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From The Kink's "Better Things"...

"Here’s wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to..."

(I just love how the verse doesn't rhyme )

Anything by Lou Reed....amazing use of imagery, with one of my faves being "Dirty Boulevard"...


"Pedro lives out of the wilshire hotel
He looks out a window without glass
The walls are made of cardboard, newspapers on his feet
His father beats him ’cause he’s too tired to beg

He’s got 9 brothers and sisters
They’re brought up on their knees
It’s hard to run when a coat hanger beats you on the thighs
Pedro dreams of being older and killing the old man
But that’s a slim chance he’s going to the boulevard

He’s going to end up, on the dirty boulevard
He’s going out, to the dirty boulevard
He’s going down, to the dirty boulevard

This room cost 2,000 dollars a month
You can believe it man it’s true
Somewhere a landlord’s laughing till he wets his pants
No one here dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer or anything
They dream of dealing on the dirty boulevard

Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I’ll piss on ’em
That’s what the statue of bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let’s club ’em to death
And get it over with and just dump ’em on the boulevard

Get to end up, on the dirty boulevard
Going out, to the dirty boulevard
He’s going down, on the dirty boulevard
Going out

Outside it’s a bright night
There’s an opera at lincoln center
Movie stars arrive by limousine
The klieg lights shoot up over the skyline of manhattan
But the lights are out on the mean streets

A small kid stands by the lincoln tunnel
He’s selling plastic roses for a buck
The traffic’s backed up to 39th street
The tv whores are calling the cops out for a suck

And back at the wilshire, pedro sits there dreaming
He’s found a book on magic in a garbage can
He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling
At the count of 3 he says, I hope I can disappear

And fly fly away, from this dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly-fly-fly-fly, from dirty boulevard

I want to fly away...."

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Har - Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:05 am

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Aw yeah, I love that one too!

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LuMar - Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:07 am

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Hi,

here are some of my favourites:

"Why when you come here does the rainbow turn black"

"Sometimes the nighttime steals all of your light"

both from "The Clock" - THE GO-BETWEENS

"So we are told this is the golden age,
and gold is the reason for the wars we wage"

from "New Year's Day" - U2

"Like prisoners of the second class,
noses pressed against the glass,
they watch as life goes by"

can't remember the title at the moment, but it's by
A POPULAR HISTORY OF SIGNS (early 80's band from England).

Also many NEW MODEL ARMY songs have really great lyrics...

LuMar

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eternia - Wed Jun 23, 2004 8:47 am

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"Rye Whisky, rye whisky
I drink it when I'm dry
If a tree don't fall on me
I'll live 'til I die" Tex Ritter

"The piano has been drinking, and it's not my responsibility" Tom Waits

Just about anything else by Tom Waits as well as lot's of Biggus Nickus (Cave).

"This is the story of Flannery O'Connor
She wrote many books before death came upon her" Killdozer

"I just wanna diiiiieeeeeeeee,
I just wanna diiiiieeeeeeeee,
I just wanna diiiiieeeeeeeee..." Deathless

Donkey Tugger's Lost - great idea!

"If you leave me, can I come to?
Or you could always stay" Mental As Anything

Enough for the moment.

D

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_oswald - Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:00 am

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I'm The Slime by Frank Zappa.

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Mr Lizard - Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:22 am

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"Stick a fork in their ass and turn them over - they're done" - Lou Reed

"Theres no wrong way to f**k a bitch with no legs" - Adam Green

And also the whole of 'New Birds' by Arab Strap - the most beautiful love song ever! Here:

You just have to be sure you're doing the right thing. I mean it's very easy to forget - she's was just sitting there in the pub with her new friends and her new life and her new hair and it might been five years but you'd know just to look at her. I wasn't even sure it was her at first, I was ready to walk away but she smiled and called me over and we said hello for a bit. When we went back to our tables we were tried not to look over at each other and told our friends to stop staring. I didn't see her for the rest of the night, but by closing time the beer's kicked in so I go up and speak to her and we end up going for a walk and talking about our new homes, our new jobs, our new friends and our new birds.

