Favourite Song Lyrics

[Peter]

Yes, L, all the lyrics on Blue are great.  (You know about Joni's child?)

[LindaG]

Yes, L, all the lyrics on Blue are great.  (You know about Joni's child?)

No?

[LindaG]

Yes, L, all the lyrics on Blue are great.  (You know about Joni's child?)

Just googled it.  Wow.  Thanks Peter.

[Basil]

Now my Brother lays upon the Rocks
He could be dead, He could be not
He could be You
He's Camelian, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature.

Sorry to be a downer, but although I'd always loved the lyrics of the whole song "The Bewlay Brothers", it sort of became more significant to me when my kid brother suicided.

Don't concern.  It was a long time ago.

Do you know?  Until tonight, I thought it was "Corinthian in Caricature".  Made good sense to me.

*wanders off to youtube for a cry*

[Peter]

All the best, Basil.  Long time or not, grief never departs, just lurks.

[Basil]

Thanks Peter.

[matthew]

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do.

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul.

The whole thing is great but these two verses always stuck in my mind as a young child.

Maybe it needs adapting for the bankers, though these two verses could remain unchanged.

[rafletcher]

On a lighter note, a paean to convenience food...

TV dinners there's nothin' else to eat
TV dinners they really can't be beat
I like 'em frozen but you understand
I throw 'em in and wave 'em and I'm a brand new man oh yeah!

TV dinners they're goin' to my head
TV dinners my skin is turnin' red
Twenty year old turkey in a thirty year old tin
I can't wait until tomorrow.... and thaw one out again oh yeah!

TV dinners I'm feelin' kinda rough
TV dinners this one's kinda tough
I like the enchiladas and the teriaki too
I even like the chicken if.... the sauce is not too blue.

And they're mine, all mine, oh yeah
And they sure are fine.
Gotta have 'em
Gimme somethin' now.

[Ruth]

The bed's too big without you
The cold wind blows right through that open door
I can't sleep with your memory
Dreaming dreams of what used to be.
When he'd left I was cold inside
That look on my face was just pride
No regrets, no love, no tears.
Living on my own was the least of my fears.
The bed's too big without you.
The bed's too big without you,
The bed's too big
Without you.

Since that day when you'd gone
Just had to carry on
Get through the day, but late at night
Made love to my pillow but it didn't feel right.
Every day just the same
Old rules for the same old game
All I gained was heartache
All I made was one mistake.
Now the bed's too big without you.
The bed's too big without you
The bed's too big
Without you.

[pcolbeck]

I've been the one who has been frightened
And almost borne away
By the very thoughts that I feared yesterday
And it must be dust or smoke that's in my eyes
How can I cry about something from someone that I won't see

Oh my friends all say she had her chance
Let's go shoot some pool
You know a fool is just a fool
And I've tried everything that whiskey cures
But the pain endures
And now I'm feeling that pain
I put my pride in my pocket
That's how I'll spend my loneliest days
And it must be dust or smoke that's in my eyes

Don't know what to do
Hold the lamp above the rafters
These smoke-filled rooms will not replace her

I've been the one who has been frightened
And almost borne away
By the very thoughts that I feared yesterday
And it must be dust or smoke that's in my eyes

The great Lowell George

[sg37409]

Bit of serendipity, I looked for this thread to post Willin' by little feat and the last post was also from lowell george.
These are ace.

I been warped by the rain
Driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty, don't ya know
And I'm still, oh, I'm still
I'm out on the road late at night
I see my pretty Alice in every headlight
Alice, Dallas Alice

I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Now I've driven the back roads
So I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me weed, whites, and wine
Then you show me a sign
I'll be willin' to be movin'

Now I smuggled some smokes
And folks from Mexico
Baked by the sun
Almost every time I go to Mexico
And I'm willin'

And I've been kicked by the wind
Robbed by the sleet
Had my head stoved in
But I'm still on my feet
And I'm willin', oh, I'm willin'

And I been from Tuscon to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
Driven the back roads
So I wouldn't get weighed
And if you give me weed, whites, and wine
And then you show me a sign
I'll be willin' to be movin'

[Mr Larrington]

I'm only missing Tucumcari from that song

Also it's Tonopah.  I got stopped for speeding there in 2008.

[sg37409]

Yeah, great sounding place names. These are really evocative lyrics, I,d love to do a road trip off the standard tourist routes in USA.

