the LYRICS thread

[barbaro]

Here is a thread for you to (sincerly) post lyrist and I.D. songs that you thought had insightful lyrics. Or, maybe the lyrics of a particular song appeals to you in a special way.

Here's my first song lyric post. It comes from a folk song a buddy of mine played 2 nights ago. He sang and strummed "Big Rock Candy Mountain."

It's about a Hobo that tries to tell people about this magical place called the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Big Rock Candy Mountain

One evening as the sun went down and the jungle fire was burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking and he said boys I'm not turning
I'm headin for a land that's far away beside the crystal fountains
So come with me we'll go and see the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains there's a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts grow on bushes and you sleep out every night
Where the boxcars are all empty and the sun shines every day
On the birds and the bees and the cigarette trees
Where the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains all the cops have wooden legs
And the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft boiled eggs
The farmer's trees are full of fruit and the barns are full of hay
Oh, I'm bound to go where there ain't no snow
Where the rain don't fall and the wind don't blow
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains you never change your socks
And the little streams of alcohol come a-trickling down the rocks
The brakemen have to tip their hats and the railroad bulls are blind
There's a lake of stew and of whiskey too
You can paddle all around 'em in a big canoe
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains the jails are made of tin
And you can walk right out again as soon as you are in
There ain't no short handled shovels, no axes saws or picks
I'm a goin to stay where you sleep all day
Where they hung the jerk that invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains

I'll see you all this coming fall in the Big Rock Candy Mountains

[Happyman]

Havn't heard of that for years ! - had it on a 78 when i was a kid - think the singer at the time was Burl Ives 'cos it had 'The Ugly Bug Ball' on the other side !

[Fuzzy Bob]

Neil Young - Sugar Mountain

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.

It's so noisy at the fair
But all your friends are there
And the candy floss you had
And your mother and your dad.

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.

There's a girl just down the aisle,
Oh, to turn and see her smile.
You can hear the words she wrote
As you read the hidden note.

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.

Now you're underneath the stairs
And you're givin' back some glares
To the people who you met
And it's your first cigarette.

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.

Now you say you're leavin' home
'Cause you want to be alone.
Ain't it funny how you feel
When you're findin' out it's real?

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
With the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.

Oh, to live on Sugar Mountain
with the barkers and the colored balloons,
You can't be twenty on Sugar Mountain
Though you're thinking that
you're leaving there too soon,
You're leaving there too soon.

[sabang]

Well shes walking through the clouds
With a circus mind thats running round
Butterflies and zebras
And moonbeams and fairy tales
Thats all she ever thinks about
Riding with the wind.

When Im sad, she comes to me
With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free
Its alright she says its alright
Take anything you want from me, anything
Anything.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing


Hendrix

[sabang]

And jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said all men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And you want to travel with him
And you want to travel blind
And you think maybe youll trust him
For hes touched your perfect body with his mind.


Leonard Cohen, middle verse from Suzanne

[kwai73]

I like the unremitting bleakness of Warren Zevon's lyrics -

Play it all Night Long Lyrics:

Grandpa pissed his pants again
He don't give a damn
Brother Billy has both guns drawn
He ain't been right since Viet Nam

"Sweet Home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

Daddy's doing Sister Sally
Grandma's dying of cancer now
The cattle all have brucellosis
We'll get through somehow

"Sweet Home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

I'm going down to the Dew Drop Inn
See if I can drink enough
There ain't much to country living
Sweat, piss, jizz and blood

"Sweet Home Alabama"
Play that dead band's song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

My Shit's Fucked Up

Well, I went to the doctor
I said, "I'm feeling kind of rough"
He said, "I'll break it to you, son [Warren sings, "Let me break it to you, son"]
Your shit's fucked up."
I said, "my shit's fucked up?"
Well, I don't see how-"
He said, "The shit that used to work-
It won't work now."

I had a dream
Ah, shucks, oh, well
Now it's all fucked up
It's shot to hell

Yeah, yeah, my shit's fucked up
It has to happen to the best of us
The rich folks suffer like the rest of us
It'll happen to you

That amazing grace
Sort of passed you by
You wake up every day
And you start to cry
Yeah, you want to die
But you just can't quit
Let me break it on down:
It's the fucked up shit

Exciteable Boy

Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said

He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark
Excitable boy, they all said
And he bit the usherette's leg in the dark
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy

He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
After ten long years they let him out of the home
Excitable boy, they all said
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy.