She says she's been going out with him now for about two and a half years, but they don't live together so he'd never find out. And you think about chasing her about school when you were wee and lying in your bed and listening to love songs and pretending they were about you. And the first time you asked her out she said no but one night you went to a wedding and when you came back to the pub she'd changed her mind and you went out. You remember the way she swung her arms when she held your hand but you can't remember how she kissed and now you've got the chance to find out. But you have to remember there's this other kiss. And she's sitting at home, wondering where you are and what you're doing. And you work hard on this kiss and you know it inside out, it's as much yours as it is hers, and it took a long time to get right, it took months of practice and months of embarassment but now you've got it perfected and you've been looking forward to that kiss all week.

You can see her breath in the air between your faces as you stand in the leaves and she just asks you straight out if you want to come and stay at her flat. But you make sure you get separate taxis and you go home and there might be a slight regret and maybe you'll wonder what you missed but you have to remember the kiss that you worked so hard on - and you'll know you've done the right thing.

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Mr Lizard - Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:24 am

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Fantastic thread by the way!
Good Lord, there's so many....
Just trying to think of others....

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peteralston - Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:48 am

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yeah there's loads from him

I've always remembered "in the lakes beneath my tongue" from I Want to be a Machine from his Ultravox days

The Wild , the Beautiful & the Damned had some good quotable lines too - which obviously I can't remember!!

good to see someone remembers John Foxx though, I think he's doing stuff again, and not just computer game music

cheers

Peter

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pHz - Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:19 am

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snippets ...

lazy line painter jane - belle & sebastian
you are in two minds
tossing a coin to decide whether you should tell your mum
about a dose of thrush you got while you were licking railings

but you read in a book
that you got free in boots
there are lotions - there are potions
you can take to hide your shame from all those prying eyes

little baby nothing - manic street preachers
no-one likes looking at you
your lack of ego offends male mentality
they need your innocence
to steal vacant love and to destroy
your beauty and virginity used like toys

my mind is dead ... everybody loves me
wants a slice of me
hopelessly passive and compatible
need to belong ... oh the roads are scarey
so hold me in your arms
i wanna be your only possession

used ... used ... used by men
used ... used ... used by men

all they leave behind is money
paper made out of broken twisted trees
your pretty face offends
because its something real that i cant touch
eyes ... skin ... bone ... contour ... language as a flower

no god reached me ... faded films and loving books
black and white TV
all the world does not exist for me
and if im starving you can feed me lollipops
your diet will crush me
my life just an old mans memory

little baby nothing
loveless slavery ... lips kissing empty
dress your life in loathing
breaking your mind with barbie doll futility

little baby nothing
sexually free ... made-up to breakup
assassinated beauty
moths broken up - quenched at last
the vermin allowed a thought to pass them by

you are pure ... you are snow
we are the useless sluts that they mould
rock n roll is our epiphany
culture ... alienation ... boredom and despair

you are pure ... you are snow
we are the useless sluts that they mould
rock n roll is our epiphany
culture ... alienation ... boredom and despair

vapour trail - ride
first you look so strong
then you fade away
the sun will blind my eyes
i love you anyway
thirsty for your smile
i watch you for a while
you are a vapour trail
in a deep blue sky

couldve been anyone - aimee mann
your pattern is different
than what it implies
the words may be true but
i realise ...
it isnt description ...
so much as disguise.

dont worry - you can learn to live without
youve got a lifetime of that to draw upon
and anyway ...

it couldve been anyone

slainte rob

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Sicklecell666 - Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:28 am

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"You f**k her flag
& feel it unfurl
but you can't get the Belfast
outta the girl"

Belfast/ Golden Palominos

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BONES - Wed Jun 23, 2004 9:36 pm

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I thought you were asking for our own lyrics. The lines I like the most are from mostlyMACHINE. I wrote the song in about 1994 but never recorded it so I've used them with some new music for our next album.
Voices ringing in my ear
Can't you see I just don't need your fear
I walk amoung you but I'm not free
Society means that I can never be
Kinda says it all for me.

