Greatest Song Lyrics: Whatcha Got?

Books, comics, TV, music
61

Leonard Cohen is a brilliant lyricist. I had a hard time picking one but this one makes me smile.

Ah we’re drinking and we’re dancing
And the band is really happening
And the Johnny Walker wisdom running high
And my very sweet companion
She’s the Angel of Compassion
She’s rubbing half the world against her thigh
And every drinker every dancer
Lifts a happy face to thank her
The fiddler fiddles something so sublime
All the women tear their blouses off
And the men they dance on the polka-dots
And it’s partner found, it’s partner lost
And it’s hell to pay when the fiddler stops:
It’s Closing Time

62

Reminded me of Nick Lowe

All men (all men)
All men are liars their words ain’t worth no more than worn out tires
Hey girls (girls) bring rusty pliers to pull this tooth
All men are liars and that’s the truth

Do you remember rick astley?
He had a big fat hit that was ghastly
He said I’m never gonna give you up or let you down
Well I’m here to tell ya that dick’s a clown
Though he was just a boy when he made that vow
I’d bet it all that he knows by now

All men (all men)
All men are liars their words ain’t worth no more than worn out tires
Hey girls (girls) bring rusty pliers to pull this tooth
All men are liars and that’s the truth

Among god’s creatures man must be
The most slimy and slippery now
There stands the naked ape in a monkey suit
Behind a little mustache he grew, the shifty brute
All the ones not choking on the words they ate
Are sweating on getting their stories straight

All men (all men)
All men are liars their words ain’t worth no more than worn out tires
Hey girls (girls) bring rusty pliers to pull this tooth
All men are liars and that’s the truth

63

This one hits close to home.

"The Boys Of Summer"

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer’s out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I’m driving by your house
Though I know you’re not home

But I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I never will forget those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy?
Remember how I made you scream
Now I don’t understand what happened to our love
But babe, I’m gonna get you back
I’m gonna show you what I’m made of

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
I see you walking real slow and you’re smilin’ at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

Out on the road today, I saw a DEADHEAD sticker on a Cadillac
A little voice inside my head said, “Don’t look back. You can never look back”
I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but-

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got that top pulled down and that radio on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin’ in the sun
You got that hair slicked back and those Wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

64

Growing up in a household with two parents that were elected officers of their unions, I have to stick to my roots and go with Paul Robeson’s Joe Hill.

The Copper Bosses killed you Joe;
They shot you Joe" says I
“Takes more than guns to kill a man”
Says Joe “I didn’t die”
Says Joe “I didn’t die”

And standing there as big as life
And smiling with his eyes
Says Joe “What they could never kill
Went on to organize
Went on to organize”

From San Diego up to Maine
In every mine and mill
Where workers defend their rights
It’s there you find Joe Hill
It’s there you find Joe Hill!

65

Midlife Crisis by Faith No More

You’re perfect, yes, it’s true
But without me you’re only you
You’re only you
Your menstruating heart
It ain’t bleeding enough for two

Bone Machine by The Pixies

You’re into Japanese fast food
And I drop you off with your Japanese lover
And you’re going to the beach all day
You’re so pretty when you’re unfaithful to me
You so pretty when you’re unfaithful to me

You’re looking like
You’ve got some sun
Your blistered lips
Have got a kiss
They taste a bit like everyone
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh

Your bones got a little machine
You’re the bone machine

I was talking to preachy-preach about kissy-kiss
He bought me a soda
He bought me a soda
He bought me a soda and he tried to molest me in the parking lot
Yep, yep yep yep

I think you’re pretty
You make me hard
Your island skin
Looks Mexican
Our love is rice and beans and horses lard

Your bones got a little machine
You’re the bone machine

Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh, uh-oh
Your bones got a little machine

66

BOC has some great lyrics which are basically hidden by the singer and we’re never shown on the record info. So you were always asking “Did he really sing that?”

67

Indeed. One of my favorites is Famous Blue Raincoat.

Ah, the last time we saw you you looked so much older
Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder
You’d been to the station to meet every train, and
You came home without Lili Marlene
And you treated my woman to a flake of your life
And when she came back she was nobody’s wife

68

He’s tearing you apart
Ooh, every, every day
He’s tearing you apart
Oh, girl, what can you say?
Cause he’s loving, touching another

Now it’s your turn, girl, to cry

Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na

69

I got nipples on my titties, big as the end of my thumb
I got something between my legs’ll make a dead man cum
Oh, daddy, baby, won’t you shave 'em dry?
Now, draw it out!
Want you to grind me, baby, grind me until I cry

Say I fucked all night, and all the night before, baby
And I feel just like I wanna, fuck some more
Oh, great God daddy, grind me, honey, and shave me dry
And when you hear me holler, baby, want you to shave it dry

I got nipples on my titties, big as the end of my thumb
Daddy, you say that’s the kind of 'em you want, and you can make 'em cum
Oh, daddy, shave me dry
And I’ll give you something, baby, swear it’ll make you cry

I’m gon’ turn back my mattress, and let you oil my springs
I want you to grind me, daddy, 'til the bell do ring
Oh, daddy, want you to shave 'em dry
Oh, great God daddy, if you can’t shave 'em baby, won’t you try?

