What's you favorite song lyric of all time?

BlowMe@lemmy.world to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 43 points –

Here's some of mine.

" I think God it's moving his tongue, there's no crowd on the streets and no sun, in my own summer"

"You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals, so let's do it like they do on the discovery channel"

"I felt the hate rise up in me, kneel down and clear the stone of leaves, i wandered out where you can't see, inside my shell i wait and bleed"

"CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES, THIS IS MY LAST RESORT, suffocation, no breathing, don't give a fuck if i cut my arm bleeding! "

And one in Spanish

"No te puedo dejar de querer, nos hemos reido y llorado los 3, yo quiero darte mi alegria, mi guitarra, mis poesias, y solo se me ocurre amarte"

The songs are (in order) : My own summer by deftones, The bad touch by the bloodhound gang, Wait and bleed by slipknot, Last resort by papa roach, Y solo se me ocurre amarte by Alejandro Sánz.

61

And then one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

Time - Pink Floyd

And the band members were in their 20s when they wrote this song. Old souls.

First lyric I thought of. Hell of a line.

Was a time when these lyrics would have been the top comment to this question. Now they linger at the bottom.

We who know must be getting fewer.

No, his mind is not for rent

To any god or government

Always hopeful yet discontent

He knows changes aren't permanent

But change is

- Tom Sawyer by Rush

There are so many good Neil Peart lyrics it’s hard to choose a favourite.

This one is definitely in my top 5:

Subdivisions

In the high school halls

In the shopping malls

Conform or be cast out

Subdivisions

In the basement bars

In the backs of cars

Be cool or be cast out

Any escape might help to smooth

The unattractive truth

But the suburbs have no charms to soothe

The restless dreams of youth

"Son, always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns, but I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die."

Folsom prison blues Johnny Cash

When I hear that lonesome whistle

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SKEEZIX.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

🎶 I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me 🎵

I hope it stays dark forever
I hope the worst isn't over
And I hope you blink before I do
I hope I never get sober

...

I am drowning
There is no sign of land
You are coming down with me
Hand in unlovable hand
And I hope you die
I hope we both die

In the dark we'll take off our clothes And there'll be placing fingers Through the notches of your spine

--Neutral Milk Hotel, Two Headed Boy

Can't believe how strange it is to be anything at all

In the aeroplane over the sea, what a fantastic album. It's one of my favourites of all time.

The whole start to Graceland by Paul Simon is pretty vivid:

The Mississippi Delta Was shining like a national guitar.
I am following the river down the highway through the cradle of the Civil War.
I'm going to Graceland, Graceland - Memphis, Tennessee
I'm going to Graceland

Poor boys and pilgrims with families and we are going to Graceland
My traveling companion is nine years old he is the child of my first marriage
But I've reason to believe we both will be received in Graceland

I have never been to Tennessee. But this intro really conjures up some vivid imagery of driving down a highway through some historic country, along a river in the company of a child - and being among many others going to the same place.

It's pure poetry.

If you're going to ask a question to everyone and also answer it, the best practice is to put your own answer as a comment, rather than in the textbox.

To answer the question:

True, there's been trouble and trickery, sir
Trembling and tribulations
Twitches from switches of hickory, sir
You, sir, and your usurpations
But my patience wears very thin
When you play the violin

from "When You Play the Violin" by the Gothic Archies. It's not emotionally resonant, I just love the wordplay.

There's too many, but I won't lie if I take any few lines from L. Cohen's "The Future":

"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"

...Mickey Mouse. We're all living in Amerika, Amerika ist wunderbar, We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, Amerika" and "We're all living in Amerika, Coca-Cola, Wonderbra. We're all living in Amerika, Amerika, Amerika.

It's pretty rare I know a foreign language well enough to fuck up the lyrics, but for an embarrassingly long time I thought this was "du hast nicht" which I always thought was brutally metal.

They say all the best things in life are free

So 🗡️give💣 all your beer and your rum to me

Time is illmatic

Keep static like wool fabric

Pack a 4-matic to crack your whole cabbage

Yeah, the clock moves around and the child is a joy, But death doesn't care just who it destroys, Now the woman gets sick, thins down to the bone, She says, "Where I'm going next, I'm going alone"

Paul Kelly - Deeper Water

Especially that last line. Damn powerful. And the whole song talks to me as a father of a 10year old.

