On Lyrics

[Dethenger]

Spoiler: Opening of Kashmir by Led Zeppelin

Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dreams.
I'm traveller of both time and space, to be where I have been.
Sit with elders of a gentle race, this world has seldom seen.
Talk of days for which they sit and wait, for all will be revealed.

[instrumental]

Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, sounds caress my ears.
Not a word I heard could I relay, the story was quite clear.

I love this song. I love the grandeur, the majesty, the adventure. Everything about it is just invigorating. I particularly like when lyrics tell a tale; while most of the "story" in this song is told through the music, which is not at all a bad thing, the lyrics certainly don't slack.

Spoiler: Opening to Stuck in the Middle With You by Stealer's Wheel

Well I don't why I came here tonight. I got the feelin' that somethin' ain't right.
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair, and I'm wonderin' how I'll get down the stairs.

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right!
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Another of my favourites. Fun fact: Did you know that this song was written by Stealer's Wheel to poke fun at Bob Dylan? Apparently, Dylan often refers to people as clowns and jokers.

Spoiler: Opening of Hotel California by The Eagles

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair.
Warm smell of Colitas, risin' up through the air.
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light.
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim; I had to stop for the night.
There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell,
And I was thinking to myself, this could be heaven or this could be hell.
Then she lit up the candle, and she showed me the way.
There were voices down that corridor, thought I heard them say:

"Welcome to the Hotel California!"
Such a lovely place ("such a lovely place!"), such a lovely face.

"Plenty of room at the Hotel California!"
Any time of year ("any time of year!"), you can find it here!"

I first came across the song via text, and I had no idea it was a song for a long time. I thought it was a brilliant poem some forumgoer had written, and then forgot about it. When it came into my head at some point a few years later, I looked into it. Listened. Loved.

There's also Alone Again (Gilbert O'Sullivan) and Komm, Susser Tod (Sagisu Shiro), both of which I love for their frankly rather jaunty tunes, and yet very depressing lyrics (Alone Again talks about suicide in the first verse).

 

[AngelArms]

This path that we walk upon is the collection of points that the rain has drawn.
The rhythm section of the storm.
By the moonlight to the gateposts of the forest,
in the snow light, we are bound for the portal of the pines.
Grey as famine, on this path against our will by our main sails we're bound to the tempest until the sea is still.
Which compulsion with this miniature death tributize?
From behind the walls of my broken coughing tent, a formal vision,
but I allude to my helpless passion for the obtuse
When will this night end?
When the lightening finally tears through the mast of our sinking ship.
All the hopes of the slaves are betrayed by the grates.
On this coffin of a vessel every note's another breaking wave.
Revel in this vision, a formal visitation, on the night with the light from above.
Famished dogs follow slowly as my own paws drag me to a dock,
to the last plank where I struggle to deny myself the path that every Pisces craves,
just above the water in the middle of that man-made lake.
On that pier I turn my eyes from the water like a mirror of myself in the moonlight,
and I cough for every crater that I could see,
on the surface of that coffin we've come to call the moon.
Now I wonder if all those judgments that you made were true.
And the trapdoor of the solstice is thrown wide, wide open.
Let them all sink, let them all sink through.
The talking, the spinning of a web- its all just formal ritual.
The burning.
The burning question "what do you deserve?"
The gazing at a candle to find calm, but we all know its at the center of the storm.
Oh moon, thou pluckest me out, oh moon-
I who have sat by Thebes below the wall and walked among the lowest of the dead
(to Carthage then I came).
Only the most sacred crater will suit my burial,
only the most sacred choir performs this ritual dirge.
Perfectly imperfect, like a storm.
By our mane dragged and bound to our grave by our mane,
to the grave dragged and bound to the tomb by the scavenger's tooth.

Oh look, literally the greatest work of poetry of the decade

 

[Stealthygamer]

The entire song has the best lyrics i've heard in a long time

 

[MrMuttonChops]

"I want something good to die for
To make it beautiful to live." - Queens of the Stone Age - Go With the Flow

or

Spoiler: Tool - Vicarious (long)

Eye on the the TV
'Cause tragedy thrills me
Whatever flavor it happens to be, like...
"Killed by the husband"
"DROWNED by the ocean"
"Shot by his own son"
"SHe used a poison
in his tea...kissed him goodbye"
It's my kind of story
It's no fun 'til someone dies

Don't look at me like
I am a monster
Frown out your one face
But with the other
Stare like a junkie
Into the TV
Stare like a zombie

While the mother holds her child
Watches him die
Hands to the sky crying,
"Why, oh why?"

