I always thought Matt Johnson/The The an astonishing (almost poet-prophet)lyricist of his generation.
Heartland (1986)
Beneath the old iron bridges, across the Victorian parks
And all the frightened people running home before dark
Past the Saturday morning cinema that lies crumbling to the ground
And the piss stinking shopping center in the new side of town
I've come to smell the seasons change and watch the city
As the sun goes down again
Here comes another winter of long shadows and high hopes
Here comes another winter waitin' for utopia
Waitin' for hell to freeze over
This is the land where nothing changes
The land of red buses and blue blooded babies
This is the place, where pensioners are raped
And the hearts are being cut from the welfare state
Let the poor drink the milk while the rich eat the honey
Let the bums count their blessings while they count the money
So many people can't express what's on their minds
Nobody knows them and nobody ever will
Until their backs are broken and their dreams are stolen
And they can't get what they want then they're gonna get angry
Well it ain't written in the papers, but it's written on the walls
The way this country is divided to fall
So the cranes are moving on the skyline
Trying to knock down this town
But the stains on the heartland, can never be removed
From this country that's sick, sad, and confused
Here comes another winter of long shadows and high hopes
Here comes another winter waitin' for utopia
Waitin' for hell to freeze over
The ammunition's being passed and the lords been praised
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained
All the bankers gettin' sweaty beneath their white collars
As the pound in our pocket turns into a dollar
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state of the U.S.A.
—
Talking of poetry (yet on a slightly more upbeat/irreverent side of the street) I rate Dan Bejar/Destroyer as a wordsmith. His best songs for me sound like an inspired and rambling one-sided conversation between himself and a perfectly-drunken lovelorn reverie/departing lover. One foot in the clouds/the presence of god/ess - the other foot tripping in the gutter. Though in the best tradition of lyrics - they really need to be heard as the music, and not read on a page in isolation from their true context.
A dangerous woman up to a point
once said
"As per your wishes, I left you for dead
I left England for the English"
Is it always the one thing or the other with you?
"Forgive them, my lord, they know not what they do!"
"Hey, your friends are **
In so far as your friends are an ancient beast bronzed in tar"
Have I told you lately that I love you?
Did I fail to mention there's a sword hanging above you?
"Those who love Zeppelin will soon betray Floyd"
I cast off those couplets in honor of the void
I was here to stay
I would weather the storm
I pictured heaven on earth made of clay, as your form dictated
I went down to the garden with the noblest of intentions
I felt the need to be brief
I stuck a rose between my teeth and had a laugh
The sun set at the speed of light, so I thought I also might leave this
Port of Woe on tall ships made of snow invading the sun
A dangerous woman up to a point once said
I've never read "so-and-so, " so why mention him here
In this square where culprits axe me, my dear
Tried to enjoy myself at the Society Ball, really I did
Froze on Union Street, it was springtime,
I was just a kid lost in a map of the stars called "your eyes"
It was a trap
It was a good time
It was hard to realize
I can't win
I can't even walk
Baby, you should talk
Baby, you should hear what you're saying
They said, "don't look back, " but I looked back
It was a bore
It was a **** horror
It was, well, honey, you know quite well what you are
A dangerous woman up to a point once said
"People come, and people go, and people lie nameless in the snow"
I'd have said California by Joni Mitchell but I think It's too late by Carole King is better.
TLDR - hope it hasn't been done...
Just like Bruce Springsteen does in "born to run".
They both know, as a common man, they are ****ed.
Seems appropriate these days?
+1 for The The, Uncertain Smile:
Peeling the skin back from my eyes
I felt surprised
That the time on the clock was the time
I usually retired
To the place where I cleared my head of you
But just for today I think I'll lie here and dream of youI've got you under my skin where the rain can't get in
But if the sweat pours out
Just shout
I'll try to swim and pull you out
Dirty Old Town was written by Ewan McColl by the way. Credit where due and all that.
And a certain Ms Swift (All too well):
And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
Boxes by Ginger Wildheart.
@cheese@4p
I didn't know that, thank you.
