# Best line/couplet from a song?



## Caveat (4 Dec 2009)

Loads really, but off the top of my head I like:

*David Bowie, Scary Monsters*

"She asked me to stay and I stole her room. She asked for my love and I gave her a dangerous mind."

Simple really but sinister. Implies a lot.

*Prefab Sprout, Faron Young*

"Late sky, the sunset makes a fence out of the forest"

Just beautiful.

*Bob Dylan, Just like a woman*

"When me meet again, introduced as friends, please don't let on that you knew me when I was hungry and it was your world"

Speaks volumes with a good dash of drama and pathos.

Any more?


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## Nedtastic (4 Dec 2009)

Great Thread

Feel the sky blanket you, with gems and rhinestones.
See the path cut by the moon, for you to walk on. *'Unthought Known' Pearl Jam*

I know someday you'll have a beautiful life, I know you'll be a star. In somebody elses sky so why why why can't it be mine.* 'Black' Pearl Jam*


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## Guest122 (4 Dec 2009)

No No No No No No No No No No
There's no limits
No Limit by 2 Unlimited
Shear Classss


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## VOR (4 Dec 2009)

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.

Kris Kristofferson, Sunday Morning Coming Down


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## Latrade (4 Dec 2009)

"Well, go ahead and call the cops. You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops" Tom Waits, Hold On.

"Come down off the cross, we could use the wood." Tom Waits, Come on up to the house

"Won't you tell your dad get off my back,Tell him what we said 'bout 'Paint It Black'" Big Star, Thirteen.


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## Sconhome (4 Dec 2009)

I always like the visual image of:
_Saw some pigeons on a power line
Looked like notes upon a music paper
I wrote it down
I guess Manhatten
Gets the last line_
'Sunburn' David Lee Roth


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## elefantfresh (4 Dec 2009)

So I broke into the palace
with a sponge and a rusty spanner
she said "I know you and you cannot sing"
I said "thats nothing, you should hear me play piano"

The Smiths - The Queen is Dead


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## Flexible (4 Dec 2009)

Beautiful South
" We should grey together and not that pidgeon-chested trafalgar grey "


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## ney001 (4 Dec 2009)

what have I become? my sweetest friend
everyone I know goes away in the end
and you could have it all, my empire of dirt

*Johnny Cash - Hurt*


And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.

*Bob Dylan-The Hurricane*


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## elefantfresh (4 Dec 2009)

Hey ney001 - don't know if you know the original version of Hurt - if not, try it here


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## Lex Foutish (4 Dec 2009)

_'Lie down, I think I love you, _
_Lie down, I think I care.'_

Lie Down (A Modern Love Song) - Whitesnake


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## Betsy Og (4 Dec 2009)

I was happy in the daze of a drunken hour, but heaven knows I'm miserable now. Morrissey/Smith

She, another night another pillow. Suede

She broke my heart I wanna be sedated,
all I wanted was to see her naked.  Girl all the bad guys want (artists?)

If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me? (some Country & Western crooner).


This thread could run and run.


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## mathepac (4 Dec 2009)

Some great choices so far, excellent thread topic Caveat. 

Half of what I say is meaningless,
But I say it just to reach you, Julia

*Julia*, _*Lennon & McCartney*_, lyrics undoubtedly John's about his mother Julia, his biggest fan and supporter while he was playing with the Quarrymen. The love of his life, she was killed in 1958 by a drunk-driver when John was 17.

I set out one night
When the tide was low
There were signs in the sky
But I did not know
I'd be caught in the grip
Of the undertow
Ditched on a beach
Where the sea hates to go
With a child in my arms
And a chill in my soul
And my heart the shape
Of a begging bowl

*Undertow*, _*Leonard Cohen, *_*Dear Heather (2004)*. It's a complete song. Published as a poem,  it has no punctuation and it's had to pare down something of such brevity and economy.


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## DavyJones (4 Dec 2009)

"I love the quiet of the night time, when the sun is drowned in a deathly sea"


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## MOB (4 Dec 2009)

Git yer tongue outta' my mouth
I'm kissing you goodbye.


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## TheBlock (4 Dec 2009)

Then I write her a letter,just a few short lines
And I suffer Death, a thousand times.

Black is the colour
Scottish Folk covered by McCall, Weller and Moore to name a few.

Like the trembling heart of a captive bird
That was there at my command

The First Time
E McCall


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## JP1234 (4 Dec 2009)

_We may be hidden by rags
but we have something they'll never have_


Hand in Glove - The Smiths.


