best song lyrics ever

poetgrl · 10-23-2009, 01:45 PM

"Busted flat in Baton Rouge,
waiting for a train,
when I was feeling near as faded as my jeans."

Or, it could just be the way Janis sings it.

musicamusica · 10-23-2009, 01:57 PM

or how joni sings "The Last Time I Saw Richard"

The last time I saw richard was detroit in 68,
And he told me all romantics meet the same fate someday
Cynical and drunk and boring someone in some dark cafe
You laugh, he said you think youre immune, go look at your eyes
Theyre full of moon
You like roses and kisses and pretty men to tell you
All those pretty lies, pretty lies
When you gonna realise theyre only pretty lies
Only pretty lies, just pretty lies

He put a quarter in the wurlitzer, and he pushed
Three buttons and the thing began to whirr
And a bar maid came by in fishnet stockings and a bow tie
And she said drink up now its gettin on time to close.
Richard, you havent really changed, I said
Its just that now youre romanticizing some pain thats in your head
You got tombs in your eyes, but the songs
You punched are dreaming
Listen, they sing of love so sweet, love so sweet
When you gonna get yourself back on your feet?
Oh and love can be so sweet, love so sweet

Richard got married to a figure skater
And he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator
And he drinks at home now most nights with the tv on
And all the house lights left up bright
Im gonna blow this damn candle out
I dont want nobody comin over to my table
I got nothing to talk to anybody about
All good dreamers pass this way some day
Hidin behind bottles in dark cafes
Dark cafes
Only a dark cocoon before I get my gorgeous wings
And fly away
Only a phase, these dark cafe days

NewHope33 · 10-23-2009, 02:09 PM

Best ever? Yikes, what an assignment! I think most anything by Paul Simon might qualify, but in the spirt of CC here are some "cheery" lyrics from Merle Haggard:

"I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried."

UMDAD · 10-23-2009, 02:14 PM

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, beware doll, you're bound to fall
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, miss lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

Chorus

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldnt let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

Chorus

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

Chorus

Mythreesons · 10-23-2009, 02:21 PM

Steely Dan (Deacon Blues)

I cried when I wrote this song,
sue me if I play too long.

07DAD · 10-23-2009, 02:32 PM

With due respect to OP--

Janis at her best:

Ball and Chain (can't post all the lyrics)
Piece of my heart.

Quote:

Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man, well yeah,
An' didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can ?
Honey, you know I did!
And each time I tell myself that I, well I think I've had enough,
But I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.

Gracie being Gracie:

White Rabbit

poetgrl · 10-23-2009, 02:42 PM

"One pill makes you larger,
one pill makes you small,
but the ones that mother gives you don't do anythng at all...

Go ask Alice when she's ten feet tall."

Blue Man Group covered this one. Though nobody beats a young Grace Slick

ELY · 10-23-2009, 02:45 PM

"I'll Be (Your Crying Shoulder)"

The strands in your eyes
That color them wonderful
Stop me and steal my breath
Emeralds from mountains
Thrust towards the sky
Never revealing their depth

Tell me that we belong together
Dress it up with the trappings of love
I'll be captivated,
I'll hang from your lips
Instead of the gallows
Of heartache that hang from above

I'll be your cryin' shoulder
I'll be love suicide
I'll be better when I'm older
I'll be the greatest fan of your life
**
I just love the imagery of the line "I'll be the greatest fan of your life". Isn't that just what we want to be for our loved ones (esp. children)--on the sidelines, watching & cheering!

BurnThis · 10-23-2009, 02:56 PM

I could have also listed "A Day in the Life" or "In my Life," but I'll go with "Across the Universe":
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.

poetgrl · 10-23-2009, 02:59 PM

Ely-- team soccer dad did a montage of last year's season and this was one of the songs, at the end, as the photos of the cheering parents came up...not a dry eye in the house!

emeraldkity4 · 10-23-2009, 03:05 PM

Elderly Woman behind the Counter in a Small Town

Quote:

I seem to recognize your face
Haunting, familiar yet, I can't seem to place it
Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name
Lifetimes are catching up with me
All these changes taking place, I wish I'd seen the place
But no one's ever taken me
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away...

I swear I recognize your breath
Memories like fingerprints are slowly raising
me, you wouldnt recall, for I'm not my former
It's hard when you're stuck upon the shelf
I changed by not changing at all, small town predicts my fate
Perhaps that's what no one wants to see
I just want to scream...hello...
My god its been so long, never dreamed you'd return
But now here you are, and here I am
Hearts and thoughts they fade...away...

Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... (2x)
Hearts and thoughts they fade...fade away...
Hearts and thoughts they fade, fade away... (3x)
Hearts and thoughts they fade..

I also love this one.

