Mike Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 It's totally a subjective topic, I know, but so are many other topics. So here it goes. I think Don McLean's AMERICAN PIE are the best "EVER" written. A long, long time ago... I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, That I could make those people dance And maybe they'd be happy for awhile. But February made me shiver with every paper I'd deliver, Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn't take one more step. I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride, But something touched me deep inside, the day the music died. So, bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die." Did you write the book of love, And do you have faith in god above, If the bible tells you so? Now do you believe in rock and roll? Can music save your mortal soul? And can you teach me how to dance real slow? Well, I know that you're in love with him, 'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym, You both kicked off your shoes, And I dig those rhythmic blues, I was a lonely teenaged bronking buck, With a pink carnation and a pickup truck, But I knew I was out of luck, the day the music died. I started singing, bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die." Now, for ten years, we've been on our own, And moss grows fat on our rolling stone, But that's not how it used to be, When the jester sang for the king and queen, In a coat he borrowed from James Dean, And a voice that came from you and me, Oh and while the king was looking down, The jester stole his thorny crown, The courtroom was adjourned; No verdict was returned. And while Lennon read a book on Marx, The quartet practiced in the park, And we sang dirges in the dark, the day the music died. They were singing, bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die." Helter skelter in a summer swelter. The Byrds flew off for the fallout shelter, Eight miles high and falling fast. It landed foul on the grass. The players tried for a forward pass, With the jester on the sidelines in a cast. Now the halftime air was sweet perfume, While sergeants played a marching tune, We all got up to dance, Oh, but we never got the chance `Cause the players tried to take the field; The marching band refused to yield. Do you recall what was revealed, the day the music died? We started singing, bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die." Oh, and there we were all in one place, A generation lost in space, With no time left to start again. So, come on; jack be nimble, jack be quick, Jack flash sat on a candlestick, 'Cause fire is the devil's only friend. Oh, and as I watched him on the stage My hands were clenched in fists of rage. No angel born in hell Could break that satan's spell. And as the flames climbed high into the night To light the sacrificial rite, I saw satan laughing with delight The day the music died. He was singing, bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die." I met a girl who sang the blues And I asked her for some happy news, But she just smiled and turned away. I went down to the sacred store Where I'd heard the music years before, But the man there said the music wouldn't play. And in the streets, the children screamed, The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed. But not a word was spoken; The church bells all were broken. And the three men I admire most: The father, son, and the holy ghost, They caught the last train for the coast, The day the music died. And they were singing.... Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die." They were singing.... Bye bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye, Singing, "This will be the day that I die." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PriestofSyrinx Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I thinkthe 2nd and third verse of Break on through (to the other side) by the Doors is the one of the best in my opinion. We chased our pleasures here Dug our treasures there, Can you still recall The time we cried? Break on through to the other side Break on through to the other side Break on through to the other side I found an island in your arms A country in your eyes Arms that chain, Eyes that lie Break on through to the other side Break on through to the other side Break on through to the other side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day You fritter and waste the hours in an off hand way Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town Waiting for someone or something to show you the way Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today And then the one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking And racing around to come up behind you again The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older And shorter of breath and one day closer to death Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines Hanging on in quiet desperation in the English way The time is gone the song is over, thought I'd something more to say Home, home again I like to be there when I can When I come in cold and tired It's good to warm my bones beside the fire Far away across the field The tolling of the iron bell Calls the faithful to their knees To hear the softly spoken magic spells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Mike I was going to post those too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I fully agree with "Time" [spoilerq:1]Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen[/spoilerq] [spoilera:1]Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows that the war is over Everybody knows the good guys lost Everybody knows the fight was fixed The poor stay poor, the rich get rich That's how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows that the boat is leaking Everybody knows that the captain lied Everybody got this broken feeling Like their father or their dog just died Everybody talking to their pockets Everybody wants a box of chocolates And a long stem rose Everybody knows Everybody knows that you love me baby Everybody knows that you really do Everybody