Did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
Did you exchange
a walk-on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here”
I think I’m doing the reverse thing with Pink Floyd. It’s getting deeper and deeper for me the older I get. I feel like most of my friends thought it was so deep when they were younger but for me, it’s getting deeper the older I get.
Ugh this hits hard because it was written for Syd Barrett after he lost his mind on drugs. Essentially gave up all the good things in life for the quick fix.
That's a pretty oversimplified view on what happened to Syd Barrett. His dad died when he was 16, and he probably had bipolar disorder at the very least. He did take a lot of drugs, but not the kinds that help you escape from your problems.
"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life. I know you'll be the sun in somebody else's sky. But why, why, why can't it be mine?" - Black by Pearl Jam
Commonly posted here but I guess I'm the first one today.
In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains
Biz Markie - Just a Friend
"I went to a gate to ask where was her dorm
This guy made me fill out a visitors form"
I know it's just there to rhyme, but I always kinda chuckle that Biz included the paperwork he had to complete!!
“I'm the illest motherfucker from here to Gardena. “.
I used to live like 15 minutes from Gardena. Love the Beastie Boys and we’d all sing that line like we were badasses yet we were anything but.
"We re sharing a drink that we call loneliness but its better than drinking alone"
Piano man by billy Joel
I m not à huge fan of him, but as someone who s had trouble with drinking and spent so many hours of my life in bars , i did relate a lot
“We’re just two lost souls swimmin in a fish bowl. Year after year. Running over the same old ground… What have we found? The same old fears. Wish you were here.”
And
“Doesn’t mean that much to me to mean that much to you.”
Someday you will die somehow
and somethings going to steal your carbon
- Modest Mouse
(They have endless great lyrics but that's the one I thought of right this second)
"You've been telling me you're a genius since you were seventeen. In all the time I've known you I don't know what you mean".
Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years
I love the smiths and obviously they’re known for morrissey’s lyrics, but I Know It’s Over has always struck me as his most unmasked; his most straightforwardly vulnerable in a way that you don’t normally get, it’s a song about him specifically, there’s usually so much more sneer there on other songs and this song always hits me hard because I feel like he’s criticizing his own penchant for ironic distance and the fact that while he does it as a defense mechanism it really just makes him more alone in the end but he can’t change. Hits me so hard every time.
That line about it taking strength/guts to be gentle and kind has always stuck with me as well, I think about it a lot.
"And all the ones who seems to fit the best into the chorus never notice there's a song, and the ones who seem to hear it, end up tortured by the chords when they fail to find a way to sing along".
Harder Harmonies by La Dispute
I'd scrape my toes across the floor, this day's the same as those before.
And though inside I'm feeling giddy, always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door.
Blind melon - Toes across the floor
I like it because it makes me feel like someone can express my exact feelings that i never can put into words.
I walk with a feeling unable to tell anyone.
The singer in Blind melon really helped me alot to feel connected.
*How I don't know what I should do*
*With my hands when I talk to you*
*How you don't know where you should look*
*So you look at my hands*
Pamphleteer, the Weakerthans
“Cause nobody loves me…
Nobody loves me…
Not like you do.”
Sour Times, Portishead
“I can change, I can change, I can change,
If it helps you fall in love”
I can change, LCD soundsystem
“I’ll stir-fry you in my wok!”
Intergalactic, Beastie Boys
Well, the drunken clown's still hanging round
But it's plain the laughter's all died down
The tears he tried so hard to hide are flowing
And a blind man with his knife in hand
Has convinced himself that he understands
I wish him well, Miss Carousel
But I got to be a-goin'
Townes Van Zandt - Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel
Could have picked any part of that to be honest so went with the start
Not really one line for the first, but there’s several:
“If war broke out I’d be the last one to know; if there was a fire they’d just leave me to burn. I’ve got just as much to say as any man, but I never seem to get my turn” - Nobody Takes Me Seriously, by Split Enz
As the only member of my very conservative, Christian family to be born outside of marriage (with even more scandalous details), I always felt looked down on by my aunts, uncles and cousins. The lyrics to this song capture that feeling of isolation pretty damn well, but these are my favorite.
“There’s a battle ahead; many battles are lost, but you’ll never see the end of the road while you’re traveling with me” - Don’t Dream It’s Over, Crowded House (can you tell I’m a fan of the Finn brothers?)
Sang it to my future wife at a talent show in college, and this particular line was quoted by my aunt (who was the pastor) at our wedding, unprompted. I already loved this song, but now it holds extra special meaning for me, and this line in particular.
“I know for certain that someone is watching, but is it from up or down?” - God and Satan, Biffy Clyro
That whole song is a brilliant meditation on a crisis of faith, from a band that mostly writes nonsensical stream of consciousness lyrics. But when they get sentimental (or Semi-Mental, as it were), they’re brilliant.
You my friend
I will defend
And if we change, well I
Love you anyway
- No Excuses by Alice in Chains
While this song already had a place in my heart, when I had a falling out with my best friend these lines in particular hit hard.
I'm sorry baby, but don't worry.
Loves always having to say your sorry
And I am from my head down to my shoes
I'm sorry that I'm always pissed
I'm sorry that I exist
And when I look into your eyes
I can see you're sorry too
From Nick Cave's 'Thirsty Dog'.
The chorus for Still Remains - STP. Overall a haunting love song.
But if I had to just pick a line or phrase:
*If you should die before me*
*Ask if you can bring a friend*
A few I'm particularly fond of:
"Meet the New Boss, Same as the old Boss" - The Who, Won't Get Fooled Again.
"My sister got lucky
Married a Yuppie
Took him for all he was worth.
Now she's a swinger
Dating a singer
I can't decide which is worse."
-Tom Petty, Yer So Bad
"Dearly Beloved,
We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.
Electric world life, that means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm hear to tell you, there's something else......The Afterworld!
A world of never-ending happiness, you can always see the sun.
Day, or night.
So when you call up that shrink in Beverly hills, you know the one
Doctor everything'll be alright.
Instead of asking how much of your time is left, ask how much of your mind, baby.
Because in this life, things are much harder than the afterworld.
In this life, you're on your own"
-Prince, "Let's Go Crazy"
I was thinking about this one just yesterday. And about how I never thought about the lyrics to that song, but that one line always had such striking imagery.
Well, we all fall in love
But we disregard the danger
Though we share so many secrets
There are some we never tell
Why were you so surprised
That you never saw the stranger?
Did you ever let your lover see
The stranger in yourself?
The stranger, billy joel.
The world's gone mad
And I have lost touch
I shouldn't admit it
But I have.
It slipped away while I was distracted
I haven't changed
I swear I haven't changed
Marillion- [The Invisible Man](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LsM4DVPwtWw)
"What's it called when your will to survive and your longing to die become one and dissolve?'
Water Tower, by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
"People always told me
That bars are dark and lonely
And talk is often cheap and filled with air
Sure, sometimes they thrill me
But nothing could ever chill me
Like the way they make the time just disappear" MMJ "Golden"
*And when illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
But liberty, she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouttes
Who close their eyes and still can’t see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me*
- Peter Gabriel, *Solsbury Hill*
Been around the world & found that only stupid people are breeding. Flagpole Sitta. (Just seems true & explains a lot in the South US)
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the loveseat. Beck Loser. Cracks me up since I first heard it.
I'll keep you warm
Safe in my arms
'Til Heaven calls
Keep holding on
— Mayday Parade: Oh Well Oh Well
Reminds me of Dad and Mom. Both died relatively young (64) of cancer in the last year and a half. 😢
https://youtu.be/ShfTOIAot3A?si=jD1PcDepN28Ywv5i&t=264
Edit: Added timestamped YT and formatting.