I can recommend it for a listen

“And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune Then the piper will lead us to reason And a new day will dawn for those who stand long And the forests will echo with laughter”

  • Stairway To Heaven

In keeping with their embrace and transformation of The Blues, Led Zeppelin lyrics are hopeful in the face of sadness.

"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me, and I walk alone."

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day

Lies are a funny thing, they slip through your finger tips because they never happened to you.

I Sat By the Ocean by Queens of the Stone Age.

"The way the trees look dead, reminds me that there's more to life than living"

Bayside - A Synonym of Acquiesce

No particular order

And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had Tears for Fears, Mad World

Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage Bullet with butterfly wings - Smashing Pumpkins

Something more melodramatic

Well, the rifleman's stalking the sick and the lame Preacherman seeks the same, who'll get there first is uncertain Nightsticks and water cannons, tear gas, padlocks Molotov cocktails and rocks behind every curtain False-hearted judges dying in the webs that they spin Only a matter of time 'til the night comes stepping in Bob Dylan - Jokerman

Superb acoustic cover here by John Cruz , just a dude, guitar and a pair of flip-flops.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpInpgRMUSM

I have many many that resonate.

On another note, Foster the People .with their "Pumped up Kicks" , what a juxtaposition, that incredible mix of what in the fucking hell lyrics, with a such a boppy tune. HeyYa from Outkast similarly I guess?.

Emmylou Harris wrote two that are so beautiful and so sad, if you need to cry, Boulder to Birmingham:

"I don't want to hear a sad song full of heartbreak and desire

The last time I felt like this, I was in the wilderness, and the canyon was on fire

And I stood on the mountain in the night and I watched it burn, I watched it burn"

And also in the same song she sings - "well you really got me this time, and the hardest part is knowing I'll survive" wow.

If that somehow doesn't work, Red Dirt Girl might.

"She loved her brother, I remember back when

He was fixing up a 49 Indian

Told her, little sister gonna ride the wind, up around the moon and back again

Well he never got farther than Vietnam, I was standing there with her when the telegram come for Lillian

Now he's lying somewhere about a million miles from Meridian "

I love it when you call me senorita I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya but every touch is o la la la

awesome song!

Why are you getting down voted?

I didn't downvote and I actually enjoy the song, but that's a pretty vapid lyric and I might imagine someone felt it wasn't a serious suggestion - though not the only one. Perhaps they will chime in and resolve the mystery.

I grew up singing Pour Some Sugar On Me and Octopus' Garden so I'm not one to judge.

But we're all gonna die,

Decompose into daffodils and dandelions,

The bees will use our flowers for whatever they like,

Make the honey that our grandkids will put inside,

their morning tea, it's the thing of life.

Manufacturing consent is the name of the game.

The bottom line is money, nobody gives a fuck.

And every breath that is in your lungs is a tiny little gift to me.

-The White Stripes

Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right

Destroyer is a band whose lyrics I consistently love

"She needs release, she needs to feel at ease with her father (pause) the fucking maniac." (from European Oils)

"A snow angel's a fucking idiot somebody made. A fucking idiot someone made in the snow" (from June)

"I piss on the floorboards, the whole world's a stage" (from Eat The Wine, Drink The Bread)

Not my favorite, but it came to mind: "...live the dream with a time machine, you've been waiting forever. But you can make ever wait for you." (Time Machine by Miracle Musical)

My actual favorite is probably "Often I am upset, that I cannot fall in love but I guess, this avoids the stress of falling out of it." (This is Home by Cavetown)

  1. When I stopped, a rusted chain tangled me up
    Tying my body onto the ground
    As I sink underground, I call your name
    What can I do to see the daylight once more?

From Just Awake by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Was the first ending song of the Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime

  1. Dua Lipa's Levitation, the "You can fly away with me tonight" portion

  2. A Malayalam movie song: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NkmsdwnTF50&t=68

Kannane karimukilambarane..
Madhuraamrutha muraleerava mazhayode anayuu nee
Kannane karimukilambarane
Madhuraamrutha muralidhara neelambuja nayanane..

The lyrics describes some characteristics of the Hindu god Krishna... the singer is describing her lover like that.
The lyrics is cool, but the context and the way it is sung elevates it for me.
I like it because the protagonist is imagining it and his love interest doesn't even know of his interest. The guy is also the evil guy in the story.

