Of course so many to choose from, and I’m sure we can all argue fiercely even with ourselves about who is the greatest lyricist let alone which is the greatest set of lyrics. To my mind the greatest lyricist is Fish in his prime Marillion, early 80s pomp. An example (and probably more to follow) from He Knows, You Know “Light switch, yellow fever, crawling up your bathroom wall Singing psychedelic praises to the depths of a china bowl You've got venom in your stomach, you've got poison in your head You should have listened to the priest at the confession When he offered you the sacred bread He knows, you know, he knows, you know He knows, you know, but he's got problems” link:
If wine and pills were hundred dollar Bills, I might keep you satisfied And if broken dreams were limousines I might take you for a ride And all I can do is think of you And wish you were here by my side Yes, if heartaches were nickels I'd be the richest fool alive If Heartaches Were Nickels - Joe Bonamassa Link: Oldfart
"Rapunzel Rapunzel let down you hair, so I can climb up and get into your underwear" More Beastie Boys ...I'll stop now
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun Shine on you crazy diamond Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky Shine on you crazy diamond You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom Blown on the steel breeze Shine On You Crazy Diamond - Pink Floyd Oldfart
More Floyd: How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, Running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old fears. Wish you were here. Wish you were here. I could play that intro on guitar once in my life.
Elvis Costello - Oh, I said, "I'm so happy I could die" She said, "Drop dead" then left with another guy Pink Floyd, had the last line painted on the back of a helmet, my mom was none to pleased - The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death. Cracker - What the World Needs Now - I don't know what the world may need But a V8 engine's a good start for me Think I'll drive and find a place To be surly Bad Examples - Not Dead Yet I was born too late to play in the rolling stones I don't know jimmy page, I never met yoko ono Standing with a strat, I'm rock and roll's bastard son Go out, get drunk, get laid, have fun I don't got a million dollars, don't drive a cadillac Gimme half a chance, 'cause I'm not dead yet
Elvis Costello - Oh, I said, "I'm so happy I could die" She said, "Drop dead" then left with another guy Pink Floyd, had the last line painted on the back of a helmet, my mom was none to pleased - The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older, Shorter of breath and one day closer to death. Cracker - What the World Needs Now - I don't know what the world may need But a V8 engine's a good start for me Think I'll drive and find a place To be surly Bad Examples - Not Dead Yet I was born too late to play in the rolling stones I don't know jimmy page, I never met yoko ono Standing with a strat, I'm rock and roll's bastard son Go out, get drunk, get laid, have fun I don't got a million dollars, don't drive a cadillac Gimme half a chance, 'cause I'm not dead yet
My lovely, lovely, lovely horse My lovely horse Running through the field Where are you going With your fetlocks blowing In the wind? I want to shower you with sugar lumps And ride you over fences Polish your hooves every single day And bring you to the horse dentist My lovely, lovely, lovely horse My lovely horse You're a pony no more Running around With a man on your back Like a train in the night, yeah Like a train in the night ...
As for Fish era Marillion, there are so many to choose from... I particularly like Forgotten Sons... from when the troubles were still at the front of the news and how the loss of individual troops in the region was all too soon forgotten by the nameless, faceless watchers who parade the carpeted corridors of Whitehall... You're just another coffin on its way down the emerald aisle When your children's stony glances mourn your death in a terrorist's smile The bomber's arm placing fiery gifts on the supermarket shelves Alley sings with shrapnel detonate a temporary hell Forgotten Sons
But one of my true favourite songs has awesome lyrics along an amazing track... if you never heard this song, do yourself a favour and spend a little time on it! Diary of a working man - Blackfoot In a room all alone Waiiting by the telephone With a tear in his eye and a pen in his hand So begins the diary of a working man He'd been poor man all his life And just when things were going right Some stranger takes his woman away He doesn't know if he'll see Oh, another day Oh, another day Time has come and he was right It was a cold and rainy night And he thought for sure she would follow But it won't be the same, no... Tomorrow Now here's a man glory bound In a pool of dreams about to drown If he can just get through this night Then maybe tomorrow things Will work out right Oh, will work out right Well, with the pain in his blood He'd love to take her if he could And as he wakes with a scream To only realize it's just reality He woke with sweaty hands Maybe there'll be a change in plans With a tear in his eye and a gun in his hand So ends the diary of a workingman
Fist classs choice track of a (once?) great band and singer. I came across the band before they hit big in this country as I heard a track being played from the sound desk in the lead up to a rock band concert - the details of which I can no longer remember who, when or where - so I went and asked at the desk what it was he'd played and he wrote down the name of the band. It's likely the sound guy had got the track from the States because finding more information at the time was impossible and I had to wait until "TV ON THE RADIO" played some of their early stuff and it got a UK release and I could get my hands and ears on the full deal! Moving on, I'll punt, arguably, one of the UK's finest rock lyricists, singers and band leaders EVER ............... Mr, Lynott and co. You could pick any number of tracks from TL's catalogue (please ) but I'll choose a particular 'duet' offering with the very finest TL lead gutar player. ARE YOU OUT THERE? I SAID, ARE YOU OUT THERE?
Great thread and some great choices. I was beginning to think I’m the only one who still gives Script the occasional spin (well, stream). It may be harder for anyone not growing up watching the troubles on tv to get the impact of Forgotten Sons but I’ll always remember the drama and chill of it live. Same with Chelsea Monday. Those were the days.
One of my long time favourites:- I feel inclined to blow my mind Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun They all come out to groove about Be nice and have fun in the sun Itchycoo Park - Small Faces
Well, the Pistols are a possibility: 'There's no point in asking, you'll get no reply' & of course 'Get pissed, destroy!' W/Jayne Country and the Electric Chairs are too: 'If you don't wanna fuck me baby, fuck off!' Maybe the Prodigy: 'I'm on the way to another dimension I'm on the way to another dimesnion I'm on the way to another dimension - pay close attention'. But possibly the greatest sets of lyrics I have ever heard are Springsteen's: THE RIVER Album version I come from down in the valley where mister when you're young They bring you up to do like your daddy done Me and Mary we met in high school when she was just seventeen We'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green We'd go down to the river and into the river we'd dive Oh down to the river we'd ride Then I got Mary pregnant and man that was all she wrote And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat We went down to the courthouse and the judge put it all to rest No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle, no flowers no wedding dress That night we went down to the river and into the river we'd dive Oh down to the river we did ride, yay yay yay I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy Now all them things that seemed so important, well mister they vanished right into the air Now I just act like I don't remember, Mary acts like she don't care But I remember us riding in my brother's car, her body tan and wet down at the reservoir At night on them banks I'd lie awake and pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take Now those memories come back to haunt me, they haunt me like a curse Is a dream a lie if it don't come true or is it something worse That sends me down to the river, though I know the river is dry That sends me down to the river tonight, ay yay yay Down to the river, my baby and I Oh down to the river we ride, ah yay yay Ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh ooh ooh ooh, ooh-ooh DS