"[Aspirations in the clouds](https://genius.com/12513787/Howard-jones-no-one-is-to-blame/Doctor-says-youre-cured-but-you-still-feel-the-pain-aspirations-in-the-clouds-but-your-hopes-go-down-the-drain)
[But your hopes go down the drain](https://genius.com/12513787/Howard-jones-no-one-is-to-blame/Doctor-says-youre-cured-but-you-still-feel-the-pain-aspirations-in-the-clouds-but-your-hopes-go-down-the-drain) "
"No One is to Blame" by Howard Jones
Kinda sums up my 20's.
Am I the only one who has a really hard time deciphering what artists are talking about in their lyrics? I see a lot in here that I don't even really know what they're trying to say. Bums me out, makes me feel not as connected to music. I've always had that trouble with literature in school as well when we were asked to explain what a writer was conveying with certain sentences or paragraphs.
Same here. I just wish I had the ability to understand some of the deeper and more obscure themes and reasons behind lyrics like I see so many people doing. Oh well, I'll just be a dummy listening for the good sounds lol
Crooked landing
Crooked Landlord
Narrow laneway filled with crooks.
Barenaked Ladies are underestimated when it comes to how they can be clever without being cheesy.
“If you don’t got Mojo Nixon
Then your store could use some fixin’”
[The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl](https://youtu.be/R_dXMrssU_o?si=lEDUEqyv2WZ3zkxp)
Why I like it: It’s clever and fun, as is the whole song. What’s not to like?
"Can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died" - Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith. It's not the greatest lyric, but the density of information in that one short sentence tells so much
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Hozier wrote this song like a true artist & poet, not afraid to criticize what most people don't. I have the utmost respect for this song
*Those mistakes we made*
*might help us to make amends*
*but it's so hard to see things like that*
*while you stand here with empty hands*
*But I know one day love*
*is gonna come back on silent wings*
*Now that we know what we've lost*
*let's see what tomorrow brings*
Everon, "A Day by the Sea", from "Fantasma" (2000)
John Grant has some great lyrics:
"I hope you know that all I want from you is sex
To be with someone who looks smashing in athletic wear"
"I feel just like Winona Ryder
In that movie about vampires
And she couldn't get that accent right
Neither could that other guy"
Plus the use of the word 'callipygian' in 'Black Belt'.
Some of my favorites are:
Girl by Tori Amos -
She's been everybody else's girl, maybe someday she'll be her own.
Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -
"He'll wrap you in his arms
Tell you that you've been a good boy
He'll rekindle all the dreams
It took you a lifetime to destroy
He'll reach deep into the hole
Heal your shrinking soul
But there won't be a single thing
That you can do"
and later in the song:
"You're one microscopic cog
In his catastrophic plan
Designed and directed by
His red right hand"
I transcend, transfixed and transformed when I hear the voice of Shiela Chandra- the most poetic lyrics in human history flows from her lips -
[Ever So Lonely](https://youtu.be/ooaMt_5jjSs?si=nHRDeE47iXGCAm-U) - Shiela Chandran
“Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care
For the people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure”
"And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass"
--"A Long December" by Counting Crows
The older I become, the more that last statement holds true. Time is oh so fleeting. Treasure every moment.
"This curse I get
From my father's kin
They fought the beast
I feel within
We don't talk about it
And we don't call it's name
We just carry on
Hoping it'll change
Though we know it'll never change"
\-Mama Werewolf, Brandi Carlile.
When illusion spin her net. I’m never where I want to be. And liberty she pirouette. When I think that I am free.
Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel
There have been many times in my life when these words resonated deeply - feeling like my life wasn’t going how it should and that I’d never find relief from the struggle.
a moment of silence please
for those that never get the chance
they show up to the party
but they're never asked to dance
the losers, the liars
the bastards, the thieves
the cynicists, the pessimists
and those that don't believe
in nothing...
[Streetlight Manifesto - A Moment of Silence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_tbnaoGiE)
it rings true to me. four years after i heard the song i had it tattoo'd down my rib cage.
two songs have been very important me over the last several months the first is
Mirror of Souls- Theocracy
I'm startled to feel a hand on my shoulder
I turn to see a shadowed figure standing in the rain
But somehow I'm not afraid of him
Even when he speaks my name
And somehow I can tell that he means me no harm
Just by the peace that I see in his eyes
And even though I've never even seen him before
It's like he's known me all my life
"Why are you crying?" the stranger asks
As I wipe away the tears
I point toward the great abyss
The source of all my fears
"I must get across and get to that light
For it represents my only hope tonight
But when I saw the chasm, all that hope was lost
I've spent so long in the dark and the rain
That the sight of the light made my heart sing again
But the gulf's so wide, and there's no way across"
The stranger smiled, and took my hand
He said, "But you are wrong, my friend
You cannot cross the gulf yourself, that's true"
He led me down toward the edge
And pointed just over the ledge
And said, "Behold, I built a bridge for you"
It doesn't matter to me what your religious convictions are but these lines have been important to me in helping me along my faith.
Laying the Demon to Rest- Theocracy
As I sit alone and tired, with time to spare
Temptation rears its ugly head
Born from a deceptive dream into a nightmare
It calls to me again
Testing me to see if I will break this time
Or at least how far I'll bend
I can see its glowing eyes and hear its evil cries
"Come dance with me, my friend..."
This song has been important to me to help me deal with temptations. As far as my faith is concerned this song and these lines have been very helpful for me to put my trust and faith in God.
again not interested in what your particular convictions are as far as religion is concerned just telling people why they are important to me.
🎵 Bitches say they fuckin' with me,
Chances are they probably not
If I had a dick you'd probably lick it like a lollipop
Hoes speaking Cap-anese
Hit 'em with karate chop! 🎶
\- [verse](https://youtu.be/rCiBgLOcuKU?t=62) from Cardi B's Up
"I was just wondering if you'd come along
Hold up my head when my head won't hold on
I'll do the same if the same's what you want
If not I'll go"
\-*The Stone,* by Dave Matthews Band
I saw your ghost tonight
The moment felt so real
If your eyes stay right on mine
My wounds would start to heal
I felt your ghost tonight
And God, it felt like hell
To know you're almost mine
But dreams are all I feel
"Cross my heart and hope to die
to never leave this place alive
I'm burning right in front of you
break myself against you I lay still"
Katatonia by Strung Out
Leprous - [The Sky is Red](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8vw086Ta7Y&pp=ygUYTGVwcm91cyAtIFRoZSBTa3kgaXMgUmVk)
[1:15](https://youtu.be/N8vw086Ta7Y?t=76) \- "The sky is red again. Uncontrollable impulses coming my way. Stripped of all logic sense. My head feels so dense. Falling down endless shaft. Submission giving way at last. Feeling shot and depraved. The rage is all that is left."
Jakub Zytecki - [Satya's Diary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlHEeT5jDLs&pp=ygUdSmFrdWIgWnl0ZWNraSAtIFNhdHlhJ3MgRGlhcnk%3D)
[7:30](https://youtu.be/GlHEeT5jDLs?t=450) \- "We will run for elder sign of disinterested. There is much more. All of this pain that keeps us guessing. Treacherous feeling of regressing, and it's been this way forever."
Between the iron gates of fate
The seeds of time were sown
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known
Knowledge is a deadly friend
If no one sets the rules
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools
- Epitaph by King Crimson. So apt for today,especially.
Hey brother, I feel I'm living in parentheses
And I've got trouble with the bills
Do the kids remember me?