Crazy Mary

Quote:

She lived on a curve in the road, in an old tar-paper shack
On the south side of the town, on the wrong side of the tracks
Sometimes on the way into town we'd say:
"Mama, can we stop and give her a ride?"
Sometimes we did but her hands flew from her side
Wild eyed, crazy Mary
Down along the road, past the Parson's place
The old blue car we used to race
Little country store with a sign tacked to the side
Said "No L-O-I-T-E-R-I-N-G allowed"
Underneath that sign always congregated quite a crowd
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
One night thunder cracked mercy backed outside her windowsill
Dreamed I was flying high above the trees, over the hills
Looked down into the house of Mary
Bare bulb blown, newspaper-covered walls, and Mary rising up above it all
Next morning on the way into town
Saw some skid marks, and followed them around
Over the curve,through the fields, into the house of Mary
That WHAT you fear the most, could meet you halfway
That WHAT you fear the most, could meet you halfway
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around
Take a bottle, drink it down, pass it around

JHS · 10-23-2009, 03:23 PM

One of my favorites (from memory, so apologies for mistakes):

Third-Rate Romance (Amazing Rhythm Aces - no idea who wrote it)

Sitting at a tiny table in a ritzy restaurant
She was staring at her coffee cup
He was trying to keep his courage up
By applying booze
Talk was small if they talked at all
They both knew what they wanted
There was never any doubt about it
They were old enough to start without it
And make it work

She said
"You don't look like my type
But I guess you'll do"
Third-rate romance, low-rent rendezvous

They left the bar and went to his car
And they drove away
They went to the Family Inn
She didn't even have to pretend
She didn't know what for
He went to the desk and made his request
While she waited outside
Then he came back with the key
And she said "Give it to me
I'll unlock the door"

He said
"I'll even tell you that I love you
If you want me to"
Third-rate romance, low-rent rendezvous

She said
"I'veneverreallydonethiskindofthingbefore
Have you?"
Third-rate romance, low-rent rendezvous
And he said
"Yes I have
But only a time or two"
Third-rate romance, low-rent rendezvous

FallGirl · 10-23-2009, 03:32 PM

Buffett

"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane"

Springsteen

"Someday we'll look back at this and it will all seem funny"

UCLA Band Mom · 10-23-2009, 03:35 PM

The Soft Parade by Jim Morrison of the Doors

I am troubled Immeasurably By your eyes
By your eyes I am struck By the feather
Of your soft Reply
The sound of glass Speaks quick Disdain
And conceals What your eyes fight
To explain

When I was back there in seminary school
There was a person there
Who put forth the proposition
That you can petition the Lord with prayer…
Petition the Lord with prayer…
Petition the Lord with prayer…
You cannot petition the Lord with prayer!

Can you give me sanctuary?
I must find a place to hide,
A place for me to hide.

Can you find me soft asylum?
I can't make it anymore
The Man is at the door.

Peppermint, miniskirts, chocolate candy,
Champion sax and a girl named Sandy
There's only four ways to get unraveled —
One is to sleep and the other is travel at dawn.
One is a bandit up in the hills,
One is to love your neighbor till
His wife gets home.

Catacombs,
Nursery bones,
Winter women
Growing stones,
Carrying babies
To the river;
Streets and shoes,
Avenues,
Leather riders
Selling news,
The monk bought Lunch.

He he he, he bought a little.
Yes, he did
Woo!

This is the best part of the trip.
This is the trip, the best part
I really like it.

What'd he say?
Yeah!
Yeah, right!
Pretty good, huh
Huh!
Yeah, I'm proud to be a part of this number!

Successful hills are here to stay,
Everything must be this way.
Gentle streets where people play,
Welcome to the Soft Parade.

All our lives we sweat and save,
Building for a shallow grave.
“Must be something else”, we say
“Somehow to defend this place.”
Everything must be this way,
Everything must be this way, yeah. Aah, yeah!

The Soft Parade has now begun
Listen to the engines hum.
People out to have some fun,
Cobra on my left,
Leopard on my right, yeah.

Deer woman in a silk dress,
Girls with beads around their necks,
Kiss the hunter of the green vest
Who has wrestled before
With lions in the night.

Out of sight!
The lights are getting brighter,
The radio is moaning,
Calling to the dogs.
There are still a few animals
Left out in the yard,
But it's getting harder
To describe sailors
To the underfed.

Tropic corridor,
Tropic treasure,
What got us this far,
To this mild equator?
We need someone or something new,
Something else to get us through, yeah. C'mon!

1st voice 2nd voice 3rd voice
Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' on the dogs,
But it's gettin' harder Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' in the dogs,
Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' on the gods.
You gotta
Meet me Too late, baby!
Shoot a few animals аt the crossroads Too late!
let out in the yard.
But it's getting harder Whoa!
Gotta meet me You’ve done great, hey!
at the edge of town, Having a good time.
You’d better come along
outskirts of the city Let’s fun!
Just you and I
and the evening sky. We are so alone.
Better bring your gun You’d better come along.
You’d better bring your gun.
We’re gonna have some fun! Tropic corridor
Tropic treasure.
“When all else fails,
We can whip the horse's
Eyes and make them sleep
and cry.”

JHS · 10-23-2009, 04:15 PM

Actually, I just remembered two of the best song lyrics ever. They are a little older than the previous entries:

Full fathom five thy father lies
Of his bones are coral made
Those are pearls that were his eyes
Nothing of him doth decay
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange
Sea-nymphs hourly toll his knell
Hark, I hear them -- ding-dong bell

(The tune isn't so hot, and I wish he had found a better word than "ding-dong" for the last line, but Willy Shakespeare could have been a heck of a singer-songwriter.)

And did those feet in ancient time,
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold:
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land.

(This one has a great tune, too.)