If You Know How To Make An Entrance, You've Got It Made...

timind · « **Reply #40 on:** 19 May 2013, 12:47 pm »

I come down the steps
I slip on the ice
Santa Claus been looking
Who's been naughty
Who's been nice
I'm looking for one thing real tonight

And Jesus he comes up to me
Jesus, he sits down
Says, "Take this cross fuckin' off my back
I'm going downtown"
I said "Oh, but ain't that your uniform?"
He offers me a toke
He says "Two thousand years is long enough
for this particular joke."
He says "I'm lookin' for one thing real tonight"

Dan Bern

dflee · « **Reply #41 on:** 19 May 2013, 01:25 pm »

You know I've smoked a lot of grass
O' Lord, I've popped a lot of pills
But I never touched nothin'
That my spirit could kill
You know, I've seen a lot of people walkin' 'round
With tombstones in their eyes
But the pusher don't care
Ah, if you live or if you die

Steppenwolf performed / Axton writter

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #42 on:** 19 May 2013, 01:45 pm »

Nothing like a good story to keep one listening.....

"It was raining hard in 'Frisco,
I needed one more fare to make my night.
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down,
She got in at the light.

Oh, where you going to, my lady blue,
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain.
She just looked out the window, and said
"Sixteen Parkside Lane".

Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before,
But she said, "I'm sure you're mistaken"
And she didn't say anything more.

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror,
And she glanced at the license for my name.
A smile seemed to come to her slowly,
It was a sad smile, just the same.
And she said, "How are you Harry?"
I said, "How are you Sue?
Through the too many miles
and the too little smiles
I still remember you."

"Taxi" - Harry Chapin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qYU9b5OF8M

ZLS · « **Reply #43 on:** 19 May 2013, 04:21 pm »

...and sometimes nonsensical lyrics can be the most effective

Bop bopa-a-lu a whop bam boo
Tutti frutti, oh Rudy
Tutti frutti, oh Rudy
Tutti frutti, oh Rudy
Tutti frutti, oh Rudy
Tutti frutti, oh Rudy
A whop bop-a-lu a whop bam boo

Tutti Frutti by Little Richard

Dave G · « **Reply #44 on:** 19 May 2013, 04:58 pm »

Well, she was just seventeen
You know what I mean

"I Saw Her Standing There" -- The Beatles. Simple and direct.

Don_S · « **Reply #45 on:** 19 May 2013, 05:26 pm »

One of my all-time favorite songs by one of my all-time favorite songwriters. Joni Mitchell could paint an entire portrait or create a mood with just a few words. To me the best written songs tell a story. They start somewhere and end somewhere else or travel full circle. It is easy to get a good line or two. It is much harder to get an entire song full of great lines and tell a story.

"Urge for Going" Melancholy much? If you have not lived in a place where they have "real" winters you may not fully appreciate the imagery or sentiment.

"I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
and all the trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go

I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I had me a man in summertime
He had summer-colored skin
And not another girl in town
My darling's heart could win
But when the leaves fell on the ground, and
Bully winds came around, pushed them face down in the snow
He got the urge for going
And I had to let him go

He got the urge for going
When the meadow grass was turning brown
Summertime was falling down and winter was closing in

Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings so they can go

They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I'll ply the fire with kindling now, I'll pull the blankets up to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going and I guess she'll have to go

She gets the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And all her empire's falling down"

dflee · « **Reply #46 on:** 19 May 2013, 05:36 pm »

Tom Rush did an incredible version too.

Don_S · « **Reply #47 on:** 19 May 2013, 05:51 pm »

Quote from: dflee on 19 May 2013, 05:36 pm

Tom Rush did an incredible version too.

Yes he did. That is where I first heard it. Joni Mitchell did not release it until later.

medium jim · « **Reply #48 on:** 19 May 2013, 05:56 pm »

Frank Zappa:Willie the pimp

I'm a little pimp with my hair gassed back
Pair a khacki pants with my shoes shined black
Got a little lady...walk the street
Tellin' all the boys that she can't be beat
Twenny dollah bill (I can set you straight)
Meet me onna corner boy'n don't be late
Man in a suite with bow-tie neck
Wanna buy a grunt with a third party check
Standin' onna porch of the Lido Hotel
Floozies in the lobby love the way I sell:HOT MEAT
HOT RATS HOT ZITS HOT CHEST
HOT RITZ HOT ROOTS HOT SOOTS

Jim

jarcher · « **Reply #49 on:** 19 May 2013, 06:08 pm »

Folks - I think this is a great thread and want to see it keep going, but eventually lyric postings here are going to rub up against the AC "taboo" subjects of religion, politics, guns, etc - even if these are essentially quotations & not direct comments per se on those topics. I'm a pretty free speech kinda guy, but also believe in keeping it civil. We're not quite at the AC / DC "forget about the check, we'll get hell to pay" anything goes level on AC. Please consider that your postings have or may rub people's sensibilities. So just ask yourself before posting : are these lyrics regarding said AC "taboo" subjects that great to merit the risk of needlessly irritating others. After all, there's a lot of great lyrics that aren't about religion, politics, guns, etcs. I.e. the classic "wine, women, and song" or even "sex, drugs, and R&R".