[sg37409]

Another favourite.
Flower by the Eels


Turn the ugly light off god
Wanna feel the night
Everyday it shines down on me
Don't you think that i see
Don't you think that i see what it's all about
Hard to look the other way
While the world passes me by
And everyone is trying to bum me out

It's a pretty big world god
And i am awful small
Everyday they rain down on me
Flower in a hailstorm
Flower in a hailstorm
I'm living for the drought
I could throw it back at them
But then i play their game
Everyone is trying to bum me out

[Otto]

Where was I? I forgot
The point that I was making
I said if I was smart that I would
Save up for a piece of string
And a rock to wind the string around

Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around
Everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around

Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around

Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around

If I were a carpenter I'd
Hammer on my piglet, I'd
Collect the seven dollars and I'd
Buy a big prosthetic forehead
And wear it on my real head

Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads
Everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads

Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the playhouse down
They want to stop the ones who want
Prosthetic foreheads on their heads
But everybody wants prosthetic
Foreheads on their real heads

Throw the crib door wide
Let the people crawl inside
Someone in this town
Is trying to burn the foreheads down
They want to stop the ones who want
A rock to wind a string around
But everybody wants a rock
To wind a piece of string around

[mattc]

Here's some wonderfully silly lyrics, from a band I feel I should have known about. The first line certainly made me prick up my ears just now ...

I wanna masticate with you
I wanna watch you while you chew
I wanna lick beans off that tooth
Two tongues at home under one roof

https://genius.com/The-lovely-eggs-food-lyrics

The rest:

(click to show/hide)

When you say that i look happy
But i'm not happy at all
And you say that i am lucky
But i got a magpie in my soul

I'll let you stew
Let's go and eat that food

I wanna eat what's eating you
I wanna roll with just one spoon
I know we relish solitude
Let us meet tonight to eat this food

And you say that i am lonely
But i'm not lonely at all
Cause when our plates are empty
We will feel up from the bowl

We were dreaming we were eating
We were dreaming we were eating
We were e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a tin'
We were e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a tin'

Please make those tender eyes at me
I wanna think the way you see
I know you wanna make that meal
I wanna taste the way you feel

And you say that you are empty
But you're not empty at all
And i'm swallowing everything
That you are pilling at my door

We were dreaming we were eating
We were dreaming we were eating
We were e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a tin'
We were e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a tin'

We were dreaming we were eating
We were dreaming we were eating
We were dreaming we were eating
We were dreaming we were eating
We were e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a-e-a tin'

[slope]

Now you say you ain't never met my wife, you ain't never seen her befo,'
Say you ain't been hangin' roun' my crib; well here's somethin' I wanna know...
I wanna know what in the worl' is goin' down,

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

I got the baddest dog, he'll bite anybody.
He bit my little brother, took a chunk out of my ol' sweet li'l mother.
He bit the mailman - he sees him every day; he takes one look at you, he wanna jump up and play.
Now I ain't got a clue as to what you puttin' down, but

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

My dog's dangerous; tried to set people straight;
I even bought a "BAD DOG" sign an' hung it on the gate.
Here you come trippin' up 'bout a quarter of nine
Fulla dat Night Train wine, tryin' to slide past the sign...

My dog been noddin' off, ain't payin' you no mind.
That's my dog, when I come home he don't sleep THAT sound!

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

I still don't like it, I don't dig it one damn bit,
The way you an' my dog's so tight, somethin' don't fit!
I slipped through the alley, I called my dog,
Said, "get off your rusty duster, move a little faster to your ol' master, you old cayute, you."

He took one look at me, an' he growled an' he ran straight to you.
Now somebody's been confusin' my po' hound.
An I wanna know what's goin' down.

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

Maybe I better call up Jacoby & Myers, an' you can take the fifth, amendment, that is.
You better stand up fo' your rights, 'cause you might not be standin' too long.
I'm gonna stop all this confusion. I'm gon' fire that hound., shoot that dog down.
Then I'm gonna get busy mutilatin, strangulatin' operatin', an' crematin' my Ol' Lady down at the cremation station.
Then I'm gonna torch that, too, and come right on after you!

You can give you heart an' soul to charity; all the rest gonna belong to me.