Now if fucking was the thing that would take me to Heaven
I’d be fucking in the studio 'til the clock strike 11
Oh daddy, daddy, shave 'em dry
I would fuck you, baby, honey, I’d make you cry

Now your nuts hang down like a damn bell sapper
And your dick stands up like a steeple
Your god-damn ass-hole stands open like a church door
And the crabs walks in like people, haw, shit!
Shucks, ooh!
Baby, won’t you shave 'em dry?

A big sow gets fat from eating corn
And a pig gets fat from sucking
Reason you see this whore, fat like I am
Great God, I got fat from fucking
Eh, shave 'em dry (with pleasure)

My back is made of whalebone
And my cock is made of brass
And my fucking is made for working men’s two dollars
Great God 'round to kiss my ass
Whoa, woo, daddy, shave 'em dry

70

From Elvis Costello’s epic “ Tokyo Storm Warning”:

Well you look around the tiny room
And wonder where the hell you are
While the KKK conventioners
Are all stranded in the bar
They wear hoods and carry shotguns
In the main streets of Montgomery
But they’re helpless here as babies
Cos they’re only here on holiday

And later:

They say gold paint on the palace gates
Comes from the teeth of pensioners
They’re so tired of shooting protest singers
That they hardly mention us

71

This might be the winner for me for single lines:

Did you ever wonder why we had to run for shelter when the promise of a brave new world unfurled beneath a clear blue sky?

72

Leonard Cohen is a great call. One of the best. This is from his first album:

It’s true that all the men you knew were dealers
Who said they were through with dealing
Every time you gave them shelter
I know that kind of man
It’s hard to hold the hand of anyone
Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender
Who is reaching for the sky just to surrender

And then sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
You find he did not leave you very much not even laughter
Like any dealer he was watching for the card
That is so high and wild
He’ll never need to deal another
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger
– The Stranger Song

The whole song is incredible.

73

In non Rick Rolling songs:

If the stars fall down on me
And the sun refused to shine
Then may the shackles be undone
May all the old words cease to rhyme
If the sky turned into stone
It will matter not at all
For there is no heaven in the sky
Hell does not wait for our downfall

Let the voice of reason chime
Let the pious vanish for all time
God’s face is hidden, all unseen
You can’t ask Him what it all means

He was never on your side
God was never on your side
Let right or wrong alone decide
God was never on your side

See ten thousand ministries
See the holy, righteous dogs
They claim to heal but all they do is steal
Abuse your faith, cheat and rob
If God is wise, why is He still
*When these false prophets *
call Him friend?
Why is He silent? Is He blind?
Are we abandoned in the end?

Let the sword of reason shine
Let us be free of prayer and shrine
God’s face is hidden, turned away
He never has a word to say

He was never on your side
God was never on your side
Let right or wrong alone decide
God was never on your side
No, no, no

He was never on your side
God was never on your side
Never, never, never, never
Never on your side
Never on your side

Motörhead - God Was Never on Your Side

74

I mean, I feel like I could do Elvis Costello lyrics all day, but I’m hardly impartial:

Chapter One: We didn’t really get along
Chapter Two: I think I fell in love with you
You said you’d stand by me in the middle of Chapter Three
But you were up to your old tricks in Chapters Four
Five and Six.
And I’m giving you a longing look
The way you walk
The way you talk and try to kiss me
And laugh in four or five paragraphs.
All your compliments and your cutting remarks
Are captured here in my quotation marks.
And I’m giving you a longing look
Everyday I write the book
Don’t tell me you don’t know the difference
Between a lover and a fighter
With my pen and my electric typewriter
Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal
I’d still own the film rights and be working on the sequel.
– Every Day I Write the Book

I’ve got this phosphorescent portrait of gentle Jesus meek and mild
I’ve got this harlot that I’m stuck with carrying another man’s child
The solitary star announcing vacancy burnt out as we arrived
They’d throw us back across the border if they knew that we survived
And they were surprised to see us
So they greeted us with palms
They asked for ammunition, acts of contrition and small alms
– Bedlam

75

Warren Zevon day at Casa VR.

Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)

He was born in Big Beaver by the borderline
He started playing hockey by the time he was nine
His dad took the hose and froze the back yard
And Little Buddy dreamed he was Rocket Richard
He grew up big and he grew up tough
He saw himself scoring for the Wings or Canucks
But he wasn’t that good with a puck

Buddy’s real talent was beating people up
His heart wasn’t in it but the crowd ate it up
Through pee-wee’s and juniors, midgets and mites
He must have racked up more than six hundred fights
A scout from the flames came down from Saskatoon
Said, “There’s always room on our team for a goon
Son, we’ve always got room for a goon”

There were Swedes to the left of him
Russians to the right
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight
Brains over brawn-that might work for you
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do

Hit somebody! was what the crowd roared
When Buddy the goon came over the boards
"Coach, " he’d say, “I wanna score goals”
The coach said, "Buddy, remember your role
The fast guys get paid, they shoot, they score
Protect them, Buddy, that’s what you’re here for

Protection is what you’re here for
Protection-it’s the stars that score
Protection-kick somebody’s ass
Protection-don’t put the biscuit in the basket just
Hit some, Buddy! it rang in his ears
Blood on the ice ran down through the years
The king of the goons with a box for a throne
A thousand stitches and broken bones
He never lost a fight on his icy patrol
But deep inside, Buddy only dreamed of a goal
He just wanted one damn goal

There were Swedes at the the blue line
Finns at the red
A Russian with a stick heading straight for his head
Brains over brawn-that might work for you
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do

In his final season, on his final night
Buddy and a Finn goon were pegged for a fight
Thirty seconds left, the puck took a roll
And suddenly Buddy had a shot on goal

The goalie committed, Buddy picked his spot
Twenty years of waiting went into that shot
The fans jumped up, the Finn jumped too
And coldcocked Buddy on his follow through
The big man crumbled but he felt all right
'Cause the last thing he saw
was the flashing red light
He saw that heavenly light

There were Swedes to the left of him
Russians to the right
A Czech at the blue line looking for a fight
Take care of your teeth-that might work for you
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do
But what’s a Canadian farm boy to do
What else can a farm boy from Canada to do

76

Iris Dement wrote this in 1996. There was controversy on release and the years following.

Living in the wasteland of the free…

We got preachers dealing in politics and diamond mines
and their speech is growing increasingly unkind
They say they are Christ’s disciples
but they don’t look like Jesus to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got politicians running races on corporate cash
Now don’t tell me they don’t turn around and kiss them peoples’ ass
You may call me old-fashioned
but that don’t fit my picture of a true democracy
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got CEO’s making two hundred times the workers’ pay
but they’ll fight like hell against raising the minimum wage
and If you don’t like it, mister, they’ll ship your job
to some third-world country 'cross the sea
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

Living in the wasteland of the free
where the poor have now become the enemy
Let’s blame our troubles on the weak ones
Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
Living in the wasteland of the free

We got little kids with guns fighting inner city wars
So what do we do, we put these little kids behind prison doors
and we call ourselves the advanced civilization
that sounds like crap to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got high-school kids running 'round in Calvin Klein and Guess
who cannot pass a sixth-grade reading test
but if you ask them, they can tell you
the name of every crotch on MTV
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We kill for oil, then we throw a party when we win
Some guy refuses to fight, and we call that the sin
but he’s standing up for what he believes in
and that seems pretty damned American to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

Living in the wasteland of the free
where the poor have now become the enemy
Let’s blame our troubles on the weak ones
Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
Living in the wasteland of the free

While we sit gloating in our greatness
justice is sinking to the bottom of the sea
Living in the wasteland of the free
Living in the wasteland of the free
Living in the wasteland of the free

77

It’s a rare Warren Zevon song that wouldn’t fit in this thead (I already quoted my favorite bit of Desperadoes Under the Eaves). The printed lyrics for the Hockey Song don’t quite do it justice because it misses out on the announcer yelling “Hit Somebody!” during the chorus.

78

Good point. I’ve already put it in the Music I Just Listened to thread for anyone who wants to hear to it.

And I have to stop myself from posting Zevon all the time. :)

Edit: Also, his songs tend to have long instrumental parts and short vocal sections. So just printing the lyrics misses a lot.

79

A couple of verses by the Mountain Goats come to mind as being just perfect. Well there’s lots of them, but these two off Sunset Tree always hit me.

“alright I’m on johnson avenue in san luis obispo
and I’m five years old or six maybe.
and indications there’s something wrong with our new house
trip down the wire twice daily
I’m in the living room watching the watergate hearings
while my step father yells at my mother.
launches a glass across the room, straight at her head
and I dash upstairs to take cover.
lean in close to my little record player on the floor.
so this is what the volume knob’s for…”

–Dance Music

"I drove home in the California dusk
I could feel the alcohol inside of me hum
Pictured the look on my stepfather’s face
Ready for the bad things to come

I downshifted as I pulled into the driveway
The motor screaming out stuck in second gear
The scene ends badly as you might imagine
In a cavalcade of anger and fear"

–This Year (though I really should have just pasted the whole song)

80

@TundraToad what a great pick - I loved that song back when. I just looked i up and played the official video and enjoyed every second of it. Thanks for that!