Thanks all - keep 'em coming - and "have a drink on me"!

lyrics reference courtesy of AC/DC - Have A Drink on Me

dflee · « **Reply #50 on:** 19 May 2013, 06:58 pm »

In the form of lyrics in a rock song, I see it as not one's words or beliefs and just something to ponder.
Not to quote cause I don't remember exactly how it goes: A sign of intelligence is being able to think about a subject
rationally and discard it. If you don't like the lyrics, congratulate your self for knowing better and move on. Just because you
don't agree with some lyrics doesn't mean it's bad for everyone else. I can't stand Soft Parade but in the context of this subject
it came to me as one that grabbed me and made me think. Isn't that what a great entrance is all about? Wanting to know what comes next.

medium jim · « **Reply #51 on:** 19 May 2013, 07:10 pm »

Music is a slice of life and it does often include religion, politics, sex, drugs, hate, love, guns, war. I agree with dflee that it is the wise man/woman who distinguish this fact and who is intelligent enough to deal with it.

Jim

Emsquare · « **Reply #52 on:** 19 May 2013, 11:06 pm »

Cannot be overlooked even if it has become popular...

Leonard Cohen; Hallelujah

I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Baby I have been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you.
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah ... (etc)

If one has missed on Leonard Cohen, Live In London isn't a bad pick up.

Don_S · « **Reply #53 on:** 19 May 2013, 11:52 pm »

Emsquare, Sorry but "Hallelujah" is one song where the lyrics completely baffle me. Although there are several performances of it that I enjoy I always cringe at "hair" rhymed with chair and the lyrics just don't hang together for me. Not Cohen's best effort by a long shot. The emotion of the song might be one thing but the lyrics are overrated IMO.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #54 on:** 20 May 2013, 12:46 am »

"I put a spell on you" captures your attention as an intro rather quickly. Nice topic. Hope I can come up with something to offer.

timind · « **Reply #55 on:** 20 May 2013, 12:57 am »

Half a mile from the county fair
And the rain keep pourin' down
Me and Billy standin' there
With a silver half a crown
Hands are full of a fishin' rod
And the tackle on our backs
We just stood there gettin' wet
With our backs against the fence

Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Hope it don't rain all day

Van Morrison

The imagery is so vivid - this song can give me goose bumps

medium jim · « **Reply #56 on:** 20 May 2013, 01:15 am »

To me, other than the Beatles, Steely Dan (Donald Fagan and Walter Becker) were the best lyricists out there:

DEACON BLUES

This is the day
Of the expanding man
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers
Wild gamblers
That's all in the past

You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I'll make it this time
I'm ready to cross that fine line

CHORUS:
I'll learn to work the saxophone
I'll play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whisky all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance
Sharing the things we know and love
With those of my kind
Libations
Sensations
That stagger the mind

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I'll rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home

CHORUS

This is the night
Of the expanding the man
I take one last drag
As I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long
This brother is free
I'll be what I want to be

CHORUS

Jim

P.S. I hope it doesn't offend anyone....

jarcher · « **Reply #57 on:** 20 May 2013, 01:29 am »

Steely Dan does have such great lyrics - particularly that song. How could anyone ever take offense at such poetry...............

Not sure anymore if this is about great opening liners, or all lyrics to a song, but Van Morrison was mentioned & one of my favorite tracks, particularly the way he does it, is Into the Mystic. Simple lyrics, but they grab you:

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when that fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it
I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
Then magnificently we will float into the mystic
And when that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when thst fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don't have to fear it
I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will float into the mystic
Come on girl...

Emsquare · « **Reply #58 on:** 20 May 2013, 01:32 am »

Quote from: Don_S on 19 May 2013, 11:52 pm

Emsquare, Sorry but "Hallelujah" is one song where the lyrics completely baffle me. Although there are several performances of it that I enjoy I always cringe at "hair" rhymed with chair and the lyrics just don't hang together for me. Not Cohen's best effort by a long shot. The emotion of the song might be one thing but the lyrics are overrated IMO.

Fair enough. Lyrics strike people in different ways. If you are not familiar with the story of David & Bathsheba then that is what it alludes to at first. Then the personal. The opening stanza I felt was brilliant. It is music composition in reference to the minor fall (sadness/melancholy) the major lift (joy) which follows the modal change I think I hear. Interesting. To me anyway.

I recently found out that he and Rebecca De Mornay married. This impresses me a little.

medium jim · « **Reply #59 on:** 20 May 2013, 01:34 am »

One more from Steely Dan (My Favorite Band)

Everything must go/The Last Mall:

Attention all shoppers
It's Cancellation Day
Yes the Big Adios
Is just a few hours away

It's last call
To do your shopping
At the Last Mall

You'll need the tools for survival
And the medicine for the blues
Sweet treats and surprises
For the little buckaroos

It's last call
To do your shopping
At the Last Mall

We've got a sweetheart Sunset Special
On all of the standard stuff
'Cause in the morning --that gospel morning
You'll have to do for yourself when the going gets tough

Roll your cart back up the aisle
Kiss the checkout girls goodbye
Ride the ramp to the freeway
Beneath the blood orange sky

It's last call
To do your shopping
At the Last Mall

Jim