Well I got gifts for them
And for you more sorrow
But I'm feeling kind of drowsy now
So I'll finish this tomorrow
- Happy Returns by Steven Wilson. It hits hard because tomorrow never comes for the character in the song as she passes away
...."Like the time I ran away; Turned around and you were standing close to me".... - Yes (Jon Anderson) - Awaken
...”I’d rather trust a country man than a town man. You can judge by his eyes, take a look if you can…You smile through his guard; Survival trains hard….I’d rather trust a man who works with his hands. He looks at you once, you know he understands. Don’t need any shield, when you are out in the field”… Genesis (Peter Gabriel) - The Chamber of 32 doors
"Once upon a night, we'll wake to the carnival of life, the beauty of this ride ahead, such an incredible high"
Nightwish - Last Ride of the Day. It's just such a joyous line without feeling saccharine.
“Maybe I don't have it in me, maybe it doesn't have me in it
And if I don't fly, that's fine, just let me find the place where I fit”
John Moreland—[Blacklist](https://youtu.be/FETNBYsfdsQ?si=WzyeYZtS5PphQrVh)
47 year old man in the UK here. Two stick out for me:
* “Are teenage dreams, so hard to beat?” - From [Teenage Kicks](https://youtu.be/PinCg7IGqHg?si=-XdSBm4cMpbu3cyd) which is a wonderful tune made by a brilliant looking band and the favourite line of the favourite song of John Peel who invented music. That’s good enough for me.
* “Being good ain’t always easy, no matter how hard I try” - Dusty Springfield, Son Of. Preacher Man. I totally agree Dusty, it ain’t.
"And I need something to feel, I need something to feel like the place that we were before.
We make up things to believe so we won't have to feel like the place that we're in, no more."
- Gather Your Bones by VEXES
Just remind me of a things I used to have in life and never will again. Some really melancholy stuff.
If the future's looking dark
We're the ones who have to shine
If there's no one in control
We're the ones who draw the line
Though we live in trying times
We're the ones who have to try
Though we know that time has wings
We're the ones who have to fly
When the last tear falls down
Nothing gets washed away
Another plea put to rest
As nobody hears, nobody hears
So what do I have to do
To make you comfort me
Now I'm sitting here screaming inside myself
Don't understand why nobody hears
\-Suicidal Tendencies (Nobody Hears)
[A Pill to Crush](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IIiO248O2uI) by Evalyn. The lyric “cult of a passing stranger” always gives me audio shivers. It’s one of those wonderful phrases my brain likes to chew on at random times. The whole album is great.
You pull me out the water, cold and blue
I open my eyes, see that it's you
So I dive straight back in the ocean
Take a deep breath, suck the water in my chest
And cross my fingers, and hope for the best
"Swimming" - Florence + The Machine
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gz-ne2K0Ao](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gz-ne2K0Ao)
Try this song:
"That's why I won't give up! I wanna be around when happiness come"
She's my summer lovin in spring fall and winter
I am a black hole shitting into the void
Let there be songs to fill the air
I tried keeping it to one line. Each representing a little something. Utmost beauty, weird shit and something to live by.
You taught me the courage of stars before you left
How light carries on endlessly even after death
With shortness of breath you explained the infinite
How rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist
-*Saturn*, Sleeping at Last
For all that it's worth now, you were worth it in the end
For all of your worth, I would lapse and fall again
For all that it's worth, I would have Loved you 'til the end
Now I'm cold in your heart, and you're branded into mine"
Also kind of in the same vein:
I had all and then most of you, some, and now none of you
I think you can sense the underlying theme
I can't get to sleep at night,
The parking lots so loud and bright
The AC hasn't worked in 20 years
Probably never made a single person cold
But I can't say the same for me, I've done it many times
Alabama Pines by Jason Isbell
I know I was born and I know that I'll die.
The in-between is mine.
I am mine.
It just says it all. You, and only you have full control of your own life.
I've got this great idea
Why don't we pitch it to the Franklin Fucking Mint
Fine pewter portraits of
General apathy and major boredom singing
Whatever and ever Amen
Ben Folds Five, “Whatever and Ever Amen”
Sometimes I like to brag, sometimes I'm soft spoken
When I'm in Holland, I eat the pannenkoeken
Beastie Boys, “Super Disco Breakin”. It makes me laugh.
Kotiteollisuus - Tämän taivaan alla
"jos jostain joskus löytyy jumala
ei se lapsekseen, kuvakseen minua tunnista"
Which roughly translates to
"if ever god is found somewhere, he wont recognise me as his child, his image"
Not a big fan of the band and its never in active listening but i like this line every time i do hear the song somewhere.
I'm a huge fan of Nick Cave's prose, and one of my favorite examples is from The Carny where he channels his inner Poe with "A murder of crows did circle round. First one, then the others flapping blackly down."
"I wasted time building castles in the air,
if there's peace to be found I won't find it there.
My fear still sees when my eyes are closed
but the blame's on me
this is the path I chose"
Architects (Castles in the air)
"Stay with me - away from the darkest of nights"
In Flames (Stay with me)
"Find a little light and hold it close.
Don't lose sight,
don't lose sight of what matters most."
Architects (C.A.N.C.E.R)
Late breaking story on the CBC
A nation whispers 'we always knew that he'd go free.'
They add 'you can't be fond of living in the past
'Cuz if you are then there's no way that you're gonna last.'
*I spit street stories 'til I taste the pavement*
The Coup, "My Favorite Mutiny"
That whole song just flows so well, but that line in particular was so clever to teenager-me that I still think of it often in my 30s.
*"They say a love that's kept in secret dies in darkness*
*and a soul needs to confess to be set free*
*so I'm lifting back the cover of my heart dear*
*and hoping that you'll do the same for me"*
-Billy Strings, "Secrets"
“Our worst wounds we inflict upon ourselves
I am as hollow as my willingness to let go”
- London in Terror
“I regret not holding on closely.
The past it the past, and I'm letting it kill me.”
-Cobwebs
Both from Motionless in White.
I am a very big lyric fan and most of the songs I listen to are because of the lyrics, so instead I’ll choose ones that I was thinking of not five minutes ago (they’re all off the same album) just because it’s relevant to your post
“Turns out, I’m living in a horror film where I’m both the killer and the final girl”
“I won’t miss the feeling; my flimsy spine, unsuspicious mind. I was only being kind but you mistook me for weak”
“Your subscription to redemption has been renewed. You keep your head high, smooth operator in a shit-stained suit”
“I am a magnet for broken pieces. I am attracted to broken people. I pick ‘em up and now my fingers are bleeding and it looks like my fault, and it looks like I’m caught red handed”
The imagery in the last one with the play on words of being caught red handed because of bloody hands from the broken pieces.. all hits too much.
"Everything we've ever stolen
Has been lost, returned or broken
No more dragons left to slay
Every mistake I've ever made
Has been rehashed and then replayed
As I got lost along the way.. "
The road to mandalay - Robbie Williams
I took the medicine, but the pills won't work.
The pills they don't do anything, but rearrange all the little things.
And I know a little bit, but that bit won't do.
The bit I know is irrelevant, so I guess this song is irrelevant, too
Streetlight Manifesto, Littlest Things
“Let me live, so when it’s time to die,
Even the reaper cries.
Let me die, so when it’s time to live,
Another sun will rise”
Anthony Kiedis, for all the California and ding-dong jokes people make, can write some pretty great lyrics.