Cause I need to watch things die... from a distance
Vicariously I live while the whole world dies
You all need it too, don't lie

Why can't we just admit it?
Why can't we just admit it?
We won't give pause until the blood is flowing
Neither the brave nor bold
write as the story's told
We won't give pause until the blood is flowing

I need to watch things die... from a good safe distance
Vicariously I live while the whole world dies
You all feel the same, so...

Why can't we just admit it?

Blood like rain falling down
Drawn by the brave and proud

Part vampire
Part warrior
Carnivorous Voyuer
Stare at the transmitter
Sing to the death rattle

La, la, la, la, la, la-la-lie (x4)

Credulous at best
Your desire to believe in
Angels in the hearts of men
But pull your head on out
you hippies and give a listen
Shouldn't have to say it all again

The universe is hostile, so impersonal
Devour to survive... so it is, so it's always been

We all feed on tragedy
It's like blood to a vampire

Vicariously I live while the whole world dies
Much better you than I

or

Spoiler: Tool - Rosetta Stoned (also long)

Alright then, picture this if you will:
10 to 2 AM, X, Yogi DMT, and a box of Krispy Kremes, in my "need to know" pose, just outside of Area 51.
Contemplating the whole "chosen people" thingy when a flaming stealth banana split the sky like one would hope but never really expect to see in a place like this.
Cutting right angle donuts on a dime and stopping right at my Birkenstocks, and me yelping...
Holy fucking shit!

Then the X-Files being, looking like some kind of blue-green Jackie Chan with Isabella Rossellini lips and breath that reeked of vanilla Chig Champa,
did a slow-mo Matrix descent out of the butt end of the banana vessel and hovered above my bug-eyes, my gaping jaw, and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip and all I could think was: "I hope Uncle Martin here doesn't notice that I pissed my fuckin' pants."

So light in his way,
Like an apparition,
He had me crying out,
"Fuck me,
It's gotta be,
Deadhead Chemistry,
The blotter got right on top of me,
Got me seein' E-motherfuckin'-T!"

And after calming me down with some orange slices and some fetal spooning, E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose.
He said, "You are the Chosen One, the One who will deliver the message. A message of hope for those who choose to hear it and a warning for those who do not."
Me. The Chosen One?
They chose me!!!
And I didn't even graduate from fuckin' high school.

You better.
You better.
You better.
You better listen.

When he looked right through me
With somniferous almond eyes.
Don't even know what that means
Must remember to write it down.
This is so real.
Like the time he floated away.
See my heart is pounding,
'Cause this shit never happens to me.

Can't breathe, right now!
It was so real.
Like I woke up in Wonderland.
All sort of terrifying.
And I don't wanna be all alone when I tell this story.
And can anyone tell me why
you all sound like Peanut's parents
Will I ever be coming down?
This is so real.
Finally it's my lucky day.
See my heart is racing,
'Cause this shit never happens to me.

Can't breathe, right now!

You believe me, don't you?
Please believe what I just said, see the Dead ain't touring.
And this wasn't all in my head.
See they took me by the hand and invited me right in,
Then they showed me something.
I don't even know where to begin.

STRAPPED DOWN MY BED. FEET COLD AND EYES RED.
I'M OUT MY HEAD. AM I ALIVE, AM I DEAD?
CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID.
GOD DAMN. SHIT THE BED!

(high... I I I I I... high... I I I I I)
(high)
[repeated]

Overwhelmed as one would be, placed in my position.
Such a heavy burden now to be the one.
Born to bear and read to all
The details of our ending.
To write it down for all the world to see.
But I forgot my pen,
Shit the bed again,
Typical.

STRAPPED DOWN MY BED. FEET COLD AND EYES RED.
I'M OUT MY HEAD. AM I ALIVE, AM I DEAD?
SUNKIST AND SUDAFED, GYROSCOPES AND INFRARED.
WON'T HELP, BRAIN DEAD.
CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID.
GOD DAMN SHIT THE BED!

I...!!!

CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID TO ME.
CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT THEY SAID TO ME TO MAKE ME OUT TO BE A HERO!!!
Can't remember what they said.

OH NO, HELP NOW.
Can't remember what they said.

DON'T KNOW.
WON'T KNOW.
[repeated]

GOD DAMN SHIT THE BED!

 

[Flamezdudes]

There few instances in which works of mortal men can be called sublime. This is one of them.

It's never over,
My kingdom for a kiss upon her shoulder
It's never over,
all my riches for her smiles when I slept so soft against her...
It's never over,
All my blood for the sweetness of her laughter...
It's never over,
She's a tear that hangs inside my soul forever...


Lover, You Should Have Come over by Jeff Buckley.

Radiohead's lyrics are just pure gold.

Radiohead - Videotape

Oh, man, I had read Dr. Faustus [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_%28play%29] just before I listened to this song, the imagery it evoked...was so powrful that words cannot even describe it by half.