[ItsRobsLife]

The world lives in your front room
You're sitting happy in gloom
Fate worries you, you will not give her room.
You give credit for might, inspiration and sight.
But you miss the point.
You won't join the fight,
You think to use is to lose so your clinging, pulling pleading.

Try to keep it safe.
Keep it cosy but it feels so out of place
Youre feeling a loss but you're not fit to make it
You offered so much but you're frightened to take it.

It never was really proved, never was understood.
But there really is no virtue in the good.
The shoutings so loud that theyd do better to mime
Youre deafened and you cannot hear the rhyme.
But secrets in whispers pull you, try to tempt you.

Try and keep it safe
Keep it cosy but it feels so out of place
Youre feeling a loss but you're not fit to make it
You offered so much but you're not gonna to take it.

You beg for help and advice, how to handle your life.
But you dare not move, you cannot pay the price.
Chances slip, you just chatter, flatter, to forget what matters.
Spout your lines, read all your books,
You hear the sounds, miss all the hooks,
Your best is what you least understand,
You hate the graft, wont join the race,
You're scared to scar your pretty face
Safe now cos your head is in the sand

Keep it...

[kwai73]

And jesus was a sailor When he walked upon the water And he spent a long time watching From his lonely wooden tower And when he knew for certain Only drowning men could see him He said all men will be sailors then Until the sea shall free them But he himself was broken Long before the sky would open Forsaken, almost human He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone And you want to travel with him And you want to travel blind And you think maybe youll trust him For hes touched your perfect body with his mind. Leonard Cohen, middle verse from Suzanne

Just beautiful.

Love a bit of laughing Len!

[jandajoy]

The Piano Has Been Drinking (Live in Dublin, Ireland. March 1981)
(Tom Waits 1976)

The piano has been drinking
My necktie's asleep
The combo went back to New York, and left me all alone
The jukebox has to take a leak
Have you noticed that the carpet needs a haircut?
And the spotlight looks just like a prison break
And the telephone's out of cigarettes
As usual the balcony's on the make
And the piano has been drinking, heavily
The piano has been drinking
And he's on the hard stuff tonight

The piano has been drinking
And you can't find your waitress
Even with the Geiger counter
And I guarantee you that she will hate you
From the bottom of her glass
And all of your friends remind you
That you just can't get served without her
The piano has been drinking

The piano has been drinking
And the lightman's blind in one eye
And he can't see out of the other
And the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid
And he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
Without fear of contradiction I say
The piano has been drinking

Our Father who art in ?
Hallowed by thy glass
Thy kindom come, thy will be done
On Earth as it is in the lounges
Give us this day our daily splash
Forgive us our hangovers
As we forgive all those who continue to hangover against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver from evil and someone you must all ride home

Because the piano has been drinking
And he's your friend not mine
Because the piano has been drinking
And he's not my responsibility

The bouncer is this Sumo wrestler
Kinda cream puff casper milk toast
And the owner is just a mental midget
With the I.Q. of a fencepost
I'm going down, hang onto me, I'm going down
Watch me skate across an acre of linoleum
I know I can do it, I'm in total control
And the piano has been drinking
And he's embarassing me
The piano has been drinking, he raided his mini bar

The piano has been drinking
And the bar stools are all on fire
And all the newspapers were just fooling
And the ash-trays have retired
And I've got a feeling that the piano has been drinking
It's just a hunch
The piano has been drinking and he's going to lose his lunch
And the piano has been drinking
Not me, not me, The piano has been drinking not me

[melvbot]

Nine Inch Nails - Hurt

I hurt myself today
To see if i still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But i remember everything
What have i become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone i know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear my crown of shit
On my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stain of time
The feeling disappears
You are someone else
I am still right here
What have i become?
My sweetest friend
Everyone i know
Goes away in the end
You could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If i could start again
A million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way

[kwai73]

I actually get choked up when I see JC singing that. I, like many, know his cover much better than the orij. What a fantastic interpretation!

[melvbot]

I prefer the original but JC's version is only a shade behind. I love both of them, I would never have thought I'd hear JC signing a NIN song, brilliant.

