What's your favorite song lyric ever?

"Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
And can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Oh oh I don't know, oh I don't know"

Probably my very favorite of all time.

I am more of a musician than a poet, so I love lyrics that accompany the music perhaps more than lyrics that are just of high quality. Two prime examples...
- "I go forward, you go backward, and somewhere we will meet" in Electioneering by Radiohead. The actual vocal parts are matching what they are saying - one's pitching is going up and another's is going down and on the word "meet" they are singing the same note. Radiohead has done stuff like this in several of their songs. "Jigsaw Falling into Place" is an example - when he sings "into place" at the end, the notes converge on one note.
- "It goes like this: the fourth, the fifth, the minor falls and the major lifts..." in Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and every single human being who has ever thought or pursued a career in music. The chord structure follows the words.

Never really gave it much thought as to an all-time-favorite, so I might respond to this now and remember something much better later, but off the top of my head... (sorry ellipsis-hating-dude)

"Someday they'll put me in a squad car, someday they'll throw away the key, but 'til that day I'll be a mad dog, cause that's what you taught me to be" -Alice Cooper "Love's a Loaded Gun"

I always loved Time after Time by Cyndi Lauper:
"After my picture fades and darkness has
Turned to gray
Watching through windows
you're wondering if I'm OK
Secrets stolen from deep inside
The drum beats out of time

If you're lost you can look and you will find me
Time after time
If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting
Time after time"
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"Suckin' on a chili dog outside the tastee freeze
Diane's sittin' on Jackie's lap
He's got his hand between her knees
Jackie say, "Hey Diane lets run off
behind the shady trees.
Dribble off those Bobby Brooks.
Let me do what I please" John Mellencamp, "Jack and Diane

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"Headin' up to San Francisco
for the Labor Day weekend show,
I've got my hush-puppies on,
I guess I never was meant for
glitter rock and roll.
And honey I didn't know
that I'd be missin' you so.

Come Monday It'll be all right,
Come Monday I'll be holding you tight.
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
and I just want you back by my side" Jimmy Buffett, "Come Monday"

Well the kookoo clock has died of shock
And the windows feel no pane.
The air's as still as the throttle on a funeral train.

Mexican Home, John Prine

I'd agree w/ Jimmy's "Come Monday." Good stuff! In addition, I'd add these Jimmy lyrics:

"My occupational hazard is, my occupation's just not around."
"I made enough money to buy Miami, but I pi***d it away so fast."
(Pirate Looks at 40)
--------------------------------
"He's the Admiral of the ocean
The Lone Eagle in the sky.
He game me my first sextant
And he taught me how to fly.

I saw him through my telescope
On a cloudless night in June
As he rested between voyages
At his beach house on the moon.

A stripped bass breaks the surface
As the sunset fades away
And our journey from the Sea of Storms
Takes us home beside the bay.
We go fishing in the ocean
We go traveling back in time
Like the song says 'teach your children'
To go fishing with their minds.

Cameron's contemplating
I'm not sure just what he thinks
"Is my dad some kind of lunatic
With his stories and high hi-jinks".
Then he says when I get old and gray
And feel like I'm marooned,
He will take me in his rocket ship
To that beach house on the moon."
("Beach House On the Moon"; Jimmy's Dad had dementia/Alzheimer's, which is what inspired the lyrics)
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"You lay there fighting for each breath
While angels hovered 'round your bed
With open arms like God’s own smile
They led you to the light

What a battle you have won
And now your journey has begun
To the land where spirits fly
And your soul will never die

So travel lightly in my heart
You and I will never part
And far beyond this world we see
There’s a place for you and me

And I thank my lucky stars
We had a chance to heal our scars
Now I don’t have to hang my head
Over things I wish I’d said

So here am I your only son
I’m thinking back on work we’ve done
You were strong and I was young
Man we had our fights

And everything I felt for you
Has been turned to something new
And this is love I feel today
It will never go away

I don’t have to hide my tears
I don’t have to drown my fears
And I don’t have to hang my head
Over things I wish I’d said

No, I don’t have to live in dread
Over things I wish I’d said"
("Things I Wish I'd Said" by Rodney Crowell; written just after his Dad passed away, this one crushes me every time.)

A couple of other faves that I won't copy & paste here:
"The Captain & the Kid" by Jimmy Buffett (written shortly after his Grandpa passed away; another allergy-inducing set of words)

"Rooster" by Alice in Chains Superb tribute to his Dad's Vietnam service.

"Till I Can Gain Control Again" by Rodney Crowell. IMO, the greatest love song ever written.

"Battles" by Axe. I've listened to this one several thousand times; it gave me hope when I was crashing & burning in the late 70s.

"Dolphin's Lullaby" by Firefall. Sang it to both of my chirruns when they were little & it was bedtime.

"Was I Right or Was I Wrong?" by Lynrd Skynrd. Good words over a nice Southern Rock groove.

"Everything I Own" by Bread Yeah, I know; Bread. But this one's a son mourning his deceased Father. I've listened to & sung this one several thousand times too, ever since my Dad died when I was 15.

"Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone" by Chris Tomlin. My story, basically.

Oh, and one more. Everyone sing along now: "Yeah, Alabama! Drown 'em Tide! Every Bama man's behind you..."

SavannahDare said:

"Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
And can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Oh oh I don't know, oh I don't know"

Probably my very favorite of all time.

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My daughter sand Landslide in a choral concert. Said this is for you daddy. Had me in a messy puddle.

