Three Day Drunk Posted August 5, 2005 Report Share Posted August 5, 2005 (edited) I suppose pop represents a pretty wide field. What I'm really looking for are personal favourites, answers beyond the obvious. Lennon/McCartney seem to top every poll on this subject, so what can we come up with? Below are some of my own nominees, and an example of their work. Randy Newman Political Science (written in the late 70's) No one likes us I don't know why. We may not be perfect But heaven knows we try. But all around even our old friends put us down. Let's drop the big one and see what happens. We give them money But are they grateful? No they're spiteful And they're hateful. They don't respect us so let's surprise them; We'll drop the big one and pulverize them. Now Asia's crowded And Europe's too old. Africa's far too hot, And Canada's too cold. And South America stole our name. Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us. We'll save Australia; Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo. We'll build an all-American amusement park there; They've got surfing, too. Well, boom goes London, And boom Paris. More room for you And more room for me. And every city the whole world round Will just be another American town. Oh, how peaceful it'll be; We'll set everybody free; You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby, There'll be Italian shoes for me. They all hate us anyhow, So let's drop the big one now. Let's drop the big one now. Tom Waits I'll Shoot the Moon I'll shoot the moon Right out of the sky For you baby I'll be the pennies On your eyes For you baby I want to take you Out to the fair Here's a red rose Ribbon for your hair I'll shoot the moon Right out of the sky For you baby I'll shoot the moon For you A vulture circles Over your head For you baby I'll be the flowers After you're dead For you baby I want to build A nest in your hair I want to kiss you And never be there I'll shoot the moon Right out of the sky For you baby I'll shoot the moon For you Mark Eitzel Gary's Song Gary tell me why the leaves on the trees Are falling this year as early as the spring Why the leaves on the trees that are falling on us Are like the words to a song that I've lived my whole life to sing If you swim too much you'll drown If we sit here and drink enough beer We'll be two inflatable dolls in a hooker's bad dream When the storm reaches us we'll be two blind drunks Who've absorbed through the skin a whole lifetime of kerosene If you drink too much you will drown And the shame of my life is watching you Gary, I think we've worn out our welcome They're waiting for us to leave Gary, they've got a new kind of person A newer, stronger, cleaner breed And I think I just came in my pants Oh baby do you want to dance Everything collapses in, slow motion And the roots of the dance and the stain in my pants Are beyond any small man's conception If you drink too much you will drown And the shame of my life is watching you drown Paul Westerberg Crackle & Drag What’s the matter here? You'll never repair The lady’s cursed with insight You'll never fix her, with a cold stare She’s all broken inside She made a good go, like a weeping willow Her limbs clung to the ground She closed the window, and made a pillow And lay her head down And as her babies slept, she took a long deep breath Now they’re zipping her up in a bag Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag And the Cadillac’s waiting to take her away Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag Another head cold, another spirit old Mmmm, February Her hair was dirty, and she was 30 in 1963 And while her babies slept she took a long deep breath And they’re zipping her up in a bag Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag The Cadillac’s waiting to take her away Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag And drag, and drag, and drag… She made a good go, for a weeping willow She stuffed some rags on the floor She closed the window She made a pillow on the oven door And took a long deep breath While her babies slept Now they’re zipping her up in a bag Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag And the Cadillac’s waiting to take her away Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag They’re zipping her up in a bag Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag The Cadillac’s waiting to take her away Can you hear her blacks crackle and drag Hear her blacks crackle and drag Edited August 5, 2005 by Three Day Drunk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristopherSchlegel Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 I nominate Ira Gershwin. So many classic, beautiful lyrics to his credit: "Someone To Watch Over Me", "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "I Got Rhythm", & on & on, WOW!!! An excerpt: It's very clear our love is here to stay. Not for a year, but ever and a day. The radio and the telephone. And the movies that we know. May just be passing fancies and in time may go. But, oh my dear, our love is here to stay. Together were going a long, long way. In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble, they're only made of clay. But our love is here to stay. Also, Cole Porter was very clever, witty & beautiful with his lyrics. Richard Rogers partners Larry Hart & then Oscar Hammerstein II were also wonderful. Larry Hart wrote the words to one of my all time favorite love songs "My Romance": My romance doesn't need to have a moon in the sky. My romance doesn't need a blue lagoon standing by. No month of May, no twinklin' stars. No hideaway, no soft guitars. My romance doesn't need a castle rising in Spain. Nor a dance to a constantly surprising