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futz - Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:14 pm

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Right here, right now
there is no other place I want to be
Right here, right now
watching the world wake up from history

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Vegetarian - Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:27 am

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"Oh, Mr. Scientist!
I burnt my hand-bone on a boiling water!"
"How do you know it was boiling?"
"Um ..."
"Was it bubbling?"
"Er, no ..."
"Then it wasn't really boiling."
"I feel better already!"
"GO SCIENCE!"
-Tripod, "Science Facts are Useful"

"I would like some milk from the milkman's wife's tits."
-Aphex Twin, "Milkman"

"Do you wanna play with me?"
-Extreme, "Play with Me"

"Let's Build a Snowman!" from Cannibal! the Musical (it's a lot funnier if you see the movie itself, particularly the reprise. Note that at the time of singing the song, they're standing in several feet of snow).

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spaceman - Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:29 am

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wacka wacka doo doo
dubbydoowaa
wacka wacka doo doo
dubbydoowaa

hoempa hoempa jakkawakka
doebydoewaaaaaaaa

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Trojan Badger - Thu Jun 24, 2004 4:25 am

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Never even crossed my mind, actually, but here goes:

"I must be lovesick, I keep throwing up over you"

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ericj23 - Thu Jun 24, 2004 4:53 am

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we are all someones
late night jazz accident

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t-willy - Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:37 am

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"f**k it all, and fuckin' no regrets"

lates

t-willy

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Jeff Dodson - Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:45 am

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prevent teen pregnancy, f**k her in the ass it'll save you money.

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donkey tugger - Thu Jun 24, 2004 5:54 pm

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Elvis
Was a hero to most
But he never meant shit to me.


Fight t'power, Public enemy.


And of course;

'It says nothing to me about my life'

Panic - Them there Smiths

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opiadream - Thu Jun 24, 2004 6:05 pm

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No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low
That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right, that is I think it's not too bad

and me other fave

we sit outside and argue all night long
about a god we've never seen
but never fails to side with me
sunday comes and all the papers say
ma theresa's joined the mob
and happy with her full-time job

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Cabinfever - Thu Jun 24, 2004 7:05 pm

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"bob dillons got parking tickets stuck to his asshole"

- sex pistols

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LBN - Thu Jun 24, 2004 7:27 pm

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I believe that's "Until the End of the World" off Achtung Baby. That reminds me of a line I always liked from "The Fly" off the same album:

"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspiration and sing about their grief."

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hao nao - Thu Jun 24, 2004 7:43 pm

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"eleven shadows, way out of place" -- REM

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clueless - Thu Jun 24, 2004 8:05 pm

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Perfect Circle?

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hao nao - Thu Jun 24, 2004 9:11 pm

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I wasn't sure whether this thread was about one or two lines, or the whole song

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djones - Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:58 pm

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Randy newman's song small people.

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CypherOne - Thu Jun 24, 2004 11:16 pm

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I got a letter from the government
The other day
I opened and read it
It said they were suckers
They wanted me for their army or whatever
Picture me given' a damn I said never
Here is a land that never gave a damn
About a brother like me and myself
Because they never did
I wasn't wit' it but just that very minute...
It occured to me
The suckers had authority
Cold sweatin' as I dwell in my cell
How long has it been?
They got me sittin' in the state pen
I gotta get out - but that thought was thought before
I contemplated a plan on the cell floor
I'm not a fugitive on the run
But a brother like me begun - to be another one
Public enemy servin' time - they drew the line y'all
To criticize me some crime - never the less
They could not understand that I'm a Black man
And I could never be a veteran
On the strength, the situation's unreal
I got a raw deal, so I'm goin' for the steel

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tap - Thu Jun 24, 2004 11:56 pm

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The men you hate are the ones that love you the most.




