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The Best Song Lyrics Ever Written


Mike

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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."

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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

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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.

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I fully agree with "Time" :thumbsup:

[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]

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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

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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

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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

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Ahhh, my default song :thumbsup:

and more great lyrics :D

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. :D

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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

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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 by Guest
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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

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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

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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

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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" :beatnik:

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?

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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

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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

:elvis:

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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

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  • 2 weeks later...

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.

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