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## shopgirl (4 Dec 2009)

"There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in"

Just one of many brilliant lines from Leonard Cohen


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## ninsaga (4 Dec 2009)

I've been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I've cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways
We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell

*A Rainy Night in Soho - Shane McGowan*


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## dave28 (4 Dec 2009)

"looks like i'm up **** creek again" Tom Waites


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## dodo (5 Dec 2009)

Elvis Presley- Big hunk of love
" *I* ain'*t* greedy baby ...All *I* want is all *you* got"


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## danole (5 Dec 2009)

"It's hard to kiss the lips at night that chew your ass out all day long."
Notorious Cherry Bombs


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## Deiseblue (5 Dec 2009)

"Oh they ain't makin' jews like This post will be deleted if not edited immediately anymore
They ain't makin'carpenters that know what nails are for"
And
"Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed"
Lyrics by the great Kinky Friedman and his band The Texas Jewboys.

And of course " Gabba gabba hey " - The Ramones


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## MandaC (5 Dec 2009)

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

The Fray - How to Save a Life

Could have been written about my ex and me.....to a T.....


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## Marion (5 Dec 2009)

"I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die."

_Johnny Cash_.

Marion


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## huskerdu (5 Dec 2009)

Good choice Marion, I see your Johnnie Cash and raise you the Blue aeroplanes

"They saw we hurt the ones we love, but I don't think its true.
The ones we love are the ones prepared to be hurt by the things we do"

Love come round, by the Blue Aeroplanes


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## woodbine (5 Dec 2009)

_Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims_
_and strap your hands across my engines_

*Springsteen, Born to Run*

_Well now the years have gone and I’ve grown from that seed you’ve sown_
_But I didn’t think there’d be so many steps I’d have to learn on my own_
_Well I was young and I didn’t know what to do_
_When I saw your best steps stolen away from you_
_Now I’ll do what I can_
_I’ll walk like a man_
_And I’ll keep on walkin’_

*Springsteen, Walk Like A Man*

_Well, the night does funny things inside a man._
_These old tomcat feelings you don't understand._
_Well, I turn around and look at you,_
_You light a cigarette,_
_I wish I had the guts to bum one, _
_But we've never met._
_And I hope that I don't fall in love with you._

*Tom Waits, I Hope that i Don't Fall in Love With You.*

I use to drink in a particular pub in Tralee. It had a piano in the corner and apparently the only person allowed to play it was the owner of the bar. the story goes that one night, a customer started playing the piano and was thrown out. Apparently, it was Tom Waits. 

Probably just an urban legend but whenver i hear this song i can picture him sitting in that pub, thinking those thoughts. 



_I would do anything for love, but I won't do that._

*Jim Steinman*

_And now I'm in this clothing store, and the signs say less is more_
_More that's tight means more to see, more for them, not more for me_
_That can't help me climb a tree in ten seconds flat_

*Dar Williams, When I was a Boy.*


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## Chocks away (5 Dec 2009)

And he yells to the cook 
With his arms open wide
"Hey, bring me more fish
Throw it down by my side"
And he wants so to belch
But he's too full to try
So he stands up and laughs
And he zips up his fly.

*The Port of Amsterdam*
_David Bowie, Alex Korner _among others


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## Lex Foutish (5 Dec 2009)

Deiseblue said:


> "Oh they ain't makin' jews like This post will be deleted if not edited immediately anymore
> They ain't makin'carpenters that know what nails are for"
> And
> "Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed"
> ...


 
I've loved The Ramones since the late 70's. Not sure if it's the raucous guitar or the meaningful lyrics. 


And don't forget the Jessie and The James Boys classic.....

_Drop kick me This post will be deleted if not edited immediately through the goal posts of life_
_End over end neither left nor to right._
_Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights_
_Drop kick me This post will be deleted if not edited immediately through the goal posts of life._


P.S.
Great thread, Cav.


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## Mpsox (7 Dec 2009)

Tom Waites 
I lost all my money, in a Mexican whorehouse
cross the street from the Catholic church

Can't imagine whoever wins X factor covering that song !!


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## burger1979 (7 Dec 2009)

Nedtastic said:


> Great Thread
> 
> Feel the sky blanket you, with gems and rhinestones.
> See the path cut by the moon, for you to walk on. *'Unthought Known' Pearl Jam*
> ...


 

they are playing next year in june 22 in the o2.


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## Tomodinhio (7 Dec 2009)

“We’ve Travelled through time and space my friend to rock this house again”

Tenacious D


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## casiopea (7 Dec 2009)

Come sail your ships around me
And burn your bridges down
We make a little history, baby
Every time you come around 

nick cave; the ship song.