By some poofs.

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scuzzphut - Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:01 am

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Is this a reference to the England v Portugal game

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Cabinfever - Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:11 am

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it should have been made clear at the start to have no lame-ass love song lyrics. can anyone be bothered to read through bad poetry by some spotty musician ?

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Rabban - Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:24 am

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I will quote two songs from my favorite songwriter, Leonard Cohen. The songs with great lyrics and descriptive imagery are "The Future" and "Democracy."

THE FUTURE

Give me back my broken night
my mirrored room, my secret life
it's lonely here,
there's no one left to torture
Give me absolute control
over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
that's an order!
Give me crack and anal sex
Take the only tree that's left
and stuff it up the hole
in your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
give me Stalin and St Paul
I've seen the future, brother:
it is murder.

Things are going to slide, slide in all directions
Won't be nothing
Nothing you can measure anymore
The blizzard, the blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned
the order of the soul
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant
When they said REPENT REPENT
I wonder what they meant

You don't know me from the wind
you never will, you never did
I'm the little jew
who wrote the Bible
I've seen the nations rise and fall
I've heard their stories, heard them all
but love's the only engine of survival
Your servant here, he has been told
to say it clear, to say it cold:
It's over, it ain't going
any further
And now the wheels of heaven stop
you feel the devil's riding crop
Get ready for the future:
it is murder

Things are going to slide ...

There'll be the breaking of the ancient
western code
Your private life will suddenly explode
There'll be phantoms
There'll be fires on the road
and the white man dancing
You'll see a woman
hanging upside down
her features covered by her fallen gown
and all the lousy little poets
coming round
tryin' to sound like Charlie Manson
and the white man dancin'

Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and St Paul
Give me Christ
or give me Hiroshima
Destroy another fetus now
We don't like children anyhow
I've seen the future, baby:
it is murder

Things are going to slide ...

When they said REPENT REPENT


DEMOCRACY

It's coming through a hole in the air,
from those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
that this ain't exactly real,
or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
from the sirens night and day,
from the fires of the homeless,
from the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming through a crack in the wall;
on a visionary flood of alcohol;
from the staggering account
of the Sermon on the Mount
which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
on the dock of the bay,
from the brave, the bold, the battered
heart of Chevrolet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
the holy places where the races meet;
from the homicidal bitchin'
that goes down in every kitchen
to determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
where the women kneel to pray
for the grace of God in the desert here
and the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
the cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
and the machinery for change
and it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
and it's here the lonely say
that the heart has got to open
in a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
the river's going to weep,
and the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
beneath the lunar sway,
imperial, mysterious,
in amorous array:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on ...

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
that Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
this little wild bouquet:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

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Karbon L. Forms - Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:32 am

---

People I see
Just remind me of mooing
Like a cow on the grass
And that’s not to say
That there’s anything wrong
With being a cow anyway
But people are people
With the added advantage
Of the spoken word
We’re getting on fine
But I feel more of a man
When I get with the herd.

Julian Cope - Elegant Chaos

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pHz - Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:52 am

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GOOD CALL !!!

(i forgot about julian)

i always liked this one of his ...

las vegas basement - julian cope
easy - when lifes a bitter pill you swallow down with your last breath
and find me alone ... and trapped beneath superlatives and greed that shines underneath
i was thrown out of the crib into the snow
i was born to entertain so here i go

not easy - but your hands around my neck could be construed as your being rude
hear the dinner gong - put down my fork - start my song - cos i could be anything you want me to be
top or bottom - face the monster - let him know
i was born to entertain - so here i go

top or bottom - face the monster - let him know
i was born to entertain - so here I go
i was shown the door before i got to sing
only to be now forgotten ...

and while im here - a couple from wiz (mega city four) - one of the most direct and affecting lyricists ive heard ...