refrain. Wide awake I can make my most fantastic dreams come true. My romance doesn't need a thing but you. That's just perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michero Posted August 6, 2005 Report Share Posted August 6, 2005 (edited) I agree with Randy Newman. How do you feel about the lyrics to "The World Isn't Fair"? I always interpreted that as Pro-capitalism dis towards Marxism. But by roomie thought it was apologetic--for wealth and ignoring the poor. Also one of my fave songs (i actually heard about from one of Ayn's short stories) is "My blue heaven" by Gene Autry Whippoorwills call, evenin’ is nigh Hurry to my blue heaven Turn to the right, there’s a little white light Will lead you to my blue heaven You’ll see a smilin’ face, a fireplace, a cozy room Little nest that nestles where the roses bloom Molly and me, and the baby makes three We’re happy in my, in my blue heaven <instrumental> You’re gonna see a smilin’ face, fireplace, cozy room And a little nest nestled where the roses bloom Just molly and me, and the baby is three We’re so happy in my blue heaven We’re happy in my blue heaven We’re happy in my blue heaven! Edited August 6, 2005 by Michero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovenstein Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 In modern pop, John Mayer is among, if not the, best there is. A sample from Your Body is a Wonderland: Somethin bout the way the hair falls in your face I love the shape you take when crawling towards the pillowcase You tell me where to go and though I might leave to find it I'll never let your head hit the bed without my hand behind it You want love, we'll make it Swimming a deep sea of blankets Take all your big plans, and break em This is bound to be a while Your body is a wonderland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cbaoth Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 Well I don't like Ben Harper or his politics and I don't really like many of his songs, but I do like the one below, it has great personal significance for some things and people I have delt with in my life. I think there is a definate sense of hope and self-esteem in the lyrics. I'll Rise - Ben Harper You may write me down in history With your bitter twisted lies You may trod me down in the very dirt And still like the dust I’ll rise Does my happiness upset you Why are you best with gloom Cause I laugh like I’ve got an oil well Pumpin’ in my living room So you may shoot me with your words You may cut me with your eyes And I’ll rise I’ll rise I’ll rise Out of the shacks of history’s shame Up from a past rooted in pain I’ll rise I’ll rise I’ll rise Now did you want to see me broken Bowed head and lowered eyes Shoulders fallen down like tear drops Weakened by my soulful cries Does my confidence upset you Don’t you take it awful hard Cause I walk like I’ve got a diamond mine Breakin’ up in my front yard So you may shoot me with your words You may cut me with your eyes And I’ll rise I’ll rise I’ll rise Out of the shacks of history’s shame Up from a past rooted in pain I’ll rise I’ll rise I’ll rise So you may write me down in history With your bitter twisted lies You may trod me down in the very dirt And still like the dust I’ll rise Does my happiness upset you Why are you best with gloom Cause I laugh like I’ve got a goldmine Diggin’ up in my living room So you may shoot me with your words You may cut me with your eyes And I’ll rise I’ll rise I’ll rise Out of the shacks of history’s shame Up from a past rooted in pain I’ll rise I’ll rise I’ll rise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles2112 Posted August 9, 2005 Report Share Posted August 9, 2005 I've always been a HUGE Paul Simon fan, and I've always loved the lyrics to Can't Run But (off of Rhythm of the saints.) I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but A cooling system Burns out in the ukraine Trees and umbrellas Protect us from the new rain Armies of engineers To analyze the soil The food we contemplate The water that we boil I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but Oo-we oo-we I had a dream about us In the bottles and the bones of the night I felt a pain in my shoulder blade Like a pencil point? a love bite? A couple was rubbing against us Rubbing and doing that new dance The man was wearing a jacket and jeans The woman was laughing in advance I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but A winding river Gets wound around a heart. pull it Tighter and tighter Until the muddy waters part Down by the river bank A blues band arrives The music suffers The music business thrives I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but I can’t run but I can walk much faster than this Can’t run but Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrocktor Posted December 17, 2005 Report Share Posted December 17, 2005 (edited) Neil Peart Freewill There are those who think that life is nothing left to chance, A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance. A planet of playthings, We dance on the strings Of powers we cannot perceive. "The stars aren't aligned Or the gods are malign"- Blame is better to give than receive. You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill; I will choose a path that's clear- I will choose Free Will. There are those who think that they were dealt a losing hand, The cards were stacked against them- they weren't born in lotus-land. All preordained- A prisoner in chains- A victim of venomous fate. Kicked in the face, You can't pray for a place In heaven's unearthly estate. Each of us- A cell of awareness- Imperfect and incomplete. Genetic blends With uncertain ends