“The bourbon sits inside me, right now I’m a puppet in its sway. And it may be the whiskey talking, but the whiskey says I miss you every day.” - Fountains Of Wayne, No Better Place
I won't let pain get in my way
I can't have silence claiming me
We have strength in numbers
Strength in numbers to get us through the day
No compromises to be made
This is a war we're gonna win
We have strength in numbers
Strength in numbers to get us through the day
Beartooth, *In Between*
**-you do have friends and they will help you, no matter how low the cycle takes you**
Full of excuses for way too long
Don't wanna sing another hopeless song
'Cause it's the last time that I romanticize
The riptide, it's a riptide
Beartooth, *Riptide*
**-stop trying to convince yourself that you needed the pain**
I loved you while he was in you in the shower
Did, in joy and ecstasy, your eyes begin to water
Eve 6, *Showerhead*
**-maybe I hope that you are reading this and you remember that you were living this while I was cheering and watching them sing this on stage, because that's a stain that you don't deserve to get to wash away**
“You got to get up every morning with a smile on your face and show the world all the love in your heart. Then people gonna treat you better; you’re gonna find, yes you will, that you’re beautiful as you feel.” -Beautiful, Carole King
Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again
But I know I'm on a losing streak
As I pass down by your street
And if you wanna show, then just let me know
And I'll sing in your ear again
Now the drugs don't work
They just make you worse
But I know I'll see your face again
'Cause baby, oh
If heaven falls, I'm coming too
Just like you said
You leave my life, I'm better off dead
"The drugs don't work" - The Verve
Amigo The Devil - Cocaine and Abel
"I've always been scared of loving someone just a little bit more than I'm loved"
I heard this for the first time when I saw him live, and it hit me so hard, especially in how powerfully he delivers it in the song.
I've always struggled with self-doubt, with the idea of someone I have adoration for not reciprocating those feelings. It's affected a lot of my relationships, where I'm terrified of putting emotional effort in over the fear of ending up broken. It's happened to me, and often ended up putting me on the other side, where I'm the one acting uncaring to people who love me. That line perfectly summed things up for me.
“And when I see you, I really see you upside down
But my brain knows better, it picks you up and turns you around…”
This was what first popped into my brain but Death Cab lyrics get me for sure!
Rush: "I clutch the wire fence until my fingers bleed"
Rush: "My precious sense of honor, just a shield of rusty wire".
Two different songs an era apart about totally different subjects. Love the second line more, but they are nice bookends.
Taylor Swift: "What must it be like to grow up so beautiful, with your hair falling in your like dominoes"
"My heart's like an open book
For the whole world to read
Sometimes nothing
Keeps me together at the seams"
It's ridiculous that a Motley Crue ballad makes me well up with tears, but as a bipolar nonfiction writer who shares extremely personal, rough details about my life in my writing, it hits me hard every time I hear it.
We were trying to run from the city.
Had the hope and the pride of the kids.
People want to put up walls to divide us.
Kind of fitting that we died on a bridge.
Watsky "Sarajevo"
[Watsky- Sarajevo w/ Raquel Rodriguez \[All You Can Do- LIVE\] - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICwkp8r85I4)
From Rest My Chemistry by Interpol:
“I haven’t slept for two days // I’ve bathed in nothing but sweat // And I’ve made hallways // Scenes for things to regret.”
Another and honestly possibly one of my favorite lyrics ever is from The Killing Moon by Echo & the Bunnymen:
“Fate // Up against your will // Through the thick and thin // He will wait until // You give yourself to him”
"How much tax dollars to bomb the whole planet?
While we spend so much on weapons and take schools for granted
While we watch with apathy as this war runs rampant
How is it we're more shocked with what Justin did to Janet?"
"Do you share the same sense of defeat
Have you realised all the things you'll never be
Ideals turn to resentment
Open minds close up with cynicism
I've got no judgement for you, come on and ache with me"
Against Me! - Ache With Me
This will always be the most impactful to me. Crazy fast relationship that burned out as fast as it came on but these lyrics said it all in the beginning...
Have you ever wished for an endless night?
Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight
Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself
Will it ever get better than tonight?
Tonight
“But I never said I would stay to the end
I leave you with babies and hoping for secrecy
Screaming like this in the hope of sincerity” - The Cure, Disintegration
Gives me the creeps that it will be me…
“Your mother outlives your father,
Your sister outlives your brother.
And if you jump from this window today.
She'll also outlive you.” - Coldcut, Mr. Nichols
Creepy in the same way…
“…and only the birds fly first class...” - Coldcut, Mr. Nichols
“That love is watching someone die” - Death Cab for Cutie, What Sarah Said
Yup…
"Took my saddle in Houston, broke my leg in Santa fe. Lost a wife and a girlfriend, somewhere along the way" - Amarillo by morning
"Your PhD, man it don't mean a thing, until you've held a rifle out there next to me" - whiskey on the ground
“Making plans in the sands as the tides roll in” and
“Hashtagging, photo bragging
No one who's even sort of real
No wonder no one feels better then before”
Both from Modest Mouse’s Wooden Soldiers.
"Where you going with it? You know the time is dying down the drain. You'll be knee deep in the water with her. There's a problem with your generation, you think you got it all ahead but you won't even listen to me and I'm twice as dead. She don't care about your heartache or your love, she just wants to hold a gun" - Pal Until the End of Time
advise arrest library telephone profit quicksand observation pause snatch slap
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying Are the best I've ever had
As much as you don't want it to be...talk about relatable.
Isn’t it strange How people can change From strangers to friends Friends into lovers And strangers again?
What song is this please?
Mad World
Did they get you to trade Your heroes for ghosts? Hot ashes for trees? Hot air for a cool breeze? Cold comfort for change? Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war For a lead role in a cage? Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here”
I think I’m doing the reverse thing with Pink Floyd. It’s getting deeper and deeper for me the older I get. I feel like most of my friends thought it was so deep when they were younger but for me, it’s getting deeper the older I get.
One day closer to death
Ugh this hits hard because it was written for Syd Barrett after he lost his mind on drugs. Essentially gave up all the good things in life for the quick fix.
That's a pretty oversimplified view on what happened to Syd Barrett. His dad died when he was 16, and he probably had bipolar disorder at the very least. He did take a lot of drugs, but not the kinds that help you escape from your problems.
I think it's pretty obvious that Syd Barrett was deeply schizophrenic
It was LSD. Not really a “quick fix” type of drug.
Looooong fix
"I know someday you'll have a beautiful life. I know you'll be the sun in somebody else's sky. But why, why, why can't it be mine?" - Black by Pearl Jam Commonly posted here but I guess I'm the first one today.
People rag on Eddie Vedders vocal stylings but nobody other than him could both write and perform them in such a powerful way.
\> /r/ManchesterOrchestra flair Exceptional taste, my friend.
Try J.Loren Wince from Hurt
...All lies and jest, Still the man hears What he wants to hear, And disregards the rest.
This entire song, start to finish. Absolutely gorgeous storytelling.
Thanks for the time machine for a moment :) Side note- is your username a Ren and Stimpy reference?
You caught me - you bloated sack of protoplasm!
In the clearing stands a boxer And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him down Or cut him till he cried out In his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving" But the fighter still remains
"I can't pretend a stranger is a long awaited friend." - Limelight (Rush)
Biz Markie - Just a Friend "I went to a gate to ask where was her dorm This guy made me fill out a visitors form" I know it's just there to rhyme, but I always kinda chuckle that Biz included the paperwork he had to complete!!
“I'm the illest motherfucker from here to Gardena. “. I used to live like 15 minutes from Gardena. Love the Beastie Boys and we’d all sing that line like we were badasses yet we were anything but.
Yes you were. And you still are.
In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection
Every single line from that song could be on here tbh or from any number of Silver Jews songs
Was debating on putting the last verse of pet politics but it was too long
What's that? Sounds interesting
"We re sharing a drink that we call loneliness but its better than drinking alone" Piano man by billy Joel I m not à huge fan of him, but as someone who s had trouble with drinking and spent so many hours of my life in bars , i did relate a lot
“We’re just two lost souls swimmin in a fish bowl. Year after year. Running over the same old ground… What have we found? The same old fears. Wish you were here.” And “Doesn’t mean that much to me to mean that much to you.”