Ah man, I know what you mean. I only recently figured out how beautiful this song is, as is usual with Radiohead songs. The lyrics really make sense and evoke such imagery... like you said.

I'm trying to figure out the meaning of another song from the same album at the moment: Faust Arp (Considering the title has "Faust" in it).

 

[Jazoni89]

Muse - Megalomania

Paradise comes at a Price
That I'm am not prepared to pay
What were we built for, could someone tell please
The good news is, she can't have babies, and won't accept gifts from me
What are they for, they will just grow up and break the laws you love

Such a moody, yet powerful song.

 

[shogunblade]

The rustic chains of prison moons are shattered by the sun,
I walk a road, horizons change, the tournaments begun
The Purple Piper plays his tune, the choir softly sing
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue for the Court of the Crimson King

King Crimson - Court of the Crimson King. The imagery is simply mesmerizing, and there's still four more stanzas I haven't written (and won't).

Pretty women out walking with Gorillas down my street. From my window, I stare as my coffee grows cold. Look over there (where?), there's a lady that I used to know. She's married now, or engaged or something, so I'm told

Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out with Him?

 

[Johann610]

"Don't hang on. Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky.
It slips aaaaawayyyyyy, and all your money won't another minute buy!"
"Dust in the wind. All we are is dust in the wind."

 

[JemothSkarii]

Spoiler: Savior by Rise Against

It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten
what the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them
as the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping
through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten

there is no reconciliation that will put me in my place
and there is no time like the present to drink these draining seconds
but seldom do these words ring true when I'm constantly failing you
like walls that we just can't break through until we disappear
so tell me now

if this ain't love then how do we get out?
because I don't know
that's when she said I don't hate you boy
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save
that's when I told her I love you girl
but I'm not the answer to the questions that you still have

but the day pressed on like crushing weights
for no man does it ever wait
like memories of dying days
that deafen us like hurricanes
bathed in flames we held the brand
uncurled the fingers in your hand
pressed into the flesh like sand
now do you understand?
so tell me now

if this ain't love then how do we get out?
because I don't know
that' s when she said I don't hate you boy
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save
that's when I told her I love you girl
but I'm not the answer to the questions that you still have

one thousand miles away
there's nothing left to say
but so much left that I don't know
we never had a choice
this world is too much noise
it takes me under
it takes me under once again

I don't hate you
I don't hate you
so tell me now
if this ain't love then how do we get out?
because I don't know

that's when she said I don't hate you boy
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save
that's when I told her I love you girl
but I'm not the answer to the questions that you still have
I don't hate you
I don't hate you, no

It's a song that reminds me of better times, mine and my ex's song...I don't know why it touched us like it did, but Rise Against has always been fantastic with lyrics in my opinion.

 

[Ldude893]

The rap section of "Dirty Harry" by Gorillaz makes so much sense when you put it in context of the song's overall theme.

In my backpack
I got my act right
In case you act quite difficult
And your resolve weaken
With anger and discontent
Some are seeking and searching like Nimoy

I'm a peace-loving decoy
Ready for retaliation
I change the whole occasion to a pine box six-under
Impulsive don't ask why or wonder
Orders given to me is:
strike and I'm thunder with lightning fast reflexes on constant alert
from the constant hurt that seems limitless with no dropping pressure

Seems like everybody's out to test ya
'til they see your break
You can't conceal the hate
That consumes you
I'm the reason why you fill up your Isuzu

Chill with your old lady at the tilt
I got a 90 days visit
And I'm filled with guilt
From things that I've seen
Your water's from a bottle
mine's from a canteen

At night I hear the shots
Ring so I'm a light sleeper
The cost of life,
it seems to get cheaper
out in the desert
with my street sweeper
The war is over
So said the speaker with the flight suit on
Maybe to him I'm just a pawn
So he can advance
Remember when I used to dance
Man, all I want to do is dance

Poetry plain and simple.

 

[dex-dex]

When I see you alone
I see what's in your mind
You love me yes you do
You don't need to tell me
I know you love me most
No one else take my place
You love me, yes you do
Forever, and ever

pretty sappy but I still really like it.

 

[stvncpr236]

Now troubles are many
there as
deep as a well
I can swear there ain't no Heaven
but I pray there ain't no hell
Swear there ain't no Heaven
and I'll pray there ain't no hell
but I'll never know by livin'
only my dyin' will tell, yes only my
dyin' will tell, oh yeah,
Only my dyin' will tell

And when I die, and when I'm gone
there'll be, one child born, in this world
to carry on, to carry on
yeah yeah

And When I Die- Blood Sweat and Tears.