knows that you've been faithful Ah give or take a night or two Everybody knows you've been discreet But there were so many people you just had to meet Without your clothes And everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows And everybody knows that it's now or never Everybody knows that it's me or you And everybody knows that you live forever Ah when you've done a line or two Everybody knows the deal is rotten Old Black Joe's still pickin' cotton For your ribbons and bows And everybody knows And everybody knows that the Plague is coming Everybody knows that it's moving fast Everybody knows that the naked man and woman Are just a shining artifact of the past Everybody knows the scene is dead But there's gonna be a meter on your bed That will disclose What everybody knows And everybody knows that you're in trouble Everybody knows what you've been through From the bloody cross on top of Calvary To the beach of Malibu Everybody knows it's coming apart Take one last look at this Sacred Heart Before it blows And everybody knows Everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows Oh everybody knows, everybody knows That's how it goes Everybody knows [/spoilera] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Laurie_ Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Oh boy, there are sooooo many songs with great lyrics... Sounds Of Silence, The Boxer, and many many more by S & G... Heart Of Gold, Old Man, and many more by Mr. Neil Young.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I love the metaphor in "like a hurricane" You are like a hurricane There's calm in your eye. And I'm gettin' blown away To somewhere safer where the feeling stays. I want to love you but I'm getting blown away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Laurie_ Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 ^^^^ One of my favorites also!.... I love these lyrics from "Old Man" Lullabies look in your eyes, run around the same old town, doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I keep mentioning this song, but I'm fond of the lyrics.. They Stood up for love ~ Live naked lovers feel the blood beneath their veins electric nerves communicate with tiny explosions through our brains who is this energy that never left or came? give rise to passion the only glory of this human story I give my heart and soul to the one we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds looking back to our birth, forward to our demise even scientists say, everything is just light not created, destroyed but eternally bright masters in everytime lord in everyplace those who stood up for love down in spite of the hate in spite of the hate who put the flower in the barrel of that gun? who lit the candle that started the fire, burnt down the fortress, the throne? who could house all the refugees in a single shack or a lowly bungalow? who lives in a different dimension, free from the struggles we know? I give my heart and soul to the one we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds looking back to our birth, forward to our demise even scientists say, everything is just light not created, destroyed but eternally bright masters in everytime lord in everyplace those who stood up for love down in spite of the hate we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds they live in the light we made it to the moon but we can't make it home waitin' on a rescue that never comes made it to the moon but we can't make it home maybe home is where the heart is given up to the one to the one we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds lookin' back to our birth, forward to our demise we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds they live, they they stood up for love stood up for love stood up for love they stood up for love stood up for love stood up for love we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds masters in everytime we spend all of our lives goin' out of our minds stood up for love Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Johnny's in the basement Mixing up the medicine I'm on the pavement Thinking about the government The man in the trench coat Bad job, laid off Says he's got a bad cough Wants to get it paid off Look out kid It's somethin' you did God knows when But you're doin' it again You better duck down the alley way Lookin' for a new friend The man in the coon-skin cap In a pig pen Wants eleven dollar bills You only got ten Maggie comes fleet foot Face full of black soot Talkin' that the heat put Plants in the bed but The phone's tapped anyway Maggie says that many say They must bust in early May Orders from the D. A. Look out kid Don't matter what you did Walk on your tip toes Don't try "No Doz" Better stay away from those That carry around a fire hose Keep a clean nose Watch the plain clothes You don't need a weather man To know which way the wind blows Get sick, get well Hang around a ink well Ring bell, hard to tell If anything is goin' to sell Try hard, get barred Get back, write braille Get jailed, jump bail Join the army, if you fail Look out kid You're gonna get hit But users, cheaters Six-time users Hang around the theaters Girl by the whirlpool Lookin' for a new fool Don't follow leaders Watch the parkin' meters Ah get born, keep warm Short pants, romance, learn to dance Get dressed, get blessed Try to be a success Please her, please him, buy gifts Don't steal, don't lift Twenty years of schoolin' And they put you on the day shift Look out kid They keep it all hid Better jump down a manhole Light yourself a candle Don't wear sandals Try to avoid the scandals Don't wanna be a bum You better chew gum The pump don't work 'Cause the vandals took the handles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 In My Daughter's Eyes written by James Slater performed by Martina McBride In my daughter's eyes I am a hero I am strong and wise and I know no fear But the truth is plain to see She was sent to rescue me I see who I wanna be In my daughter's eyes In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal Darkness turns to light and