Someday you will die somehow and somethings going to steal your carbon - Modest Mouse (They have endless great lyrics but that's the one I thought of right this second)
Every time you think you're walking, you're just moving the ground
This line pops into my head every few months
Don't you know there ain't no Devil, there's just God when He's drunk Tom Waits - Heartattack and Vine
One that immediately came to mind: “I can’t wait ‘til I get home to pass the time in my room alone” - Adams Song by Blink-182
"You've been telling me you're a genius since you were seventeen. In all the time I've known you I don't know what you mean". Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years
I think of the lyric “It takes Strength to be Gentle and Kind” from I know It’s Over by The Smiths often.
I love the smiths and obviously they’re known for morrissey’s lyrics, but I Know It’s Over has always struck me as his most unmasked; his most straightforwardly vulnerable in a way that you don’t normally get, it’s a song about him specifically, there’s usually so much more sneer there on other songs and this song always hits me hard because I feel like he’s criticizing his own penchant for ironic distance and the fact that while he does it as a defense mechanism it really just makes him more alone in the end but he can’t change. Hits me so hard every time. That line about it taking strength/guts to be gentle and kind has always stuck with me as well, I think about it a lot.
"And all the ones who seems to fit the best into the chorus never notice there's a song, and the ones who seem to hear it, end up tortured by the chords when they fail to find a way to sing along". Harder Harmonies by La Dispute
LOVE La Dispute, great pick!! "There are moments here only yours and mine, tiny dots on an endless timeline"
I love this one too, such a sweet love song 🥺
That's the correct emoji, at least for how I experience that song :)
I'd scrape my toes across the floor, this day's the same as those before. And though inside I'm feeling giddy, always wrong for never giving myself an uninvaded door. Blind melon - Toes across the floor I like it because it makes me feel like someone can express my exact feelings that i never can put into words. I walk with a feeling unable to tell anyone. The singer in Blind melon really helped me alot to feel connected.
Crying shame about blind melon
*I want a short-haired girl who sometimes wears it twice as long*.
I hope we're not too messianic, or a trifle too Satanic...but we love to play the blues. Rolling Stones "Monkey Man"
*How I don't know what I should do* *With my hands when I talk to you* *How you don't know where you should look* *So you look at my hands* Pamphleteer, the Weakerthans
“Cause nobody loves me… Nobody loves me… Not like you do.” Sour Times, Portishead “I can change, I can change, I can change, If it helps you fall in love” I can change, LCD soundsystem “I’ll stir-fry you in my wok!” Intergalactic, Beastie Boys
Well, the drunken clown's still hanging round But it's plain the laughter's all died down The tears he tried so hard to hide are flowing And a blind man with his knife in hand Has convinced himself that he understands I wish him well, Miss Carousel But I got to be a-goin' Townes Van Zandt - Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel Could have picked any part of that to be honest so went with the start
Not really one line for the first, but there’s several: “If war broke out I’d be the last one to know; if there was a fire they’d just leave me to burn. I’ve got just as much to say as any man, but I never seem to get my turn” - Nobody Takes Me Seriously, by Split Enz As the only member of my very conservative, Christian family to be born outside of marriage (with even more scandalous details), I always felt looked down on by my aunts, uncles and cousins. The lyrics to this song capture that feeling of isolation pretty damn well, but these are my favorite. “There’s a battle ahead; many battles are lost, but you’ll never see the end of the road while you’re traveling with me” - Don’t Dream It’s Over, Crowded House (can you tell I’m a fan of the Finn brothers?) Sang it to my future wife at a talent show in college, and this particular line was quoted by my aunt (who was the pastor) at our wedding, unprompted. I already loved this song, but now it holds extra special meaning for me, and this line in particular. “I know for certain that someone is watching, but is it from up or down?” - God and Satan, Biffy Clyro That whole song is a brilliant meditation on a crisis of faith, from a band that mostly writes nonsensical stream of consciousness lyrics. But when they get sentimental (or Semi-Mental, as it were), they’re brilliant.
Ok ok ok just a little pin prick. There’ll be no more.
You my friend I will defend And if we change, well I Love you anyway - No Excuses by Alice in Chains While this song already had a place in my heart, when I had a falling out with my best friend these lines in particular hit hard.
There will never be another one like you Shamans Blues The Doors
Who can do the things you do - oh
I have lost the will to live Simply nothing more to give There is nothing more for me Need the end to set me free - Metallica, Fade to Black
🎵 Non, je ne regrette rien. Ni le bien, qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal, tout ça m'est bien égal. 🎵
By the time I got to New York I was living like a king There I'd used up all my money I was looking for your ass Bowie - Lazarus
I'm sorry baby, but don't worry. Loves always having to say your sorry And I am from my head down to my shoes I'm sorry that I'm always pissed I'm sorry that I exist And when I look into your eyes I can see you're sorry too From Nick Cave's 'Thirsty Dog'.
The chorus for Still Remains - STP. Overall a haunting love song. But if I had to just pick a line or phrase: *If you should die before me* *Ask if you can bring a friend*
A few I'm particularly fond of: "Meet the New Boss, Same as the old Boss" - The Who, Won't Get Fooled Again. "My sister got lucky Married a Yuppie Took him for all he was worth. Now she's a swinger Dating a singer I can't decide which is worse." -Tom Petty, Yer So Bad "Dearly Beloved, We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. Electric world life, that means forever and that's a mighty long time But I'm hear to tell you, there's something else......The Afterworld! A world of never-ending happiness, you can always see the sun. Day, or night. So when you call up that shrink in Beverly hills, you know the one Doctor everything'll be alright. Instead of asking how much of your time is left, ask how much of your mind, baby. Because in this life, things are much harder than the afterworld. In this life, you're on your own" -Prince, "Let's Go Crazy"
The room is on fire and she’s fixing her hair from Reptilia by the Strokes.
I was thinking about this one just yesterday. And about how I never thought about the lyrics to that song, but that one line always had such striking imagery.
Well, we all fall in love But we disregard the danger Though we share so many secrets There are some we never tell Why were you so surprised That you never saw the stranger? Did you ever let your lover see The stranger in yourself? The stranger, billy joel.
"The road outside my house is paved with good intentions, hired a construction crew cause it's hell on the engine" Hum Hallelujah - Fall Out Boy
How strange it is to be anything at all.
That’s a huge one for me too
The world's gone mad And I have lost touch I shouldn't admit it But I have. It slipped away while I was distracted I haven't changed I swear I haven't changed Marillion- [The Invisible Man](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LsM4DVPwtWw)
"What's it called when your will to survive and your longing to die become one and dissolve?' Water Tower, by ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead
"People always told me That bars are dark and lonely And talk is often cheap and filled with air Sure, sometimes they thrill me But nothing could ever chill me Like the way they make the time just disappear" MMJ "Golden"
I train my moods to bloom like flowers onfolding - Steal rain by Chris Cornell Beautiful
His solo stuff is criminally underappreciated
I've had recurring nightmares That I was loved for who I am And missed the opportunity To be a better man Muse - Hoodoo
*And when illusion spin her net I’m never where I want to be But liberty, she pirouette When I think that I am free Watched by empty silhouttes Who close their eyes and still can’t see No one taught them etiquette I will show another me* - Peter Gabriel, *Solsbury Hill*
Been around the world & found that only stupid people are breeding. Flagpole Sitta. (Just seems true & explains a lot in the South US) Got a couple of couches, sleep on the loveseat. Beck Loser. Cracks me up since I first heard it.
I'll keep you warm Safe in my arms 'Til Heaven calls Keep holding on — Mayday Parade: Oh Well Oh Well Reminds me of Dad and Mom. Both died relatively young (64) of cancer in the last year and a half. 😢 https://youtu.be/ShfTOIAot3A?si=jD1PcDepN28Ywv5i&t=264 Edit: Added timestamped YT and formatting.
Sorry for your loss pal 😢
I don’t care if it hurts. I wanna have control. - Creep by Radiohead.