::: spoiler Meaning of the words
Karimukil = Rain cloud, dark cloud
Ambaram = could mean sky or lips
Madhura = A place of the god. Also madhuram means sweet
Amrith = Divine nectar, immortality juice
Mazhayode + anayuu + nee = Rain + come + you, come/arrive with the rain
Muralirava= Flute's sound
Neela ambuja nayanan = Blue Lotus eyed
:::

There are Malayalam leftist songs whose lyrics I like a lot, but that'd be too specific and I probably wouldn't be able to explain them easily.

Back in your own discomfort zone

It's way too cramped and crowded

There's an open gate to a clearer place

Not so overclouded

But i truly fear that you're going clear

Somewhere in the distance

And my heart will break, if you're gonna take

The path of least existence

  • Amelia Part 2 by Dizzy Mizz Lizzy

Running with my eyes closed Weary flesh and bone I can feel the fire Burning in my lungs

Maybe there's a reason why My heart pounds inside my chest Saying it's okay to take your time Slow it down, you just need rest

I've been holding on with all my might But can hardly catch my breath Thinking maybe it's the hope inside That comes alive When it's all we have left

Dancing with the ocean Caught up in the tide I can feel the motion Pull me out to the cold and darker side

But maybe there's a reason why I get dragged beneath the surface Every kick against the current I sink down deeper and I ask myself

Is there something more than meets the eye That makes all these troubles worth it? Or could it be the hope inside That comes alive When it's all we have left? When it's all we have left

It's alright, yeah it's okay If this all stays the same Old dreams will die New dreams will grow But I just want a hand to hold A hand to hold

We are the flowers that are ready for rain Waiting for the water to restore what remains Wilted hearts harmonize together in pain Singing hallelujah while we wait

Echoing voices from inside of the hall Spray painted pictures on the side of the wall Looking for meaning in the midst of it all Are we even listening anymore?

Maybe there's a reason why This world spins around in circles Like it's giving us another try Every sunrise to find purpose

Has it been happening all this time Like another breath that goes unnoticed? I'm leaving what is lost behind to find the light 'Cause maybe it's the hope inside That comes alive When it's all we have left

Colony House - The Hope Inside

Well did you hear? There's a natural order Those most deserving will end up with the most That the cream cannot help but always rise up to the top Well I say, "Shit floats" If you thought things had changed Friend, you'd better think again Bluntly put, in the fewest of words Cunts are still running the world

Jarvis Cocker - Running the world

This one has gotten me through some some patches, especially for a couple of specific things. One has completely turned around, and I'm glad I waited it out. The other still creates some stress, but there are rewards along the way.

If there were no rewards to reap

(I must keep reminding myself of this) (repeats)

No loving embrace to see me through

This tedious path I've chosen here

I certainly would've walked away

By now

And I still may

And I still may

And I'm

Gonna wait it out

Wait it out

Edit: Edited some repetitive lyrics for brevity

"I waste my time in the morning and evening
Caught in a feeling
I lose my mind looking up at the ceiling
It's just a feeling, it's just a feeling..."
Part III - Crumb

"It's not meant to be a strife
It's not meant to be a struggle uphill
If you're bleeding, undo
If you're sweating, undo
If you're crying, undo"
Undo - Björk

"Past love, come back to yourself
Don't keep reaching out to him
He can't help you now
It's a past life, so come back to the time
It's been far too many nights, and you still cry"
Past Love - Kimbra

And she walks along the edge
Of where the ocean meets the land
Just like she's walking on a wire in the circus

A simple 'Love... love will tear us apart' by Joy Division

Or, less obvious... this one saw me through some dark times:

'The sun was born, so it shall die So only shadows comfort me I know in darkness I will find you giving up inside like me' VNV Nation, Further

Jonah he lived in a whale
He made his home in
That fish’s abdomen
Jonah he lived in a whale

Lots of feels ...

The dim lights in that crowded room

They came alive just as soon as

I saw you

As I saw you

What crawls out of a heart like this

Boarded up I’ve laid my bricks

But it’s all coming down

It’s all coming down

And though tomorrow scares the life from me sometimes

And though I know what sorrow means in my bones

And though the rain will always pour

I would rather feel it all than sleep anymore

I’d rather feel it all than sleep anymore

  • Dim Lights by Orebolo

We hate your music we hate you, too we got our resons, for what we do

you cannot hide, you stupid fucks We really think your music sucks

We hate - Sworn Enemy

Love how the tone alternates between rage and hate on the one side and this rational description on the other