I thought it was an "anon" folk song.
I don't think that it detracts from the words/meaning, however.
Without Googling, it was Temple Of Love...
But someone near you rides the weather,
And the tears he cried will rain on walls as wide as lovers' eyes.
Like Richey Manic who I mentioned earlier, Von often treads that line between pretentious guff and brilliant poetry in his lyrics.
Happiness is a loaded weapon and a
Short cut is better by far
Explosive bolts, ten thousand volts
At a million miles an hour
Abrasive wheels and molten metals
It's a semi-automatic, get in the car
Corrosive heart and frozen heat
We're worlds apart where we could meet
Where the street fold round and the motors start
And the idiot wields the power
Where the chosen hold the highest card
On the field of honour where the ground is hard
So the highest hand is joking wild
And the house soon fold and no-one stand
I put my finger on and dialled
The tower, the moon, the gun, and
Nine nine nine, singer down
Cloudburst and all around
The first are last, the blessed get wired
The best is yet to come
I put my finger on and fired
Heat-seeking, out of the sun
You can set the controls for the heart or the knees
And the meek'll inherit what they damn well please
Get ahead, go figure, go ahead and pull the trigger
Everything under the gun
Always thought the line "Jesus and his lawyer are coming back " is a great line.
Novacaine for the Soul by The Eels
Like these lyrics from this:
There's nothing like a little contempt
To drive a man right over his edge
Doing things he'll later regret.
And
Nothing quite clears the room
Like a lunatic who's got nothing to lose
Oh and when any excuse will do.
Mushroom cloud by Tempesst
Never really been a big fan of Dolly Parton or Miley Cyrus but was blown away when I first saw this. I think Miley really nails the sentiment of the simple yet poignant lyrics ( which I take to be centered about insecurity within a relationship).
Jolene - Miley Cyrus
Mink DeVille's Spanish Stroll (so much better than Take a Walk on the Wild Side)
Pump It Up
We've Gotta Get Out of This Place
standing by the door of the pink flamingo, crying in the rain
I was going to post Aphex Twin - Come on you slags. Or Aphex Twin - Beetles. But what would be the point.....
Occasionally I poke my head out from electronica because I feel like I should probably broaden my musical horizons. On one such instance I discovered YS by Joanna Newsom. Musical style won't be to everyone's taste. Not quite sure why I decided it acceptable for me to listen to, it's a thin line.
I really liked his first album. When 2nd came out, I was reading as I listened to it. It scared me shirtless! An overwhelming sense of something was coming. Haven't listened to him since!
But I probably should...
And, approx '88, in some local club, every Saturday, a 10 minute mix of tainted love, me and a girl called Marion. The dance floor emptied, just us and the smoke machine. God what a song!
A beautifully song with poignant lyrics .
Also virtually anything by Leonard Cohen . Everybody Knows is a particular favourite
Dammit, what I’m trying to post just isn’t showing when I submit it!! 😖
Rainbow Stew - Merle Haggard
Could have been written about 2022!
There's a big, brown cloud in the city
And the countryside's a sin
The price of life is too high to give up
It's gotta come down again
But worldwide war is over and done
And the dream of peace comes true
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
When they find out how to burn water
And the gasoline car is gone
When an airplane flies without any fuel
And the sunlight heats our home
But one of these days when the air clears up
And the sun comes shinin' through
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Alright, Parky?
Here comes Don
You don't have to get high to get happy
Just think about what's in store
When people start doin' what they oughta be doin'
Then they won't be booin' no more
When a President goes through the White House door
Does what he says he'll do
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin' that free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon
Underneath that sky of blue
We'll all be drinkin' free Bubble Up
And eatin' that rainbow stew
You smile and say the world it doesn't fit with you
I don't believe you, you're so serene
Careening through the universe your axis on a tilt
You're guiltless and free, I hope you take a piece of me with you
All right, I’ll take a chance, I will fall in love with you
If I’m a fool you can have the night, you can have the morning too
Can you cook and sew, make flowers grow
Do you understand my pain?
Are you willing to risk it all
Or is your love in vain?