underdog - mega city four
pity is misplaced with me
it should be replaced with fear
cos i could give much worse
than i receive
please dont think im proud of it
dont think it pleases me
to know that i am capable
of hurting you as much as you hurt me

do you feel sorry for me still ???
is it just sympathy you feel ???
knowing that i can hit back harder
harder than anyone hits me
do you feel sorry for me still ???

its funny and its tragic too
that if i was to lose control
pity is what id expect from you
out in the darkest regions
losing my mind
consolations the one thing i wont find

but please dont think its weak
cos theres nothing strong
about lashing out
and please dont think its weak
it takes all my strength
to turn the other cheek

dont mistake your weaknesses
for strength
i dont want your sympathy just
dont you patronise me
i dont need it im no underdog

clown - mega city forur
i might say yes
and i might say no
its difficult to decide
the only thing that im sure about
is that im always changing my mind
theres momentary indecision
a feeble desire to please
in desperation to be loved
i admit i lie through my teeth
thats me
going around
pleasing everybody except myself
Wearing a smile even when i am down
trying not to dissapoint you
trying not to be the one
that gets left out
and i only wanna be accepted
before i answer i hesitate
i want to say the right thing
i guess its insecurity
that tricks me into deceit
but maybee the biggest deception
is the trick that i play on myself
i dont care if you like me
and i dont need your respect
im just scared if i take off
this stupid mask
the only thing ill get
is cold indifference
and i want to be of consequence
to someone ...

slainte rob

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CypherOne - Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:18 am

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aaaaayyyy, macarena

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chrissill31 - Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:47 am

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I love The Undertones, My Perfect Cousin

Especially the last verse-

He's sure to go to heaven
Always spotless clean and neat
The smoothest you can get them
He's got a fur lined sheepskin jacket
My ma said they cost a packet
She won't even let me explain
That me and Kevin were just not the same

Oh my perfect cousin
What I like to do he doesn't
He's his family's private joy
His mothers little golden boy

He's gotta degree in economics
Maths - physics and bionics
He thinks that I'm a cabbage
Cos I hate university challenge
Even at the age of ten
Smart boy Kevin was a smart boy then
He always beat me at Subbuteo
Cos he flicked the kick
And I didn't know

Oh my perfect cousin ..

His mother bought him a synthesizer
Got the Human League into advise her
Now he's making lots of noise
Playing along with the art school boys
Girls try to attract his attention
But what a shame it's in vain total rejection
He will never be left on the shelf
Cos Kevin he's in love with himself

Oh my perfect cousin


Oh and anything by Half Man Half Biscuit such as -

The Trumpton Riots

Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus

99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd

All I Want for Christmas is a Dukla Prague Away Kit

I Left My Heart In Papworth General

Dickie Davies Eyes


Give them a listen they are just CLASS pure lyrical genius, the best LP is Back in the DHSS

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opiadream - Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:51 pm

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aayyee!

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paul minot - Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:30 am

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...two clips from Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, both from the fantastic "Stranded" album:

"When you're looking for love in a looking glass world it's pretty hard to find."
(from "Mother of Pearl")

"Seems like scenes from my dreams cover cutting room floors all over."
(from "Sunset")

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Karbon L. Forms - Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:51 am

---

DOUBLE TRIPLE GOOD CALL!! Vegas basement has always been one of my party pieces!

I got dry humped by Copey! Seriously! I went to see him at the Findhorn Foundation near Elgin in Scotland. Just him doing a tour for his standing stones shite. Anyway... I had arrived late so there was no seats and I had to sit on the floor right in front of him (I'm a MAJOR fan!) He finished a song, it was a very cool performer/audience interaction type gig. He looked about and said "Anybody need a hug?" He was scanning about and he caught me doing a "yeah me!" type gesture. He smooched over then jumped on me! Humped away and told the audience I was an ex-lover! JOY! Got backstage to meet him after too!
Julian is seriously f**king good! Peggy Suicide is one of the best albums ever. Las vegas basement!!! Not easy....