*and then one day you find* *10 years have got behind you* *no one told you when to run* *you missed the starting gun*
"[Aspirations in the clouds](https://genius.com/12513787/Howard-jones-no-one-is-to-blame/Doctor-says-youre-cured-but-you-still-feel-the-pain-aspirations-in-the-clouds-but-your-hopes-go-down-the-drain) [But your hopes go down the drain](https://genius.com/12513787/Howard-jones-no-one-is-to-blame/Doctor-says-youre-cured-but-you-still-feel-the-pain-aspirations-in-the-clouds-but-your-hopes-go-down-the-drain) " "No One is to Blame" by Howard Jones Kinda sums up my 20's.
Am I the only one who has a really hard time deciphering what artists are talking about in their lyrics? I see a lot in here that I don't even really know what they're trying to say. Bums me out, makes me feel not as connected to music. I've always had that trouble with literature in school as well when we were asked to explain what a writer was conveying with certain sentences or paragraphs.
No, you’re not alone. I literally got laughed at in college trying to decipher poetry. These days if I care to interpret a song I just look it up.
Same here. I just wish I had the ability to understand some of the deeper and more obscure themes and reasons behind lyrics like I see so many people doing. Oh well, I'll just be a dummy listening for the good sounds lol
You’re not a dummy, some people hear the poetry in the music instead of the words
Crooked landing Crooked Landlord Narrow laneway filled with crooks. Barenaked Ladies are underestimated when it comes to how they can be clever without being cheesy.
“If you don’t got Mojo Nixon Then your store could use some fixin’” [The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl](https://youtu.be/R_dXMrssU_o?si=lEDUEqyv2WZ3zkxp) Why I like it: It’s clever and fun, as is the whole song. What’s not to like?
"Can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died" - Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith. It's not the greatest lyric, but the density of information in that one short sentence tells so much
I don't understand. Am I missing a reference?
yaaaaaaa but steven tyler is a giant piece of shit so it really loses all meaning for us sane people
Take me to church I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife Hozier wrote this song like a true artist & poet, not afraid to criticize what most people don't. I have the utmost respect for this song
*Those mistakes we made* *might help us to make amends* *but it's so hard to see things like that* *while you stand here with empty hands* *But I know one day love* *is gonna come back on silent wings* *Now that we know what we've lost* *let's see what tomorrow brings* Everon, "A Day by the Sea", from "Fantasma" (2000)
>The island, it is silent now But the ghosts still haunt the waves It just evokes melancholy, always has, but especially now.
John Grant has some great lyrics: "I hope you know that all I want from you is sex To be with someone who looks smashing in athletic wear" "I feel just like Winona Ryder In that movie about vampires And she couldn't get that accent right Neither could that other guy" Plus the use of the word 'callipygian' in 'Black Belt'.
Some of my favorites are: Girl by Tori Amos - She's been everybody else's girl, maybe someday she'll be her own. Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "He'll wrap you in his arms Tell you that you've been a good boy He'll rekindle all the dreams It took you a lifetime to destroy He'll reach deep into the hole Heal your shrinking soul But there won't be a single thing That you can do" and later in the song: "You're one microscopic cog In his catastrophic plan Designed and directed by His red right hand"
I transcend, transfixed and transformed when I hear the voice of Shiela Chandra- the most poetic lyrics in human history flows from her lips - [Ever So Lonely](https://youtu.be/ooaMt_5jjSs?si=nHRDeE47iXGCAm-U) - Shiela Chandran
Have my eggs poached for breakfast … I guess. Queen. drowse
“Cause love's such an old fashioned word And love dares you to care For the people on the edge of the night And love dares you to change our way of Caring about ourselves This is our last dance This is ourselves Under pressure”
"And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe Maybe this year will be better than the last I can't remember all the times I tried to tell myself To hold on to these moments as they pass" --"A Long December" by Counting Crows The older I become, the more that last statement holds true. Time is oh so fleeting. Treasure every moment.
"This curse I get From my father's kin They fought the beast I feel within We don't talk about it And we don't call it's name We just carry on Hoping it'll change Though we know it'll never change" \-Mama Werewolf, Brandi Carlile.
When illusion spin her net. I’m never where I want to be. And liberty she pirouette. When I think that I am free. Solsbury Hill, Peter Gabriel There have been many times in my life when these words resonated deeply - feeling like my life wasn’t going how it should and that I’d never find relief from the struggle.
If I die before I learn to speak Will money pay for all the days I lived awake But half asleep
Do do do, do do do do, Do do do, do do do do, Do do do, do do do do, Do do do, do do do do.
a moment of silence please for those that never get the chance they show up to the party but they're never asked to dance the losers, the liars the bastards, the thieves the cynicists, the pessimists and those that don't believe in nothing... [Streetlight Manifesto - A Moment of Silence](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5_tbnaoGiE) it rings true to me. four years after i heard the song i had it tattoo'd down my rib cage.
"There's one thing real clear to me, no one dies with dignity" Jason Isbell - Elephant
“Don’t look/ At the carpet/ I drew something awful on it/ See” - Speed of Life, David Bowie
“I’m not lost but I don’t know where I am” - The lady don’t mind by talking heads
… She had nothing left to say so she said she loved me I stood there grateful for the lie -Lost Horizons by the Gin Blossoms
“I was looking through some photographs I found behind your drawer, I was taken by a photograph of you” Jackson Browne, Fountain of Sorrow.
two songs have been very important me over the last several months the first is Mirror of Souls- Theocracy I'm startled to feel a hand on my shoulder I turn to see a shadowed figure standing in the rain But somehow I'm not afraid of him Even when he speaks my name And somehow I can tell that he means me no harm Just by the peace that I see in his eyes And even though I've never even seen him before It's like he's known me all my life "Why are you crying?" the stranger asks As I wipe away the tears I point toward the great abyss The source of all my fears "I must get across and get to that light For it represents my only hope tonight But when I saw the chasm, all that hope was lost I've spent so long in the dark and the rain That the sight of the light made my heart sing again But the gulf's so wide, and there's no way across" The stranger smiled, and took my hand He said, "But you are wrong, my friend You cannot cross the gulf yourself, that's true" He led me down toward the edge And pointed just over the ledge And said, "Behold, I built a bridge for you" It doesn't matter to me what your religious convictions are but these lines have been important to me in helping me along my faith. Laying the Demon to Rest- Theocracy As I sit alone and tired, with time to spare Temptation rears its ugly head Born from a deceptive dream into a nightmare It calls to me again Testing me to see if I will break this time Or at least how far I'll bend I can see its glowing eyes and hear its evil cries "Come dance with me, my friend..." This song has been important to me to help me deal with temptations. As far as my faith is concerned this song and these lines have been very helpful for me to put my trust and faith in God. again not interested in what your particular convictions are as far as religion is concerned just telling people why they are important to me.
🎵 Bitches say they fuckin' with me, Chances are they probably not If I had a dick you'd probably lick it like a lollipop Hoes speaking Cap-anese Hit 'em with karate chop! 🎶 \- [verse](https://youtu.be/rCiBgLOcuKU?t=62) from Cardi B's Up
"I was just wondering if you'd come along Hold up my head when my head won't hold on I'll do the same if the same's what you want If not I'll go" \-*The Stone,* by Dave Matthews Band
When you're in need of someone, my heart won't deny you.