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## Complainer (7 Dec 2009)

woodbine said:


> _Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims_
> _and strap your hands across my engines_
> 
> *Springsteen, Born to Run*


I was thinking about Born to Run too. How about;

"Beyond the palace, the hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard,
Girls comb their hair in rear view mirrors as the boys try to look so hard"



woodbine said:


> I use to drink in a particular pub in Tralee. It had a piano in the corner and apparently the only person allowed to play it was the owner of the bar. the story goes that one night, a customer started playing the piano and was thrown out. Apparently, it was Tom Waits.
> 
> Probably just an urban legend but whenver i hear this song i can picture him sitting in that pub, thinking those thoughts.



Great story - Tom's wife Kathleen has family roots in Kerry, so there might be some truth in it.



casiopea said:


> Come sail your ships around me
> And burn your bridges down
> We make a little history, baby
> Every time you come around
> ...



Class, or how about;

"I don't believe in an interventionist God
But I know darling that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms"

Nick Cave, Into My Arms.


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## N&C (7 Dec 2009)

burger1979 said:


> they are playing next year in june 22 in the o2.


 

Really?? Its not on the Pearl Jam website or O2??? Saw them in San Fran during the summer and they were amazing.


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## Cahir (7 Dec 2009)

N&C said:


> Really?? Its not on the Pearl Jam website or O2??? Saw them in San Fran during the summer and they were amazing.



Yep, it's true.  Tickets go on sale on Friday.


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## burger1979 (8 Dec 2009)

oh its on like donkey kong............. anyway one from bono... (who copied it)

" and a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle, you've been trying to throw your arms around the world...."

also from running to stand still........

You got to cry without weeping 
Talk without speaking 
Scream without raising your voice...

great song that


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## Caveat (9 Dec 2009)

woodbine said:


> _Just wrap your legs round these velvet rims_
> _and strap your hands across my engines_
> 
> *Springsteen, Born to Run*


 


I love the song but funny enough I never liked that line - don't even know why.



Chocks away said:


> And he yells to the cook
> With his arms open wide
> "Hey, bring me more fish
> Throw it down by my side"
> ...


 
The amazing thing about these lines too is that it was originally written in French (Jacques Brel) so the translator (Mort Schumann I think?) has done a great job on the song - keeps the original meaning, still sounds poetic + it even rhymes! Some achievement when you think about it.

Some great examples above!


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## JJ1982 (9 Dec 2009)

I said I wanna touch the earth
I wanna break it in my hands
I wanna grow something wild and unruly

I wanna sleep on the hard ground
In the comfort of your arms
On a pillow of blue bonnets
And a blanket made of star

*Dixie Chicks- Cowboy Take me Away*


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## bren1916 (9 Dec 2009)

And then one Saturday in March 
I decided I would go 
as I was going nowhere 
and my mind was getting slow 
I opened all the closets 
there wasnt much to pack 
I felt bad not telling her 
that I wasnt coming back 
but this day she was early 
she looked at me and asked why 
I said why 

You're an uptown, uptempo woman 
I'm a downtown, downbeat guy 

'Randy Edelman'


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## LouisLaLoope (9 Dec 2009)

I saw two shooting stars last night
I wished on them but they were only satellites
Is it wrong to wish on space hardware
I wish, I wish, I wish you'd care 

A New England - Billy Bragg


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## Shawady (9 Dec 2009)

I liked all the lyrics in Paul Brady's The Island.
These few lines stand out.

_'Now I know us plain folks don't see all the story 
And I know this peace and love's just copping out 
And I guess these young boys dying in the ditches 
Is just what being free is all about'_


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## Betsy Og (9 Dec 2009)

Shawady said:


> I liked all the lyrics in Paul Brady's The Island.
> These few lines stand out.
> _'_


 
&  How this twisted wreckage down on mainstreet
Will lead us together in the end.


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## Shawady (10 Dec 2009)

Betsy Og said:


> & How this twisted wreckage down on mainstreet
> Will lead us together in the end.


 
Yeah, I remember him singing it on the Late Late show shortly after the Omagh bombing. Powerful lyrics.


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## Nedtastic (10 Dec 2009)

'I went sky diving 
I went Rocky Mountain climbing 
I went 2 point 7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu' *Randy Travis I think.*


'Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by' *Guns n Roses*


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## MandaC (12 Dec 2009)

bren1916 said:


> And then one Saturday in March
> I decided I would go
> as I was going nowhere
> and my mind was getting slow
> ...