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pHz - Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:02 pm

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screwed by the drude !!!

but i always prefer jehovakill and interpreter of his 'straight' albums (and i always try to forget about autogeddon TBH)

slainte rob

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2windy - Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:10 pm

---

He probably doesn't ever get mentioned here but...

'The pause button's broke on my video' - Robbie Williams.


Funny, so is mine.

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pHz - Mon Jun 28, 2004 12:25 pm

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hmmmnnn ...

... TBH i actually think that some of robbies lyrics are relatively intelligent and honest and clever for throwaway pop music

come undone - robbie williams
so unimpressed ... but so in awe
such a saint ... but such a whore
so self aware ... so full of shit
so indecisive ... so adamant
im contemplating ... thinkin about thinkin
its overrated - just get another drink and

watch me come undone
theyre selling razor blades and mirrors in the street
i pray when im coming down youll be asleep
if i ever hurt you your revenge will be so sweet
because im scum and im your son
i come undone
i come undone

so rock n roll ... so corporate suit
so damn ugly ... so damn cute
so well trained ... so animal
so need your love ... so f**k you all
im not scared of dying ... i just dont want to
if i stop lying ill just disappoint you

come undone
theyre selling razor blades and mirrors in the street
come undone
i pray when im coming down youll be asleep
come undone
if i ever hurt you your revenge will be so sweet
because im scum and im your son
i come undone

so write another ballad - mix it on a wednesday
sell it on a thursday buy a yacht on saturday
its a love song - a love song
do another interview ... sing a bunch of lies
tell about celebrities that i despise
and sing love songs ... we sing love songs so sincere

so sincere

come undone
theyre selling razor blades and mirrors in the street
come undone
i pray when im coming down youll be asleep
come undone
the young pretend youre in the clouds above the sea
i come undone
i am scum
love your son
youve gotta love your son
come undone
youve gotta love your son
come undone

love your son
i am scum
i am scum
i am scum
i am scum
i am scum
i am scum

if kurt had written that wed be claiming it as a classic lyric from a tortured artist

slainte rob

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haydxn - Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:08 pm

---

that is absolutely true. here here to the wise rob!

(as in pHz for noticing )

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Bonteburg - Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:30 pm

---

I had a king in a tenement castle
lately he's taken to painting the paste lwlls brown
He's taken the curtains down
He's swept with the broom of contempt
and the wally have an empty ring
He's cleansed with the tears of an actor
Who fears for the laughter's sting.

I can't go back there anymore
You know, my keys won't fit the door
You know, my thoughts don't fit the man
They never can, they never can.

I had a king dresed in drp-dry and paisley,
lately he's taken to saying I'm crazy and blind
He lives in another time (?)
Ladies in gingham stil blush, when he sings them of wars and wine
-but I in my leather and lace can never become that kind.

I can't go back there anymore
(...)

I had a iking in a salt rusted carriage
Took me off to his country for marriage to soon
beware of the power of moons (!)
There's noone to name, no one to blame as a traitor here
The king's on the road and the queen's in the grove til the end of the year

I can't go back there anymore
(...)

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seldom - Mon Jun 28, 2004 2:45 pm

---

come on then Dai, it's almost light
time you was off to the anthracite
mornin' mist is on the valley
time you were on your way
time you were learnin' a miner's job
and earning a miner's pay


ewan maccoll. pure.

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HanafiH - Mon Jun 28, 2004 4:08 pm

---

Ian Hunter - Apathy 83

Standin' on the edge of Vesuvius - my mouth is runnin' dry
Drunk on wine & wisdom - giving it all away
Old enough to hate tomorrow - young enough not to know where to run
Oh there ain't no rock'n roll no more - just the music of the young

Apathy for the devil Apathy for the devil
Apathy for the devil ,N Apathy for the son.