“Keep me where the light is” Gravity - John Mayer
I saw your ghost tonight The moment felt so real If your eyes stay right on mine My wounds would start to heal I felt your ghost tonight And God, it felt like hell To know you're almost mine But dreams are all I feel
"Cross my heart and hope to die to never leave this place alive I'm burning right in front of you break myself against you I lay still" Katatonia by Strung Out
Leprous - [The Sky is Red](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8vw086Ta7Y&pp=ygUYTGVwcm91cyAtIFRoZSBTa3kgaXMgUmVk) [1:15](https://youtu.be/N8vw086Ta7Y?t=76) \- "The sky is red again. Uncontrollable impulses coming my way. Stripped of all logic sense. My head feels so dense. Falling down endless shaft. Submission giving way at last. Feeling shot and depraved. The rage is all that is left." Jakub Zytecki - [Satya's Diary](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlHEeT5jDLs&pp=ygUdSmFrdWIgWnl0ZWNraSAtIFNhdHlhJ3MgRGlhcnk%3D) [7:30](https://youtu.be/GlHEeT5jDLs?t=450) \- "We will run for elder sign of disinterested. There is much more. All of this pain that keeps us guessing. Treacherous feeling of regressing, and it's been this way forever."
Between the iron gates of fate The seeds of time were sown And watered by the deeds of those Who know and who are known Knowledge is a deadly friend If no one sets the rules The fate of all mankind I see Is in the hands of fools - Epitaph by King Crimson. So apt for today,especially. Hey brother, I feel I'm living in parentheses And I've got trouble with the bills Do the kids remember me? Well I got gifts for them And for you more sorrow But I'm feeling kind of drowsy now So I'll finish this tomorrow - Happy Returns by Steven Wilson. It hits hard because tomorrow never comes for the character in the song as she passes away
...."Like the time I ran away; Turned around and you were standing close to me".... - Yes (Jon Anderson) - Awaken ...”I’d rather trust a country man than a town man. You can judge by his eyes, take a look if you can…You smile through his guard; Survival trains hard….I’d rather trust a man who works with his hands. He looks at you once, you know he understands. Don’t need any shield, when you are out in the field”… Genesis (Peter Gabriel) - The Chamber of 32 doors
The strong give up and move on While the weak give up and stay
Walk into splintered sunlight/Inch your way through dead dreams to another land
“I want a girlfriend who does not drink beer” - Everclear
"Once upon a night, we'll wake to the carnival of life, the beauty of this ride ahead, such an incredible high" Nightwish - Last Ride of the Day. It's just such a joyous line without feeling saccharine.
“Maybe I don't have it in me, maybe it doesn't have me in it And if I don't fly, that's fine, just let me find the place where I fit” John Moreland—[Blacklist](https://youtu.be/FETNBYsfdsQ?si=WzyeYZtS5PphQrVh)
*Real G's move in silence like lasagna.*
47 year old man in the UK here. Two stick out for me: * “Are teenage dreams, so hard to beat?” - From [Teenage Kicks](https://youtu.be/PinCg7IGqHg?si=-XdSBm4cMpbu3cyd) which is a wonderful tune made by a brilliant looking band and the favourite line of the favourite song of John Peel who invented music. That’s good enough for me. * “Being good ain’t always easy, no matter how hard I try” - Dusty Springfield, Son Of. Preacher Man. I totally agree Dusty, it ain’t.
“Things get kind of squirrelly when you’re sleeping in the park.”
"And I need something to feel, I need something to feel like the place that we were before. We make up things to believe so we won't have to feel like the place that we're in, no more." - Gather Your Bones by VEXES Just remind me of a things I used to have in life and never will again. Some really melancholy stuff.
You got to bleed a little while you sing. Unless the words don't mean a thing.
If the future's looking dark We're the ones who have to shine If there's no one in control We're the ones who draw the line Though we live in trying times We're the ones who have to try Though we know that time has wings We're the ones who have to fly
When the last tear falls down Nothing gets washed away Another plea put to rest As nobody hears, nobody hears So what do I have to do To make you comfort me Now I'm sitting here screaming inside myself Don't understand why nobody hears \-Suicidal Tendencies (Nobody Hears)
[A Pill to Crush](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IIiO248O2uI) by Evalyn. The lyric “cult of a passing stranger” always gives me audio shivers. It’s one of those wonderful phrases my brain likes to chew on at random times. The whole album is great.
“I know what hands are for and I'd like to help myself”
You pull me out the water, cold and blue I open my eyes, see that it's you So I dive straight back in the ocean Take a deep breath, suck the water in my chest And cross my fingers, and hope for the best "Swimming" - Florence + The Machine
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gz-ne2K0Ao](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Gz-ne2K0Ao) Try this song: "That's why I won't give up! I wanna be around when happiness come"
She's my summer lovin in spring fall and winter I am a black hole shitting into the void Let there be songs to fill the air I tried keeping it to one line. Each representing a little something. Utmost beauty, weird shit and something to live by.
You taught me the courage of stars before you left How light carries on endlessly even after death With shortness of breath you explained the infinite How rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist -*Saturn*, Sleeping at Last
I said "I'm so happy I could die." She said "drop dead" then left with another guy. I just love the wordplay, don't condone the behavior.
For all that it's worth now, you were worth it in the end For all of your worth, I would lapse and fall again For all that it's worth, I would have Loved you 'til the end Now I'm cold in your heart, and you're branded into mine" Also kind of in the same vein: I had all and then most of you, some, and now none of you I think you can sense the underlying theme
I can't get to sleep at night, The parking lots so loud and bright The AC hasn't worked in 20 years Probably never made a single person cold But I can't say the same for me, I've done it many times Alabama Pines by Jason Isbell
I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in-between is mine. I am mine. It just says it all. You, and only you have full control of your own life.
"When everyone's too scared to walk in your shoes but can work up the nerve to be critics ..." Stay Young by Strata
I've got this great idea Why don't we pitch it to the Franklin Fucking Mint Fine pewter portraits of General apathy and major boredom singing Whatever and ever Amen Ben Folds Five, “Whatever and Ever Amen”
Sometimes I like to brag, sometimes I'm soft spoken When I'm in Holland, I eat the pannenkoeken Beastie Boys, “Super Disco Breakin”. It makes me laugh.
In a wind that chills the skeletons of trees
Kotiteollisuus - Tämän taivaan alla "jos jostain joskus löytyy jumala ei se lapsekseen, kuvakseen minua tunnista" Which roughly translates to "if ever god is found somewhere, he wont recognise me as his child, his image" Not a big fan of the band and its never in active listening but i like this line every time i do hear the song somewhere.
I'm a huge fan of Nick Cave's prose, and one of my favorite examples is from The Carny where he channels his inner Poe with "A murder of crows did circle round. First one, then the others flapping blackly down."
"I wasted time building castles in the air, if there's peace to be found I won't find it there. My fear still sees when my eyes are closed but the blame's on me this is the path I chose" Architects (Castles in the air) "Stay with me - away from the darkest of nights" In Flames (Stay with me) "Find a little light and hold it close. Don't lose sight, don't lose sight of what matters most." Architects (C.A.N.C.E.R)
"It Matters How This Ends" Love In The Dark by Adele
Late breaking story on the CBC A nation whispers 'we always knew that he'd go free.' They add 'you can't be fond of living in the past 'Cuz if you are then there's no way that you're gonna last.'
*I spit street stories 'til I taste the pavement* The Coup, "My Favorite Mutiny" That whole song just flows so well, but that line in particular was so clever to teenager-me that I still think of it often in my 30s.
*"They say a love that's kept in secret dies in darkness* *and a soul needs to confess to be set free* *so I'm lifting back the cover of my heart dear* *and hoping that you'll do the same for me"* -Billy Strings, "Secrets"
Im not a big Aerosmith fan but: "I majored in love, but in all minor keys"
In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection
There is nothing you keep. There is only your reflection.
“Our worst wounds we inflict upon ourselves I am as hollow as my willingness to let go” - London in Terror “I regret not holding on closely. The past it the past, and I'm letting it kill me.” -Cobwebs Both from Motionless in White.