the world is at peace This miracle God gave to me gives me strength when I am weak I find reason to believe In my daughter's eyes And when she wraps her hand around my finger Oh it puts a smile in my heart Everything becomes a little clearer I realize what life is all about It's hangin' on when your heart has had enough It's giving more when you feel like giving up I've seen the light It's in my daugter's eyes In my daughter's eyes I can see the future A reflection of who I am and what will be Though she'll grow and someday leave Maybe raise a family When I'm gone I hope you see how happy she made me For I'll be there In my daughter's eyes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lea Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 Ahhh, my default song and more great lyrics Angel from Montgomery - John Prine I am an old woman, named after my mother, my old man is another child that's grown old. If dreams were lightning, and thunder were desire, this old house would have burnt down a long time ago. Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery, make me a poster of an old rodeo. Just give me one thing that I can hold on to, to believe in this living is just a hard way to go. When I was a young girl, I had me a cowboy. He weren't much to look at, just a free rambling man.But that was a long time, and no matter how I try,the years just flow by like a broken down dam. Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery, make me a poster of an old rodeo.Just give me one thing that I can hold on to, to believe in this living is just a hard way to go. There's flies in the kitchen, I can hear 'em in there buzzing.And I ain't done nothing, since I woke up today.How the hell can a person go to work in the morning,come home in the evening and have nothing to say? Make me an angel that flies from Montgomery, make me a poster of an old rodeo. Just give me one thing that I can hold on to, to believe in this living is just a hard way to go. and I just added it to the main page about ten mins. ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clara Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 I've always loved this song by Bob Dylan, especially these lines ... Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you. http://www.bob-dylan.com/songs/babyblue.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udo Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 (edited) Rush, The Trees There is unrest in the forest, There is trouble with the trees, For the maples want more sunlight And the oaks ignore their pleas. The trouble with the maples, (And they're quite convinced they're right) They say the oaks are just too lofty And they grab up all the light. But the oaks can't help their feelings If they like the way they're made. And they wonder why the maples Can't be happy in their shade. There is trouble in the forest, And the creatures all have fled, As the maples scream "Oppression!" And the oaks just shake their heads So the maples formed a union And demanded equal rights. "The oaks are just too greedy; We will make them give us light." Now there's no more oak oppression, For they passed a noble law, And the trees are all kept equal By hatchet, axe, and saw. Edited June 15, 2008 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udo Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Sailing, by Christopher Cross It's not far down to paradise At least it's not for me And if the wind is right you can sail away And find tranquility The canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see Believe me It's not far to never never land No reason to pretend And if the wind is right you can find the joy Of innocence again The canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see Believe me Sailing Takes me away To where I've always heard it could be Just a dream and the wind to carry me And soon I will be free Fantasy It gets the best of me When I'm sailing All caught up in the reverie Every word is a symphony Won't you believe me It's not far back to sanity At least it's not for me And when the wind is right you can sail away And find serenity The canvas can do miracles Just you wait and see Believe me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Rush, The Trees I love Rush, but I HATE those lyrics. Vital Signs on the other hand... brilliant lyrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Udo Posted June 15, 2008 Report Share Posted June 15, 2008 Vital Signs is another good allegorical song, which I like the lyrics but the song is a little too "pop" for my taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTyme Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 I can never imagine pinpointing the greatest lyrics ever written in only one selection but this next one certainly is in the top ten . . . Imagine Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skuff Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Well, lets continue this Beatles sole trend with Paul McCartney's "Only Mama Knows" Well I was found in the transit lounge Of a dirty airport town What was I doing on the road to ruin Well my mama laid me down My mama laid me down Round my hand was a plastic band With a picture of my face I was crying, left to die in This God forsaken place This God forsaken place Only mama knows why she laid me down In this God forsaken town Where she was running to what she ran from Though I always wondered I never knew Only mama knows Only mama knows I'm passing through I'm on my way I'm on the road no ETA. I'm passing through no fixed abode And that is why I need to try To hold on I've gotta hold on gotta hold on Was it planned as a one night stand Or did she leave in disgrace Well I never will I ever see my fathers face, see my fathers face Only mama knows why she laid me down In this God forsaken town Where she was running to what she ran from Though I always wondered I never knew Only mama knows Only mama knows Only mama knows (only mama knows) why she laid me down In this God forsaken town Where she was running to (only mama knows) what she ran from Though I