A lot of it is in the delivery. Bob Dylan being honest, soulful and completely taking the piss out of himself in 30 seconds of music
A still pertinent sentiment and lyrics now, perhaps more so. The lyrics are perfectly enunciated, I don’t think I need to post them up.
A few of my faves mentioned above, Sandy Denny, Christy Moore, The Cure, The The, sterling stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd2wmO9YiIg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_YTg8G6iwE
actually I think this is my fave of all time, can we get some more likes, 14 doesnt seem right
I put a like in the bucket 😀
All this love for The Divine Comedy. I thought I would give it another listen today - nope, Neil Hannon is still very smug and annoying ..
Loving The Bucket, nice one grimep
The problem with Leonard Cohen is that while his lyrics may be great, he's a dire "singer" and should probably have done a Bernie Taupin and got someone else to actually be the frontman. Pink Floyd are the opposite: they certainly know how to play, it's just a pity Rick from the Young Ones wrote the lyrics.
Given all the self-indulgent 6th form crap on this thread my vote goes for "Didgeridoo", by Aphex Twin. Bah humbug!
😀
Drinking in the morning sun
Blinking in the morning sun
Shaking off a heavy one
Heavy like a loaded gun
What made me behave that way?
Using words I never say
I can only think it must be love
Oh, anyway, it's looking like a beautiful day
Someone tell me how I feel
In silly wrong, but vivid right
Oh, kiss me like a final meal
Yeah, kiss me like we die tonight
'Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light
Yeah, lying with you half awake
Oh, anyway, it's looking like a beautiful day
When my face is chamois creased
If you think I wink, I did
Laugh politely at repeats
Yeah, kiss me when my lips are thin
'Cause holy cow, I love your eyes
And only now I see the light
Yeah, lying with you half awake
Stumbling over what to say
Well, anyway, it's looking like a beautiful day
So, throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right
Throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right
Throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right, for life
Throw those curtains wide
One Day Like This a year would see me right for life
Given all the self-indulgent 6th form crap on this thread my vote goes for “Didgeridoo”, by Aphex Twin. Bah humbug!
I mention I resisted posting Come on You Slags, and Beetles.
But now you've gone and done it... Milkman:
I think Miley really nails the sentiment of the simple yet poignant lyrics
Hmm. I actually think the opposite. Miley has swagger she's belting it out, but Dolly is pleading and it's far more emotional to me.
This is something I've noticed with covers often. Certain songs are more than just music and lyrics, they are personal and emotional soliloquies. The writer has put their soul into it, and if you want to cover it you have to do more than just sing, you have to act. Lots of covers are like 'oh hey everyone loves this song let's all sing along' when they are about heartbreak.
Ok so. now I've just watched four videos of that song including the Destructo remix which contains some of the most joyful and fantastic dancing I've seen in ages, and got me thinking about how many years it's been since I actually danced at all.
Verse 1]
In the West End of Derby lives a working man
He says "I can't fly but me pigeons can
And when I set them free
It's just like part of me
Gets lifted up on shining wings"[Verse 2]
Charlie Hudson's pigeon loft was down the yard
Of a rented house in Brook Street where life was hard
But Charlie had a dream
And in 1913
Charlie bred a pigeon that made his dream come true[Verse 3]
There was gonna be a champions' race from Italy
We got out the maps, all that land and sea
"Charlie, you'll lose that bird"
But Charlie never heard
He put it in a basket and sent it off to Rome[Verse 4]
On the day o' the big race a storm blew in
A thousand birds were swept away and never seen again
"Charlie we told you so
Surely by now you know
When you're living in the West End there ain't many dreams come true"
My favourite at the moment
Just about every track on Soul mining by The The
I don't know of it's been mentioned, but I just listened to The Boxer for the first time in ages, it tells a lot of story from a few words.