The moon shines brightly on some summer lawn -
and envy caught like a leaf
Comes floating down upon this frozen desert sand -
spitting bullets through the night
The siren wails on the ambulance - compassion touches my head 'n it bleeds
Oh there ain't no rock'n roll no more just the sickly sound of greed.

And it's Apathy for the devil And it's Apathy for the devil
And it's Apathy for the devil 'N Apathy for the creed

No more gardens for the gardenless - no more - havens for the havenless
No more helpers for the helplessness - no more - somethings for a less
For the law is now the lawless
'N the flaw is now the flawless
'N the crime is now accepted
'N the criminal respected
'N now evil gets elected
'N now sinful get selected
Heed a president proven rotten
Now officially forgotten

Was it your General Sheridan who once said "The only good, good man is a dead good man."

It was not me babe

I just said keep your head 'n your bread well down under them floorboards

'N you - you look like you gone with the wind
Running naked through the streets
Wired out - tired out - transcendental mental - only laughing in your sleep
Nostalgia is starting to focus too late, imagination is starting to itch
Oh there ain't no rock'n roll no more just the music of the rich

'N it's Apathy for the Devil 'N it's Apathy for the Devil
'N it's Apathy for the Devil Apathy's at fever pitch

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smoddelm - Mon Jun 28, 2004 4:12 pm

---

From Wild T(h)yme by Jefferson Airplane:

It's a wild t(h)yme
I'm doing things that haven't got a name yet

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dreibel - Mon Jun 28, 2004 5:28 pm

---

"I lost my lucky ball and chain, and now she's four years gone
Just five feet tall and sick of me and all my rattling on
She threw away her baby doll, I held on to my pride
But I was young and foolish then, I feel old and foolish now.

Confidentially, she never called me baby doll,
Confidentially, I never had much pride
But now I rock a barstool and I drink for two
Just pondering this time-bomb in my mind

I lost my lucky ball and chain, and now she's four years gone
Just five feet tall and sick of me and all my rattling on
She walked away from a happy man, I thought I was so cool
I just stood there whistling 'There Goes The Bride' as she walked out the door..."

They Might Be Giants, "Lucky Ball & Chain"

"The chairman of this boredom is a compliment collector,
I'd like to be his funeral director...."

Elvis Costello, "Opportunity"

"Does anybody need another crooked politician,
Caught with his pants down, and money stuffed inside his hole?"

Lou Reed

"Dear Mr. Murdoch, you're so hard to see,
But with your bare-assed cheek you should be on page three
And dear Mr. Murdoch, you're really the pits
Bad news is good business, you're king of the tits"

Roger Taylor, "Dear Mr. Murdoch"

"Howard Johnson's got his HoJo workin' , HoJo workin' on me!" NRBQ

"All around town my name is Mud, but I can't help it, it's in my blood" NRBQ, "It Comes To Me Naturally"

"They say he's got the whole world in his hand, but the button can be pushed by just one man" NRBQ, "When Things Was Cheap"

"Although your world wonders me,
with your majestic superior cackling hen,
your people I do not understand,
so to you I wish to put an end
and you'll never hear surf music again...."

Jimi Hendrix, "Third Stone From The Sun"

"Shake that woody for me, Saint Pinnochio!" Jellyfish, "Joining A Fan Club"

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scuzzphut - Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:38 pm

---

but the point, dear Rob, is that he's far from a tortured artist, so we can see it for what it is. A manipulative attempt to appear cool that seriously backfired, in my eyes (but not in yours ).

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ScarKord - Tue Jun 29, 2004 1:07 am

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It would have to be '1000 Umbrellas by XTC...

"1000 Umbrellas upturned
Couldn't hold all the rain
That drained out of my head
When you said
We were over, and over
I cried
'til I floated downstream
To a town they call Misery
Oh Misery.