always wondered I never knew Only mama knows (only mama knows) Only mama knows (only mama knows) (Only mama knows, only mama knows) I've gotta hold on (only mama knows) I've gotta hold on (only mama knows ) You've gotta hold on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 I'm partial to Jose Luis Perales's "Un Velero Llamado Libertad," but I don't know how well that would translate to English. He tells a story as he goes along. I also like Jeanette's "Un Corazon De Poeta" http://youtube.com/watch?v=H3cdzgGaSUE Lastly, "Amor De Mujer" by Camilo Sesto. http://youtube.com/watch?v=verTpgkfMY4 I'm having a hard time coming up with something in English that can match the lyrical qualities of these songs. I'm gettin' nuthin' here... maybe something by Roxy Music or Leonard Cohen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mailedbypostman Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Birds of the same feather flock together Congested on a majestic street corner That's a short time goal for most of 'em Cuz most of 'em Would rather expand their wings and hover over greater things That's what we call inspired flight By the pigeons that gotta eat pizza crust every night And "Let there be light" was understood When a mic-stand descended from up-and-above into the hood And if my face is worth a thousand words when it's scarred I would only hope that two of those are coco and butta To heal the wounds of the tissue scarred to mark the death of my womb But I've graduated, got my wings And you've got to let go of my constructed Lego egg-o-waffle halo Eh yo, I'm a black man with an African Drum in my chest that beats on the opposite of the right Let me know I got a breath left In this frigid fragile capsule That allows you to fly south before the winter winds trap you I wrap my "hell I made it" wetsuit stitch So I can swim in elevators crazy wet through piss I'm just a pigeon with one mile left That doggy-paddles through this bullshit ocean of death And these rags-to-riches words will break bones Like the assassination of two birds with one stone That's why I don't associate with bird brains with their beaks in the air Pelicans with wide jaws yap names for fish heads You'll get tossed in the flames Where some ornithologist will find your skeletal frame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otokichi Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 I'll cast my vote for "Folk disguised as Country." "Halley Came To Jackson" by Mary Chapin Carpenter. Late one night when the wind was still Daddy brought the baby to the window sill To see a bit of heaven shoot across the sky The one and only time Daddy saw it fly It came from the east just as bright as a torch The neighbors had a party on their porch Daddy rocked the baby, Mother said "amen" When Halley came to visit in nineteen ten Now back then Jackson was a real small town And it's not every night a comet comes around It was almost eighty years since its last time through So I bet your mother would've said "amen" too As its tail stretched out like a stardust streak The papers wrote about it every day for a week They wondered where it's going and where it's been When Halley came to Jackson in 1910 Now Daddy told the baby sleeping in his arms To dream a little dream of a comet's charms And he made a little wish as she slept so sound In nineteen eighty-six that wish came 'round It came from the east, just as bright as a torch She saw it in the sky from her daddy's porch As heavenly sent as it was back then When Halley came to Jackson in nineteen ten Late one night when the wind was still Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 Wet Sand ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers my shadow side so amplified keeps coming back dissatisfied elementary son, but it's so... my love affair with everywhere was innocent why do you care someone start the car, time to go you're the best i know... my sunny side has up and died i'm betting that when we collide the universe will shift into a low the travesties that we have seen are treating me like benzedrine automatic laughter from a pro my what a good day for a walk outside i'd like to get to know you a little better baby god knows that i really tried my what a good day for a take out bride i'd like to say we did it for the better of... i saw you there so unaware those hummingbirds all in your hair elementary son but it's so the disrepair of norma jean could not compare to your routine balarama beauty going toe to toe my what a good day just to let it slide i'd like to say we did it for the better of... i thought about it and i brought it out i'm motivated by the lack of doubt i'm consecrated but i'm not devout the mother the father the daughter right on the verge just one more dose i'm traveling from coast to coast my theory isn't perfect but it's close i'm almost there why should i care my heart is hurting when i share someone open up and let it show my what a good day for a walk outside i'd like to think we did it for the better of i thought about it and i brought it out i'm motivated by the lack of doubt i'm consecrated but i'm not devout the mother the father the daughter you don't form in the wet sand you don't form at all you don't form in the wet sand i do yeah you don't form in the wet sand you don't form at all you don't form in the wet sand i do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeaintsoShitty Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Daylight Again by Crosby, Stills and Nash Daylight again Following me to bed I think about a hundred years ago How my Fathers bled I think I see a valley Covered with bones in blue All the brave soldiers that cannot get older Been asking after you Hear the past a' calling When everyone's talking and no one Is listening How can we decide Do we find the cost of freedom Buried in the ground Mother Earth will swallow you Lay your body down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 hey LasS, Welcome to Songfacts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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