[Norton]

Desolation Row (strange stuff from Dylan)

by Bob Dylan

They're selling postcards of the hanging
They're painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row

Cinderella, she seems so easy
"It takes one to know one," she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
"You Belong to Me I Believe"
And someone says," You're in the wrong place, my friend
You better leave"
And the only sound that's left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row

Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortunetelling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
He's getting ready for the show
He's going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row

Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid

To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession's her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
Now you would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They're trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She's in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
"Have Mercy on His Soul"
They all play on penny whistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row

Across the street they've nailed the curtains
They're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
A perfect image of a priest
They're spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words

And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
"Get Outa Here If You Don't Know
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row"

Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row

Praise be to Nero's Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody's shouting
"Which Side Are You On?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain's tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row

Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the door knob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can't read too good
Don't send me no more letters no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row

[Ukan Kizmiaz]

Cactus - Pixies


Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore

I put it on when I grow lonely
Will you take off your dress and send it to me?

I miss your kissin' and I miss your head
And a letter in your writing doesn't mean you're not dead
Run outside in the desert heat
Make your dress all wet and send it to me

I miss your soup and I miss your bread
And a letter in your writing doesn't mean you're not dead
So spill your breakfast and drip your wine
Just wear that dress when you dine

P I X I E S

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore

Bloody your hands on a cactus tree
Wipe it on your dress and send it to me

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore

[EmperorTud]

HMHB - A Country Practice

"I feel like a beggar accepting alms, then being pelted with figs.
I study my steadily declining chart placings, they greet me with freezing cold inhospitality.
Hey, where did that bloke go who said I was vital?

I possess the mild air of a retail tobacconist, that’s because I’m a retail tobacconist,
But the mayflies on a Berkshire trout river would probably tell you a different story.
About ham-fisted diadems and momentary daydreams, of mythical dividends and illusory boardroom seats.

In the room festooned with fat beef certificates from county shows,
Duff Leg Bryn had drank too much again. Most of Wem was steering clear of him.
I’ve got no time for this twelfth consecutive Rose Bowl.

‘Cos at Sunday next at ten to four, I’ve got an invitation for
A trip around Katharine Hamnett’s warehouse, followed by dinner with David Emmanuel,
Who I can’t wait to tell about my dream in which the almost illegal Elton Welsby
Is dressed as a french maid on a moonless byway, licking his lips as he creeps ever closer
Fast falls the eventide. Fast falls the eventide

The public appearance of bitter ex-soap stars, who thought they could go on and do other things besides.
The Centre Court amusement at the ballboy’s mishap,
That bobbing up and down thing that they do at the Proms,
Opinionated weather forecasters telling me it’s going to be a miserable day.
Miserable to who? I quite like a bit of drizzle, so stick to the facts.

Channel Four presents “Blowjob”, introduced by Adrian and Sophie Horn
Who is of course one bloke with a pierced dick, who’s just had the nod from Planet 24.
Hear him say “surreal”, “bizarre”, “sad git”, “yes indeedy”, “completely and utterly”, “footy”, “anorak” and “respect” before whipping the audience up into doing the Time Warp.
Watch him take us live to The Queen’s Arse and Firkin,
Where Joseph Bloggs and his amazing Technicolor shellsuit are about to abort their Steely Dan routine,
And instead embark upon fifteen minutes of mantra-filled oompah,
Fifteen minutes of mantra-filled oompah,
Fifteen minutes of mantra-filled oompah.
Adrian-stroke-Sophie wants us, the viewers, to ring in and say how we think the punters will react.

These are a few of my favourite things…
I’m incredibly bored with the word “millennium”,
I’m with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Millions now earmarked will later be wasted
"Her Majesty, Marvellous, Mother" the musical.
The fireworks lighting up the Houses of Parliament, death in Trafalgar Square,

Death in the armchair of cliched old spinsters who never been loved.

Every day is Australia day - “Sons and Daughters” and “Home and Away”.
And then the news comes on and the sound goes down,
‘Cos she can’t be bothered with all them politicians -
"They’re all just a bunch of flaming drongos".

She died with her telly on, eighty-seven and confused,
With not enough hospital beds ‘cos all the money’s been used
On the end of the century party preparations
And they reckon that the last thing she saw in her life was
Sting, singing on the roof of the Barbican
Sting, singing on the roof of the Barbican

T for Toxteth, T for Tennessee,
T for Toxteth, T for Tennessee,
T for Thatcher, that girl that made a wreck out of me.

Oh the lady labelled me an idle,
Oh the lady labelled me an idle,
Oh the lady labelled me an idle layabout.
Layabout,
Layabout."