Top Lyricists of all time

[Al_4_State]

My Top 5 lyricists, with some samples

John Prine:
Broken hearts and dirty windows
Make life difficult to see
That's why last night and this morning
Always look the same to me
And I hate reading old love letters
For they always bring me tears
I can't forget the way they robbed me
Of my sweetheart's souvenirs

Todd Snider
I got this old black leather jacket
Got this pack of Marlboro Reds
I got this stash here in my pocket
I got these thoughts in my own head
The right to run until I gotta walk
Or until I've got to crawl
This moment that I'm in right now
And nothing else at all

Play a train song
Pour me one more round
Make 'em leave my boots on
When they lay me into the ground
I am a runaway locomotive
Outta my one-track mind

Mike Cooley (Drive-By Truckers)
Working for the money like you got eight hands
Flat on your back under a mean old man
Just thinking happy thoughts and breathing deep
Between your momma's drive and daddy's belt
It don't take smarts to learn to tune out what hurts more than helps
The pretty girls from the smallest towns
Get remembered like storms and droughts
That old men talk about for years to come
I guess that's why they give us names
So a few old men can say
They saw us rain when we were young

Evan Felker (Turnpike Troubadours)
Well people anymore, they got no staying power
A love you come by easy, it'll leave you just the same
You want somethin bad, you gotta bleed a little for it
You gotta look it in the eye, you gotta call it out by name

Oh and lovers they march by, but they ain't like you and I
They all wanna be Hank Williams, they don't wanna have to die

James McMurtry
But I wouldn't get down on my knees on a bet
I'm near enough to Jesus as I'd ever want to get
Seeking salvation ain't part of my general plan
Save your prayers for yourself
Raise my glass to your health
I don't mind if you don't look like me
I can share my bread and wine
I come from another time
It don't matter all that much if it don't bleed
If it don't bleed

 

[CyBraveBear]

Tom Waits
Dylan
Scott/Seth Avett
Layne/Jerry

 

[Todd]

Westerberg has always been my fave

Well a drinkin' buddy that's bound to another town
Once the police made you go away
And even if you're in the arms of someone's baby now
I'll take a great big whiskey to ya anyway
Everybody wants to be someone's here
Someone's gonna show up, never fear
'Cause here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one who feels ashamed?
Kneeling alongside old Sad Eyes
He says opportunity knocks once then the door slams shut
All I know is I'm sick of everything that my money can buy
The fool who wastes his life, God rest his guts
First the lights, then the collar goes up, and the wind begins to blow
Turn your back on a pay-you-back, last call
First the glass, then the leaves that pass, then comes the snow
Ain't much to rake anyway in the fall

 

[Al_4_State]

Morrissey
Paul Westerberg (The Replacements)
Stephen Malkmus (Pavement)

I left Westerberg out of my Top 5, but he's right there with any of them. I absolutely love the Replacements.

All you ever wanted was someone Ma's scared of. All you're ever losing is a little mascara.

 

[JM4CY]

BJ Barham from American Aquarium

Good pull

 

[SouthJerseyCy]

Another great one

Aerosmith – Dream On (Sing For The Moment)

Off of their first LP, this is one of Aerosmith’s biggest early hits, along with “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion.” Frontman Steven Tyler began writing the song on his father’s

genius.com

Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way?
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay, yeah

This from the same folks that brought you 'Love in an Elevator'.

 

[Gonzo]

I left Westerberg out of my Top 5, but he's right there with any of them. I absolutely love the Replacements.

All you ever wanted was someone Ma's scared of. All you're ever losing is a little mascara.

There are some all-time gems in their ode to Big Star, "Alex Chilton"...

Cerebral rape and pillage
In a village of his choice
Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice
Feeling like a hundred bucks
Exchanging "good luck"s face to face
Checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's Place

 

[RoseClone]

Kris Kristofferson
Hank Williams Sr.
Tom T Hall
Roger Miller
John Prine

 

[Rural]

Tin Pan Alley, birthplace of American popular music.

Hay day was a century ago but later the rock influence hit.