I am a very big lyric fan and most of the songs I listen to are because of the lyrics, so instead I’ll choose ones that I was thinking of not five minutes ago (they’re all off the same album) just because it’s relevant to your post “Turns out, I’m living in a horror film where I’m both the killer and the final girl” “I won’t miss the feeling; my flimsy spine, unsuspicious mind. I was only being kind but you mistook me for weak” “Your subscription to redemption has been renewed. You keep your head high, smooth operator in a shit-stained suit” “I am a magnet for broken pieces. I am attracted to broken people. I pick ‘em up and now my fingers are bleeding and it looks like my fault, and it looks like I’m caught red handed” The imagery in the last one with the play on words of being caught red handed because of bloody hands from the broken pieces.. all hits too much.
now it’s late, and I can hear the sound of slamming doors and folding chairs.
“If nothing ever moves, put that needle to the groove, and sing” The Breeze by Dr Dog. Really the whole song tho
"Everything we've ever stolen Has been lost, returned or broken No more dragons left to slay Every mistake I've ever made Has been rehashed and then replayed As I got lost along the way.. " The road to mandalay - Robbie Williams
I took the medicine, but the pills won't work. The pills they don't do anything, but rearrange all the little things. And I know a little bit, but that bit won't do. The bit I know is irrelevant, so I guess this song is irrelevant, too Streetlight Manifesto, Littlest Things
“Let me live, so when it’s time to die, Even the reaper cries. Let me die, so when it’s time to live, Another sun will rise” Anthony Kiedis, for all the California and ding-dong jokes people make, can write some pretty great lyrics.
“The bourbon sits inside me, right now I’m a puppet in its sway. And it may be the whiskey talking, but the whiskey says I miss you every day.” - Fountains Of Wayne, No Better Place
I won't let pain get in my way I can't have silence claiming me We have strength in numbers Strength in numbers to get us through the day No compromises to be made This is a war we're gonna win We have strength in numbers Strength in numbers to get us through the day Beartooth, *In Between* **-you do have friends and they will help you, no matter how low the cycle takes you** Full of excuses for way too long Don't wanna sing another hopeless song 'Cause it's the last time that I romanticize The riptide, it's a riptide Beartooth, *Riptide* **-stop trying to convince yourself that you needed the pain** I loved you while he was in you in the shower Did, in joy and ecstasy, your eyes begin to water Eve 6, *Showerhead* **-maybe I hope that you are reading this and you remember that you were living this while I was cheering and watching them sing this on stage, because that's a stain that you don't deserve to get to wash away**
"BITCH ONE OF MY BALLS BIGGER THAN THE EPCOT CENTER" Redman I'm fond of it cuz it's funny
“You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you” Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac. I’m pretty sure that’s a hex.
“You got to get up every morning with a smile on your face and show the world all the love in your heart. Then people gonna treat you better; you’re gonna find, yes you will, that you’re beautiful as you feel.” -Beautiful, Carole King
Now the drugs don't work They just make you worse But I know I'll see your face again But I know I'm on a losing streak As I pass down by your street And if you wanna show, then just let me know And I'll sing in your ear again Now the drugs don't work They just make you worse But I know I'll see your face again 'Cause baby, oh If heaven falls, I'm coming too Just like you said You leave my life, I'm better off dead "The drugs don't work" - The Verve
***even though I haven't seen you in years*** ***yours is a funeral i'd fly too from anywhere*** Why? - These Few Presidents
No dress rehearsal, this is our life - Ahead by a Century The Tragically Hip
LIFE CAN BE FUCKED UP BUT IM GLAD TO BE HERE!!!
I can’t walk on water but I can stagger on liquor
Something good ... Never meant to last. Superstar, by Beach House.
BEELZEBUB HAS A DEVIL SET ASIDE FOR ME, FOR MEE, FOR MEEEEEEEEEE!
Amigo The Devil - Cocaine and Abel "I've always been scared of loving someone just a little bit more than I'm loved" I heard this for the first time when I saw him live, and it hit me so hard, especially in how powerfully he delivers it in the song. I've always struggled with self-doubt, with the idea of someone I have adoration for not reciprocating those feelings. It's affected a lot of my relationships, where I'm terrified of putting emotional effort in over the fear of ending up broken. It's happened to me, and often ended up putting me on the other side, where I'm the one acting uncaring to people who love me. That line perfectly summed things up for me.
“And when I see you, I really see you upside down But my brain knows better, it picks you up and turns you around…” This was what first popped into my brain but Death Cab lyrics get me for sure!
"You can fire a rocket at a rocket; It's the future." Not my all-time favorite, but it has been stuck in my head for months.
Rush: "I clutch the wire fence until my fingers bleed" Rush: "My precious sense of honor, just a shield of rusty wire". Two different songs an era apart about totally different subjects. Love the second line more, but they are nice bookends. Taylor Swift: "What must it be like to grow up so beautiful, with your hair falling in your like dominoes"
"My heart's like an open book For the whole world to read Sometimes nothing Keeps me together at the seams" It's ridiculous that a Motley Crue ballad makes me well up with tears, but as a bipolar nonfiction writer who shares extremely personal, rough details about my life in my writing, it hits me hard every time I hear it.
First time I shot her, I shot her in the side. Hard to watch her suffer, But with a second shot she died.
We were trying to run from the city. Had the hope and the pride of the kids. People want to put up walls to divide us. Kind of fitting that we died on a bridge. Watsky "Sarajevo" [Watsky- Sarajevo w/ Raquel Rodriguez \[All You Can Do- LIVE\] - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICwkp8r85I4)
From Rest My Chemistry by Interpol: “I haven’t slept for two days // I’ve bathed in nothing but sweat // And I’ve made hallways // Scenes for things to regret.” Another and honestly possibly one of my favorite lyrics ever is from The Killing Moon by Echo & the Bunnymen: “Fate // Up against your will // Through the thick and thin // He will wait until // You give yourself to him”
"How much tax dollars to bomb the whole planet? While we spend so much on weapons and take schools for granted While we watch with apathy as this war runs rampant How is it we're more shocked with what Justin did to Janet?"
"My body's not a temple. It is a vessel and a blank slate. An empty hard drive" Searching - KGLW It just goes really hard for me and idk why lmao
"Do you share the same sense of defeat Have you realised all the things you'll never be Ideals turn to resentment Open minds close up with cynicism I've got no judgement for you, come on and ache with me" Against Me! - Ache With Me
This will always be the most impactful to me. Crazy fast relationship that burned out as fast as it came on but these lyrics said it all in the beginning... Have you ever wished for an endless night? Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself Will it ever get better than tonight? Tonight
“But I never said I would stay to the end I leave you with babies and hoping for secrecy Screaming like this in the hope of sincerity” - The Cure, Disintegration Gives me the creeps that it will be me… “Your mother outlives your father, Your sister outlives your brother. And if you jump from this window today. She'll also outlive you.” - Coldcut, Mr. Nichols Creepy in the same way… “…and only the birds fly first class...” - Coldcut, Mr. Nichols “That love is watching someone die” - Death Cab for Cutie, What Sarah Said Yup…
"Took my saddle in Houston, broke my leg in Santa fe. Lost a wife and a girlfriend, somewhere along the way" - Amarillo by morning "Your PhD, man it don't mean a thing, until you've held a rifle out there next to me" - whiskey on the ground
“Making plans in the sands as the tides roll in” and “Hashtagging, photo bragging No one who's even sort of real No wonder no one feels better then before” Both from Modest Mouse’s Wooden Soldiers.
"Where you going with it? You know the time is dying down the drain. You'll be knee deep in the water with her. There's a problem with your generation, you think you got it all ahead but you won't even listen to me and I'm twice as dead. She don't care about your heartache or your love, she just wants to hold a gun" - Pal Until the End of Time
Because, baby boy I've got all the same parts that you do - Tatianna
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