Top Lyricists of all time
- Thread starter JM4CY
- Start date
Costello-at-random.
“You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette / She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet / I don't know how much more of this I can take / She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake.”
— Watching the Detectives
“Was it a millionaire who said, ‘Imagine no possessions’ / A poor little schoolboy who said, ‘We don’t need no lessons.’”
— The Other Side of Summer
“You snatch a chill and you match a cigarette / She pulls the eyes out with a face like a magnet / I don't know how much more of this I can take / She's filing her nails while they're dragging the lake.”
— Watching the Detectives
“Was it a millionaire who said, ‘Imagine no possessions’ / A poor little schoolboy who said, ‘We don’t need no lessons.’”
— The Other Side of Summer
"Seasons in the Sun" is an English-language adaptation of the 1961 song "Le Moribond" (In English "The Dying Man") by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel[2] with lyrics rewritten in 1963 by American singer-poet Rod McKuen,[3] portraying a dying man's farewell to his loved ones. It became a worldwide hit in 1974 for Canadian singer Terry Jacks and became a Christmas number one in the UK in 1999 for Westlife.
The dog lifts his gaze to plead
Believes the wizard has a magic stick
Leans his weight into my tweed
I give an unholy hand to lick
Robert Hunter, lyrical partner to Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, was a pretty good one.
Friend of the Devil (abridged)
I lit out from Reno
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
Till the morning came around
Chorus:
Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight
Ran into the Devil, babe
He loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills
Chorus
I ran down to the levee
But the Devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill
And he vanished in the air
Chorus
Bridge:
Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named sweet Anne Marie and she's my hearts delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail
Got a wife in Chino, babe
And one in Cherokee
First one says she's got my child
But it don't look like me
Chorus
Friend of the Devil (abridged)
I lit out from Reno
I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep that night
Till the morning came around
Chorus:
Set out runnin' but I take my time
A friend of the Devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight
Ran into the Devil, babe
He loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in Utah
In a cave up in the hills
Chorus
I ran down to the levee
But the Devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill
And he vanished in the air
Chorus
Bridge:
Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night
The first one's named sweet Anne Marie and she's my hearts delight
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriff's on my trail
And if he catches up with me, I'll spend my life in jail
Got a wife in Chino, babe
And one in Cherokee
First one says she's got my child
But it don't look like me
Chorus
Dylan is #1.
My other favorites
Paul Simon
Jeff Tweedy
Joni Mitchell
Conor Oberst
Robert Smith
Morrissey with The Smiths
Prince
Dolly
Eminem
Elliot Smith
Ian Felice of the Felice Brothers
Hank Williams
Bernie Taupin
Isbell
Early Ryan Adams
My other favorites
Paul Simon
Jeff Tweedy
Joni Mitchell
Conor Oberst
Robert Smith
Morrissey with The Smiths
Prince
Dolly
Eminem
Elliot Smith
Ian Felice of the Felice Brothers
Hank Williams
Bernie Taupin
Isbell
Early Ryan Adams
Maybe not quite with the theme of the thread, but what about Lin Manuel Miranda?
His lyrics are ridiculous. Or someone like Alan Menken.
His lyrics are ridiculous. Or someone like Alan Menken.
Another random 5-star Westerberg line:
"I'm not as ready as I'll ever be."
— "Never Mind"
"I'm not as ready as I'll ever be."
— "Never Mind"
Not one mention of the unparalleled Carol King. Come on y’all. I mean Tapestry?
I don't see any Chris Knight references. Going to see him in Iowa City in a couple of weeks.
This is probably the most devastating set of lyrics, ever.
Well I work for the city in the town where I grew up
Some days I run a backhoe some days I run a dump
If I had other plans on my graduation day
Then several years ago I guess I hauled 'em all away
Yeah I hauled 'em all away
She told me she was pregnant on the day I turned 18
I did what your supposed to do. I bought her a ring
He didn't have to ask us, but he asked us anyway
We stood up and said, "I do." what else were we gonna say?
What else were we gonna say?
Well I'm thankful for the things I have
And all the things I don't
And I've got dreams that will come true
And I've got some that won't
Most the time I just walk the line wherever it goes
'Cause you can't hang yourself if you ain't got enough rope
This is probably the most devastating set of lyrics, ever.
Well I work for the city in the town where I grew up
Some days I run a backhoe some days I run a dump
If I had other plans on my graduation day
Then several years ago I guess I hauled 'em all away
Yeah I hauled 'em all away
She told me she was pregnant on the day I turned 18
I did what your supposed to do. I bought her a ring
He didn't have to ask us, but he asked us anyway
We stood up and said, "I do." what else were we gonna say?
What else were we gonna say?
Well I'm thankful for the things I have
And all the things I don't
And I've got dreams that will come true
And I've got some that won't
Most the time I just walk the line wherever it goes
'Cause you can't hang yourself if you ain't got enough rope