Every time I hear that song, I want to punch the radio, I dont know if it is his voice, or the lyrics but to me it is evil.  There is another song I always associate with that one too,  do you like Pina Coladas, getting caught in the rain....something like that,   just dreadful


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## MandaC (12 Dec 2009)

Heard it today and forgot how good it was....


It's allright to say things can only get better, you havent lost your brand new sweater.

Sultans of Ping FC - Where's me jumper?


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## ninsaga (12 Dec 2009)

'_But sometimes I'd feel more fulfilled 
Making Christmas cards with the mentally ill 
I want to live and I want to Love 
I want to catch something that I might be ashamed of _'

Frankly, Mr Shankly
Morrisey


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## LDFerguson (13 Dec 2009)

_There's a club if you'd like to go_
_You could meet somebody_
_Who really loves you_
_So you go and you stand on your own_
_And you leave on your own_
_And you go home and you cry and you want to die_

The Smiths, How Soon is Now?

Sounds a bit melodramatic years later, but for anyone who was a be-spectacled, shy and awkward teenager these lines spoke volumes.

I can't resist quoting from an interview Morrissey did where he was asked what he thought of TATU's cover of _How Soon Is Now?_. Morrissey said that he thought that it was magnificent but admitted that he did not know too much about TATU. The interviewer explained, "They're teenage Russian Lesbians." To which Morrissey replied, "Well, aren't we all?" 

Brilliant thread - I'm sure this will run and run.


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## MandaC (13 Dec 2009)

LDFerguson said:


> I can't resist quoting from an interview Morrissey did where he was asked what he thought of TATU's cover of _How Soon Is Now?_. Morrissey said that he thought that it was magnificent but admitted that he did not know too much about TATU. The interviewer explained, "They're teenage Russian Lesbians." To which Morrissey replied, "Well, aren't we all?"



Great Morrissey quote, class song!


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## ninsaga (13 Dec 2009)

This one really sticks with me when I hear it........says alot about the Irish abroad.....

Thousands are Sailing - the Pogues...

_"In Manhattan's desert twilight
In the death of afternoon
We stepped hand in hand on Broadway
Like the first man on the moon
And The Blackbird broke the silence
As you whistled it so sweet
And in Brendan Behan's footsteps
I danced up and down the street
Then we said goodnight to Broadway
Giving it our best regards
Tipped our hats to Mister Cohen
Dear old Times Square's favorite bard
Then we raised a glass to JFK
And a dozen more besides
When I got back to my empty room
I suppose I must have cried"_


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## LDFerguson (13 Dec 2009)

Yes - great Pogues song - lyrics not written by Shane McGowan if memory serves?  

The other line from that song that jumps out at me is: - 

_Where e'er we go we celebrate_
_The land that makes us refugees_


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## ninsaga (13 Dec 2009)

Correct - Philip Chevron of the Pogues wrote it.


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## Girlf (13 Dec 2009)

_'You aint a beauty, but hey you're alright'_

_Bruce - Thunder Road_


Reminds me of himself.


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## Caveat (14 Dec 2009)

Always liked this:

*Killing Joke: Good Samaritan*

Bright clothes and smiles and we'll talk sunshine 
Although the light bulb's dim 
And my beach ball is getting dusty 
And the fun wears thin - thin. 
It's much the same everywhere 
Diversions right and we're ready to dance

Also - 

*David Bowie:* _*Repetition*_

Well Johnny is a man
And he's bigger than her
I guess the bruises won't show 
If she wears long sleeves
But the space in her eyes shows through

And - 

*XTC: Respectable Street*

Now she speaks about diseases 
and which sex position pleases best her old man. 
Avon lady fills the creases 
when she manages to squeeze in past the caravans 
that never move from their front gardens.


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## Mouldy (14 Dec 2009)

"She was left behind and sour
And she wrote to me equally down,
She said In the days when we were hopelessly poor,
I just liked you more."

Half a person, The smiths

"It was only a test, but she swam 
too far against the tide, (she deserves all she gets...)"

Lifeguard sleeping, girl drowning. Morrisey


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## Rois (14 Dec 2009)

learnt this song as a child and have never forgotten it - especially the 
last 2 lines:

Buachaill on Eirne:

"Má chaill mé mo stór ní moide gur chaill mé mo chiall
A's ní mó liom do phóg ná'n bhróg atáim ag caitheamh le bliain"

Translation

"If I lost my riches I probably didn't lose my senses
And your kiss is no more to me now than a shoe worn for a year"


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## Aurnia (15 Dec 2009)

Betsy Og said:


> I She broke my heart I wanna be sedated,
> all I wanted was to see her naked. Girl all the bad guys want (artists?)
> 
> If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me? (some Country & Western crooner).


