The Lyrics Thread

[Beechwoods]

I thought it would be nice to share some of our favourite lyrics, and recommendations of good records that show off the lyricists art. I'll add a few of my own later. Feel free to quote as you like, be selective though - no need for all seven verses of Stairway to Heaven!

All lyrics remain copyright of their respective authors. Please credit the lyricist if it's not the same as the artist - these guys deserve it afterall!

[Filterlab]

I love this verse from 'Can You Forgive Her?' by my old mates the Pet Shop Boys. I believe this is the only song ever released with the words "cricket pavilion" in the lyrics.

Remember when you were more easily led
Behind the cricket pavilion and the bicycle shed
Trembling as your dreams came true
You looked right into those blue eyes and knew

Lyrics written by Tennant and Lowe

[Beechwoods]

All this talk of cricket pavillions made me think of Marillion's 'Garden Party' - cricket... cucumber sandwiches... well that was how my mind worked

I love Fish's early lyrics, and this is a classic - I love the thought of 'edgy eggs and queuing cumbers'

Garden party held today
Invites call the debs to play
Social climbers polish ladders
Wayward sons again have fathers

Edgy eggs and queuing cumbers
Rudely wakened from their slumbers
Time has come again for slaughter
O on the lawns by still Cam waters

[muffinman]

My favourite line has to be taken from Pink floyds worst albumTM
this is taken from the gunners dream

A place to stay, enough to eat.
somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street.
where you can speak outloud about your doubts and fears
and whats more,noone ever dissapears,
you never hear their standard issues kicking in your door.
you can relax on both sides of the tracks and maniacs
don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote controls
and everyone has recourse to the law
and noone kills the children anymore

R.Waters

[Beechwoods]

Sends tingles up my spine that song. Waters' delivery is fantastically bitter, and angry. That album really came from the heart. The fact that the lyrics were rooted in the real world rather than the slightly fantastic world of The Wall, it made them all the more poignant. His lyrics since haven't matched up. The title song also has it's powerful moments. This one always got me...

Thought I oughta bare my naked feelings,
Thought I oughta tear the curtain down.
I held the blade in trembling hands
Prepared to make it but just then the phone rang
I never had the nerve to make the final cut.

[muffinman]

I have actually listened to the gunners dream laying on the grass at san carlos water. the radio chatter, missile and jet sounds on the track made for a rather sobering experience

[Filterlab]

My favourite PSB track, You Know Where You Went Wrong, has some lovely lyrics. It's about two homeless men recounting tales of their lives and how where the went wrong. My favourite verse:

Two men on the street
Drinking something cheap
No home, no family
Its cold, nowhere to sleep
Passers-by never catch their eye
Anywhere, one man drinks, the other swears

[Beechwoods]

This kind of social-commentary in lyrics makes me fall for songs. I see them as political albeit quite-often with a small 'P'. One of my favourite lyrics in this vein is 'Merlene On The Wall' by Suzanne Vega. It's difficult to pick a short part, because it's all so good, but it's such a rich song, which can be interpreted in so many ways, and it's recorded so nicely, it's a real keeper.

Marlene is a picture hanging on the wall. Some say that Suzanne Vega had a poster of Marlene Dietrich and that the song is autobiographical. Some say that the song is about a taboo relationship, or an illicit relationship - to me it's a song about domestic abuse, about being trapped in a relationship, and breaking free. There's a lot I could write about this song, but go away and have a listen to it and form your own opinion

Even if I am in love with you
All this to say, what's it to you?
Observe the blood, the rose tattoo
Of the fingerprints on me from you

Other evidence has shown
That you and I are still alone
We skirt around the danger zone
And don't talk about it later

[Primalsea]

Sorry for lowering the tone but here's an old Scout song that we used to sing on the minibus:

Rich girl uses vasoline
Poor girl uses lard
Mona uses axle grease, cos her c**t's so hard,
Oi!!

Mona Mona show us yer legs, Mona Mona show us yer legs
Right above the knee.

For something deeper, Prince's When Doves Cry has some very good lyrics.

[Beechwoods]

Well that's certainly an interesting counterpoint to Suzanne Vega, though I'm not sure how much it gets for artistic merit