"Ballad Of A Thin Man"
Bob Dylan

You walk into the room
With your pencil in your hand
You see somebody naked
And you say, "Who is that man ?"
You try so hard
But you don't understand
Just what you'll say
When you get home.

Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

You raise up your head
And you ask, "Is this where it is ?"
And somebody points to you and says
"It's his"
And you says, "What's mine ?"
And somebody else says, "Where what is ?"
And you say, "Oh my God
Am I here all alone ?"

But something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

You hand in your ticket
And you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you
When he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel
To be such a freak ?"
And you say, "Impossible"
As he hands you a bone.

And something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

You have many contacts
Among the lumberjacks
To get you facts
When someone attacks your imagination
But nobody has any respect
Anyway they already expect you
To all give a check
To tax-deductible charity organizations.
You've been with the professors
And they've all liked your looks
With great lawyers you have
Discussed lepers and crooks
You've been through all of
F. Scott Fitzgerald's books
You're very well read
It's well known.

But something is happening here
And you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan".

And you know something is happening
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

Now you see this one-eyed midget
Shouting the word "NOW"
And you say, "For what reason ?"
And he says, "How ?"
And you say, "What does this mean ?"
And he screams back, "You're a cow
Give me some milk
Or else go home".

Because something is happening
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

Well, you walk into the room
Like a camel and then you frown
You put your eyes in your pocket
And your nose on the ground
There ought to be a law
Against you comin' around
You should be made
To wear earphones.

Does something is happening
And you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones ?

By pouring their derision
Upon anything we did
And exposing every weakness
However carefully hidden by the kids
But in the town, it was well known
When they got home at night, their fat and
Psychopathic wives would thrash them
Within inches of their lives.

The Happiest Days Of Our Lives - Roger Waters

I guess my answer would probably be the lyrics to American Pie by Don McLean. Everyone has their own interpretation, but if you pay enough attention to what was going on at the time you can get it.

I write songs so I really appreciate a great song lyric.

I think one of the best pictures ever painted by a songwriter was Kris Krisstoferson's "Sunday Morning Coming Down".

I can just see this happening...

"Well I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that it didn't hurt...
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad, so I had one more for desert.
Then I fumbled through my closet, through my clothes and found my cleanest, dirty shirt.
I washed my face and combed my hair, and stumbled down the stairs to meet the day"

Chorus-

"On the Sunday morning sidewalk
Wishin Lord that I was stoned.
Cause there's something in a Sunday, that makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothing short of dying
Half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleeping city sidewalk
Sunday morning, coming down...."

Sad song but man it paints a picture....

Bama Torch in Pcola said:

Well the kookoo clock has died of shock
And the windows feel no pane.
The air's as still as the throttle on a funeral train.

Mexican Home, John Prine

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Prine's one of the best ever.

mittman said:

I guess my answer would probably be the lyrics to American Pie by Don McLean. Everyone has their own interpretation, but if you pay enough attention to what was going on at the time you can get it.

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Mitt, I've dug into that song every which way but loose, and I still have no clue.
I always thought it was about the death of Buddy Holly, but I have no idea.
I always liked songs though, where you had to kinda figure out what the writer was actually saying. Maybe that's why I like Dylan even if he can't sing worth a lick.
I should never have gotten onto this thread. I could talk about songwriting for days.
Love it. Always have, always will. sip

The only thing that changes 'round here is the weather.
Life flows steady just the way it should.
Seems like I've been gone forever.
My home town has never looked so good.

There's the old post office and the corner grocery.
Our one little school and our PO-lice man.
It's small town Texas but it looks like heaven
When you're coming home from Afghanistan.

The sweetest moment of my life was when I saw my kids and wife
Run to me with smiling eyes as happy tears were flowing..
And when I hugged me Mom and Dad
And they said, "Son, we missed you bad"
That lump in my throat just kept on growing.

Nobody here makes a million dollars
We eek out a living with our own two hands
But you feel so rich you wanna hoot and holler
When you're coming home from Afghanistan.

There's Ms. Joiner on her porch, she used to read me stories
And I would cut her grass for one big glass of her sweet tea.
There's my preacher and his wife, they're waving little ole Glory's
Like all my friends lined up and down the street.

I used to wanna leave here and take my chances
Now I know, I'm a lucky man.
Cause you learn to thank God for the life you were granted
When you're coming home from Afghanistan.
When you're coming home from Afghanistan.

Dylan:

People are crazy and times are strange
I'm locked in tight, I'm out of range
I used to care, but things have changed

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I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, It's waiting there for you

CHORUS:
It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high

Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I'm dreaming,
I can hear them say

Carry on my wayward son,
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Don't know how many times I've listened to "These Days" and felt the song was written about certain periods in my life.

Well I've been out walking
I don't do that much talking these days
These days-
These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do
For you
And all the times I had the chance to

And I had a lover
It's so hard to risk another these days
These days-
Now if I seem to be afraid
To live the life I have made in song
Well it's just that I've been losing so long

I'll keep on moving
Things are bound to be improving these days
These days-
These days I sit on corner stones
And count the time in quarter tones to ten, my friend
Don't confront me with my failures
I had not forgotten them

I recall last Sunday morning a choir from 'cross the street
Came in to sing a few old gospel songs
And I heard him tell the singers 'There's a song my mama sang.
Could I hear once before you move along?'

Let him sing me back home, with the song I used to hear
And make my old memories come alive
And take me away and turn back the years
And sing Me Back Home before I die