 
First is Girl all the bad guys want by Bowling Soup and the second is Bellamy Brothers "If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me"

There seems to be quiet a few indie and a few other heads here. Excellent. 

Mine would be 

"I'm taking a ride with my best friend
I hope he never lets me down again
Promises me I'm as safe as houses
As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers"

Depeche Mode's Never Let Me Down Again

"If I could throw this lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay, see you walk, walk away
Into the night and through the rain
Into the half-light and through the flame"

U2's Bad

"Innocence is hurting, a world speaks out of tune
Promise calls, promise falls, what are we to do?
With a clouded view, you follow me through"

"we're but fools of our fate
on this earth I shall wait
by the roots of my soul
I am loosing control
take the dream"

both Fields of the Nephilim's The Watchman & Sumerland (where Dreams may come)

"You don't have no money, he'll get you some
You don't have no car, he'll get you one
You don't have no self-respect, you feel like an insect
Well, don't you worry buddy, 'cause here he comes
Through the ghetto and the barrio and the valley and the slum

His shadow is cast whereever he stands
Got some green paper in his red right hand"

Nick Cave's Red Right Hand

"You shut your mouth 
How can you say 
I go about things the wrong way 
I am Human and I need to be loved 
Just like everybody else does"

Smiths's How Soon Is Now

"Well take it easy 
While the world goes crazy 
As it's just another day 
And we've all been through the mangle 
And our pockets are empty 
But we'll live like kings and queens 
Hear the choirs of noise sing 
Take a load off my mind soothe me 
Live like kings and queens"

Killing Joke's Kings and Queens

Very topical eh? I could just so go on.


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## bren1916 (15 Dec 2009)

MandaC said:


> Every time I hear that song, I want to punch the radio, I dont know if it is his voice, or the lyrics but to me it is evil.


 
Amanda, look...just get over me - it was a long time ago and I've moved on.. ;-)


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## woodbine (15 Dec 2009)

bren1916 said:


> Amanda, look...just get over me - it was a long time ago and I've moved on.. ;-)


 
 excellent. nearly choked on my apple!


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## Complainer (16 Dec 2009)

Some songs just can't be cut down to two lines - the best Xmas song ever;

*Tom Waits    - Christmas card from a hooker in minneapolis Lyrics 
Album:  Blue Valentine * 

  hey charlie i'm pregnant
and living on the 9th street
right above a dirty bookstore
off euclid avenue
and i stopped takin dope
and i quit drinkin whiskey
and my old man plays the trombone
and works out at the track

and he says that he loves me
even though its not his baby
and he says that he'll raise him up
like he would his own son
and he gave me a ring
that was worn by his mother
and he takes me out dancin
every saturday night.

and hey charlie i think about you
everytime i pass a fillin station
om account of all the grease
you used to wear in your hair
and i still have that record
of little anthony & the imperials
but someone stole my record player
now how do you like that?

hey charlie i almost went crazy
after mario got busted
so i went back to omaha to
live with my folks
but everyone i used to know
was either dead or in prison
so i came back to minneapolis
this time i think i'm gonna stay.

hey charlie i think i'm happy
for the first time since my accident
and i wish i had all the money
that we used to spend on dope
i'd buy me a used car lot
and i wouldn't sell any of em
i'd just drive a different car
every day, dependin on how
i feel

hey charlie for chrissakes
do you want to know the
truth of it?
i don't have a husband
he don't play the trombone
and i need to borrow money
to pay this lawyer
and charlie, hey
i'll be eligible for parole
come valentines day


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## Liamos (16 Dec 2009)

The next morning none of the experts gave us the slighest chance,
They said the english team would lead us on a merry dance,
With their Union Jacks all them english fans for victory they were set,
Until Ray Houghton got the ball and he stuck it in the net!

Joxer goes to Stuttgart


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## MandaC (16 Dec 2009)

bren1916 said:


> Amanda, look...just get over me - it was a long time ago and I've moved on.. ;-)



(Cant do smiley either.....)


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## Caveat (19 Dec 2009)

Aurnia said:


> "Well take it easy
> While the world goes crazy
> As it's just another day
> And we've all been through the mangle
> ...



Thanks - you know something? Love the band and know the track really well but never really paid attention to the lyrics.  They're fairly straightforward but pretty effective really. And as you say, topical.

Good one.


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## zztop (21 Dec 2009)

Glory Days
Pass you by like the wink from a young girls eye


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## sadie (21 Dec 2009)

There was never truer advice given in a song:

"You've got to be a hustler if you want to get on!

Sue Wilkinson


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