 

[cyclones500]

More Westerberg lines (I could do this all day ... these don't even get to solo stuff)

“God, what a mess, on the ladder of success / You take one step and miss the whole first rung” — Bastards of Young

“Same hair revolution, unisex evolution / Tomorrow, who’s gonna fuss?” — Androgynous

“If it’s a temporary lull / why am I bored right out of my skull? / I’m dressin’ sharp and feelin’ dull.” — I’ll Be You

“Jesus rides beside me / He never buys any smokes / Hurry up! Hurry up! Ain’t you had enough of this stuff? / Ashtray floors, dirty clothes and filthy jokes” — Can’t Hardly Wait

“Anywhere you hang yourself is home” and “The windows are dirty / Let’s hope it rains” — Someone Take the Wheel

“You like the frosting, you just bought the cake” and “The bridegroom / Drags you across that room / Said ‘I do’ / But honey you were just a kid / Your eyes said ‘I did’” — Nobody

 

[AgronAlum]

Whoever wrote this from LFO.

 

[JimmyChitwood]

Prince, George Harrison, John Lennon.

 

[Al_4_State]

More Westerberg lines (I could do this all day ... these don't even get to solo stuff)

“God, what a mess, on the ladder of success / You take one step and miss the whole first rung” — Bastards of Young

“Same hair revolution, unisex evolution / Tomorrow, who’s gonna fuss?” — Androgynous

“If it’s a temporary lull / why am I bored right out of my skull? / I’m dressin’ sharp and feelin’ dull.” — I’ll Be You

“Jesus rides beside me / He never buys any smokes / Hurry up! Hurry up! Ain’t you had enough of this stuff? / Ashtray floors, dirty clothes and filthy jokes” — Can’t Hardly Wait

“Anywhere you hang yourself is home” and “The windows are dirty / Let’s hope it rains” — Someone Take the Wheel

“You like the frosting, you just bought the cake” and “The bridegroom / Drags you across that room / Said ‘I do’ / But honey you were just a kid / Your eyes said ‘I did’” — Nobody

Well, I saw one of your pictures
There was nothin' that I could see
If no one's on your canvas
Well, I'm achin' to be
Achin' To Be

Praises they sing
A register rings
One of the time
That nobody brings
Praises they sing
Shake my hand as I drown
All shook down
All Shook Down

I could fire Westerberg lines all day too. I listen to "Trouble Boys" every fall in the field and it always leads to listening to nothing but the Replacements for like 2 weeks in November, which is kind of perfect Replacements weather.

 

[Mr Janny]

Ray Davies from the Kinks.

Too many to list but I've always been partial to Sunny afternoon:
“My girlfriend’s run off with my car
And gone back to her ma and pa
Telling tails of drunkenness and cruelty
Now I’m sitting here
Sipping at my ice cold beer
Lazing on a sunny afternoon.”

Or Village Green Preservation Society:
“We are the Sherlock Holmes English speaking vernacular.
Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula.
We are the office block persecution affinity.
God save little shops, china cups and virginity”

 

[CychiatricWard]

Jason Isbell is one of the best. Have seen him live twice now and never disappoints. Hard hitting lyrics about life, hitting the bottom, sobriety, etc.

 

[matclone]

Ian Tyson:

Four strong winds that blow lonely, seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
For our good times are all gone and I'm bound for movin' on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way

Guess I'll go out to Alberta, weather's good there in the fall
Got some friends that I can go to workin' for
Still I wish you'd change your mind if I asked you one more time
But we've been through that a hundred times before

Chorus

If I get there before the snow flies and things are goin' good
You could meet me if I sent you down the fare
But by then it would be winter, not too much for you to do
And the winds sure do blow cold way out there

Chorus

Other greats who come to mind include:
Hal David
Pete Seeger
Guy Clark

 

[NorthCyd]

Whoever wrote this from LFO.

Doesn't come close to approaching the genius of Rebecca Blacks "Friday".

 

[AgronAlum]

Doesn't come close to approaching the genius of Rebecca Blacks "Friday".

I was legitimately going to post both of them but went with my guys LFO only.

 

[Al_4_State]

Jason Isbell is one of the best. Have seen him live twice now and never disappoints. Hard hitting lyrics about life, hitting the bottom, sobriety, etc.

Isbell's fantastic. My unpopular opinion is that he wrote his best songs when he was still a drunk. I'm not advocating he go back to the bottle or anything, but I think the first part of his career is wildly underrated by the people who discovered him because of Southeastern.

 

[Rabbuk]

I was legitimately going to post both of them but went with my guys LFO only.

I have no idea what Boogaloo shrimp is and at this point I'm too afraid to ask