I'm goin' straight down to dat barber supply shop, get me a pearl handle, double edge, hollow ground, super blue blade, adjustable, stainless steel, honed edge, both blades on the same side so when I cut you once, you gonna bleed twice, goin' an' comin'. An' if you don' believe me, shake yo' head; it'll be singin' "I ain't got no body."

'Cause one night I did a little FBI, 007-type investigatin'. You an' my Ol' Lady thought I was gone, but I wasn't gone. Dat's why I have to separate you from your ground. An the only soun' you gonna hear when you six feet in the ground:

How come my dog didn't bark when you came around?

https://youtu.be/KfDjOEWghIo

[MockCyclist]

Priceless one-liners:

And when he died, all he left us was alone

I once loved a maid, a spot welder by trade

If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all  

[slope]

Here's an old, old story
Bout a man and a woman
Gone off to California
Cause they just got married
All their friends in Boston
Are so very happy
They're dancing in the doorways
Cause their friends got married
He gets a job
Working in a car wash up in Santa Cruz
She gets a job
Teaching at a nursery school
Oh, they're so nice
What's gonna happen to 'em?
Soon they have a little white-haired baby
Looks just like his daddy
And they're all real happy
A couple of year go by
She's going to see the doctor
It's just a regular checkup (oh no)
Plus she thinks she might be pregnant
Anyway, she dies
And he moves down to Los Angeles
Meets a foolish girl with lots of money
Now they're getting married

https://youtu.be/ZFUIDw9P_Vg

[slope]

I came into town
I was looking for a job
I couldn’t find nothin'
So I started looking for someone to rob

I took my ski mask
And I put it over my face
Walked into the feed store
And I shot everyone in the place

First there was a funeral and
Then there was a trial
Hung me in a courtyard and
They let me hang up there a while
Let me hang up there a while

I bought a new shirt
So soft to touch
And a new pair of beetle boots
They didn’t cost me too much

I went to the movies
I couldn’t get a date
Women on the silver screen
Are the only ones to which I can relate

First there was a funeral and
Then there was a trial
Hung me in a courtyard and
They let me hang up there a while
Let me hang up there a while

My eyes got heavy
I fell asleep
Usher came by and said
"Get outta here you creep"

I pulled out my .38
I blew him away
If you disrespect me
That’s the price you’ll pay

First there was a funeral and
Then there was a trial
Hung me in a courtyard and
They let me hang up there a while
Let me hang up there a while

https://youtu.be/EutAUk96EB8

[citoyen]

Ne Me Quitte Pas

My favourite is Les Vieux - a song to make you fear getting old if ever there was one...

“Les vieux ne meurent pas,
Ils s'endorment un jour
Et dorment trop longtemps,
Ils se tiennent la main,
Ils ont peur de se perdre,
Et se perdent pourtant
Et l'autre reste là,
Le meilleur ou le pire,
Le doux ou le sévère,
Cela n'importe pas,
Celui des deux qui reste
Se retrouve en enfer.”

Also the line “le muscat de dimanche ne les fait plus chanter” - funny but chilling

[Peter]

THat is great, Citoyen.

From Bob:-

A change in the weather can be extreme
But what's the point of changing horses in midstream
I'm going out of mind with a pain that stops and starts
Like I corkscrewed up my heart
Ever since we've been apart.

[T42]

I particularly like the touchingly sympathetic lyric:

...In the dress she used to wear
Faded feathers in her hair
She sits there so refined
And drinks herself half-blind
She lost her youth and she lost her Tony
Now she's lost her mind.

[T42]

Ne Me Quitte Pas

My favourite is Les Vieux - a song to make you fear getting old if ever there was one...

“Les vieux ne meurent pas,
Ils s'endorment un jour
Et dorment trop longtemps,
Ils se tiennent la main,
Ils ont peur de se perdre,
Et se perdent pourtant
Et l'autre reste là,
Le meilleur ou le pire,
Le doux ou le sévère,
Cela n'importe pas,
Celui des deux qui reste
Se retrouve en enfer.”

Also the line “le muscat de dimanche ne les fait plus chanter” - funny but chilling

There's very little of Brel that I don't like.  Orly in particular is superb.

[andytheflyer]

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way.

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Every year is getting shorter never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over,
Thought I'd something more to say.


As I've grown older, but no wiser, and lost friends, parents and family, the lyrics to Floyd's Time become ever more relevant.  So relevant they are pinned on my workshop wall.  And it goes on, my FiL died this morning. He was 94.