And 1 million teacups I bet
Couldn't hold all the wet
That fell out of my eyes
When you fell out with me
So I'm crawling the wallpaper
Thats looking more
Like a roadmap to Misery
Oh Misery

[Chorus]
How can you smile and forecast
Weather's getting better
And you'll soon forget her
If you let the sunshine come through

How can you smile and forecast
Weather's getting better
If you never let a Girl
Rain all over you

And just when I thought
That my Vista was Golden in Hue
One Thousand Umbrellas Opened
To spoil the view."

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Manc Chris - Tue Jun 29, 2004 1:20 am

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Pick any of Morrisseys lyrics. Abnsolutely NO concession in them to 'fitting around a melody' ... and no concessions to standard themes. I mean .... "If A double Decker bush crashes into us, to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die" is just the finest declaration of love ever.

*** Spent last week working with a Manchester uni student who is doing a dissertation on Mozzers lyrics ***

Also muchos admire the musings of one Mikey Georgeson from the underrated uk band David Devant & His Spirit Wife. He has a quirk of using 'mis-ryhmes' in his songs, examples ....

"And my uncle thinks I'm barmy, coz I won't grow up and join the navy"

and ..

"There's a hole in my bucket,
sometimes I think,
oh well, forget it".

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pHz - Tue Jun 29, 2004 7:11 am

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i dont see it like that - i am WELL aware hes being manipulative but i get the impression that hes clever enough to know that thats EXACTLY what hes doing - thats why i like his lyrics ...

... besides - you dont think that kurt was playing the EXACT same game to some extent ???

slainte rob

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Muff Wiggler - Tue Jun 29, 2004 7:27 am

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ok there's just too many great lyrics to tell my favorite, so I'll tell you the one that always makes me laugh the most:

From 'Battle of Who Could Care Less' by Ben Folds Five:

"This should cheer your up for sure...
you see I've got your old I.D...
you're all dressed up like The Cure"

or another gem from the same song:

"I've got this great idea....
Why don't we pitch it to the Franklin f**king Mint..
Fine pewter portraits of
General Apathy
and
Major Boredom
singing...
whatever and ever, amen"

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crazed one - Tue Jun 29, 2004 3:10 pm

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some of my favorite lyrics, entertaining to me mostly, not others however:

"you start yer jaws a waggin and it never stops
you never shut yer mouth until I blow my top

I'm leaving now...
-I'm leaving now...

....I'm a long gone daddy I don't need you anyhow."

- Hank Williams Sr.

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Mr Lizard - Tue Jun 29, 2004 3:23 pm

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Oooh Get her!

Was that a dig?

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Mr Lizard - Tue Jun 29, 2004 3:25 pm

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"Some people should be sterilized"
Pusherman

"I'm making a stand while I sit on my arse"
Soft Cell

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freeztar - Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:02 pm

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The one that comes to mind right now is "Fat Gal" by Merle Travis:

She keeps me warm in the Winter,
Chilly in the Summertime;
That's what I like about that fat gal of mine!

This hard-time talk don't trouble me;
I keep as happy as a honeybee;
If things get rough and times get hard,
I'll render my gal and sell the lard.

Now she's my shelter in the time of storm;
I helter-skelter right under her arm.
She's a beauty if you look at her face,
And you shouldn't be a-lookin' any other place!

Warm in the Winter,
Shady in the Summertime;
That's what I like about that fat gal of mine!

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crazed one - Tue Jun 29, 2004 4:04 pm

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funny one Freeztar!

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nrenda - Wed Jun 30, 2004 7:46 pm

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practice what you preach


justice is lost


e lucevan le stelle


us and them


mother do you think they like the song

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2windy - Thu Jul 01, 2004 5:33 pm

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Turning Japanese - The Vapours

I asked a doctor, to take a picture, so I can look at from inside as well....

A song about tugging (not you Donkey!), it doesn't get any cooler than that.

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Mr. Slater's Parrot - Thu Jul 01, 2004 6:18 pm

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A classic -- amongst many others by Hank, of course!

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There are 90 posts in this topic.