I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles such are promises
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest, mhmm
When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of a railway station running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know
Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there
Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking evenly
I am older than I once was
And younger than I'll be, that's not unusual
It isn't strange after changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are more or less the same
Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone, going home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Leading me, going home
In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
And cut him 'til he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains, mhmm
The problem with Leonard Cohen is that while his lyrics may be great, he’s a dire “singer”
Yes, but:
All my favourite singers couldn't sing
Which is a lyric from a Silver Jews song called We Are Real by the late, great David Berman. One of the finest lyricists of all time in my book. American Water is a brilliant album.
I'd also mention Kate Stables of This is The Kit. She's a phenomenal lyricist and somewhat under appreciated I think.
When Leonard first was asked to sing one of his songs on stage, he refused, saying, "but I can't sing". The promoter said, "None of you guys can sing. If i wanted to hear a good singer, I'd go to the opera". LC's voice is an acquired taste, granted, but in his own words, "All the ladies go moist and the judge has no choice, a singer must die for the lie in his voice".
Reminds me of when Kris Kristofferson was asked to record an album of his songs
"I can't sing, I sound like a frog"
"Yeah but you sound like a frog that can communicate"
The scene was a small roadside cafe
The waitress was sweepin' the floor
Two truck-drivers drinkin' their coffee
And two okie-kids by the door
How much are them candies, they asked her
How much have you got, she replied
We've only a penny between us
Them's two for a penny, she lied
And the daylight grew heavy with thunder
And the smell of the rain on the wind
Ain't it just like a human
Here comes that rainbow again
One truckdriver called to the waitress
After the kids went outside
Them candies ain't two for a penny
So what's it to you, she replied
In silence they finished their coffee
Got up and nodded godbye
She called, hey, you left too much money
So what's it to you, they replied
And the daylight grew heavy with thunder
And the smell of the rain on the wind
Ain't it just like a human
Here comes that rainbow again
Easterhouse anyone:
You know how things are, when you get to talking
About the state of the world, everyone's got an opinion
I was talking to some boys who were friends of a friend
And we stopped to pass the time as we had nothing else to do
Someone made a chance remark, and then an argument got started
We were talking about Russia, the things they say go on
And something he saw on the TV, a TV documentary
On the lack of basic freedom, human liberty
I said now, now listen, you ought to save your sympathy
Wе need it more than they, as far as I can see
We all know thеy're in chains, you only think that you are free
And it's the Russian working man ,who knows exactly where he stands
They tell you, in England, we're all entitled to a say
But nothing too extreme, that's not the English way
Your political delusions, have bound you hand and foot
And anyone who questions is an agitator, infiltrator
Get back to Russia, I hear you say
Get back to Russia, but there ain't no way
Still it would be nice
Leningrad in spring must be a pretty sight
Sit down by the Volga, all that cool blue water
I said now, now listen, nobody tells it like it is
Don't believe that things were always just like this
There have been very different times
Before the Labour Party line
When those who sit upon our backs did not have such an easy ride
We were not satisfied
Our anger could not be denied
To soothe our discontent we got a voice in parliament
Representatives to tell you that the class who buy and sell
Expect that you should do your duty, die for King and Country
We've got the Labour Party, a patriotic party
Who led you off to war and told you "this is what you're fighting for"
And noble, patriotic, foolishly believed them
And the flag is what they wrapped them in;
The ones who gave their lives
And after it was over and they counted up the spoils of war
They let you have a welfare state, a pension when you reach old age
Talked about equality, a stake in this society
They've sold you down the line, what's more
They've sold you down the line
They tell you, in England, we're all entitled to a say
But nothing too extreme, that's not the English way
Get back to Russia, I hear you say
Get back to Russia, but there ain't no way
England made me and here I'll stay
England made me, let England deal with me
Leningrad in spring must be a pretty sight
Sit down by the Volga, all that cool blue water
You can't get Levi jeans
Or pictures of James Dean
But these things I have seen
They don’t mean that much to me
They tell you, in England, we're all entitled to a say
But nothing too extreme, that's not the English way
Your political delusions, have bound you hand and foot
And anyone who questions is an agitator, infiltrator
Get back to Russia, I hear you say
Get back to Russia, but there ain't no way
England made me and here I'll stay
England made me, let England deal with me