On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet. Edited December 17, 2005 by mrocktor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottkursk Posted December 18, 2005 Report Share Posted December 18, 2005 I would also have to cast a vote for Neil Pert. He's incredible at being able to translate a great deal of the Objectivist philosphy into rock music. I would also have to add is Jim Steinman. For the ladies in the audience, he wrote Making Love out of Nothing At All by Air Supply. I know just how to whisper, And I know just how to cry; I know just where to find the answers; And I know just how to lie. I know just how to fake it, And I know just how to scheme; I know just when to face the truth, And then I know just when to dream. And I know just where to touch you, And I know just what to prove; I know when to pull you closer, And I know when to let you loose. And I know the night is fading, And I know that time’s gonna fly; And I’m never gonna tell you everything I’ve got to tell you, But I know I’ve got to give it a try. And I know the roads to riches, And I know the ways to fame; I know all the rules And then I know how to break ’em And I always know the name of the game. But I don’t know how to leave you, And I’ll never let you fall; And I don’t know how you do it, Making love out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all, (making love) Out of nothing at all, (making love) Out of nothing at all, (making love) Out of nothing at all, (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all. Every time I see you all the rays of the sun Are streaming through the waves in your hair; And every star in the sky is taking aim At your eyes like a spotlight, The beating of my heart is a drum, and it’s lost And it’s looking for a rhythm like you. You can take the darkness from the pit of the night And turn into a beacon burning endlessly bright. I’ve got to follow it, ’cause everything I know, well it’s nothing till I give it to you. I can make the run or stumble, I can make the final block; And I can make every tackle, at the sound of the whistle, I can make all the stadiums rock. I can make tonight forever, Or I can make it disappear by the dawn; And I can make you every promise that has ever been made, And I can make all your demons be gone. But I’m never gonna make it without you, Do you really want to see me crawl? And I’m never gonna make it like you do, Making love out of nothing at all. (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) Out of nothing at all (making love) And for the gentlemen in the audience, he also wrote Meatloaf's classic mega hit "Bat Out Of Hell". That as well as many of Meatloaf's better megaballads. He always had the ability to put intense feelings into words. Also, his songs were very evocative of certiain intense, powerful feelings about love, life, and death. Plus if you listen to the words of the Air Supply song closely, you can easily imagine Meatloaf performing them. Just like if you listen to Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U", you can easily see Prince (who wrote it) performing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewYorkRoark Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 (edited) I don't pay as much attention to lyrics as I do to the music itself (or the musical qualities of the lyrics), but this is one of my favorites: "Leif Erikson" by Interpol She says It helps with the lights out Her rabid glow is like braille to the night. She swears I'm a slave to the details But if your life is such a big joke, why should I care? The clock is set for nine but you know you're gonna make it eight. So that you two can take some time, teach each other to reciprocate. She feels that my sentimental side should be held with kid gloves But she doesn't know that I left my urge in the icebox She swears I'm just prey to the female, Well then hook me up and throw me, baby cakes, cuz I like to get hooked. The clock is set for nine but you know you're gonna make it eight. All the people that you've loved they're all bound to leave some keepsakes. I've been swinging all the time, think it's time to learn your way. I picture you and me together in the jungle it will be ok. I'll bring you when my lifeboat sails through the night That is supposing you don't sleep tonight It's like learning a new language Helps me catch up on my mime If you don't bring up those lonely parts This could be a good time You come here to me. We'll collect those lonely parts and set them down You come here to me... She says brief things, her love's a pony My love's subliminal I also enjoy Elliott Smith and Stephin Merritt (of The Magnetic Fields) as lyricists. Edited January 4, 2006 by NewYorkRoark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exaltron Posted January 4, 2006 Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 Yo, speaking of great lyricists, have you heard of this musician/MC exaltron? Check it out: Focus I gladly cop to the so-called sin of pride I put it all on number one and I let it ride cuz I know that my philosophy is bona fide And I never give an inch to the opposite side friends and foes feel my flows from nose to toes in the city of no dozin closin in on a cure for tha moral twerpitude I don't wanna have to hurtcha dude but if you step to 'dis I will do you like Brutus not cuz you ambitious but your aim is malicious meretricious bitches try to grab my riches but I ain't tryinna waste my energy on new and different ways to slay my enemies never shrink from my responsibility never blink in the face of adversity from Marseilles to Bombay I waylay the PKs undermine the spineless with sublime rhymes and basslines And I always focus on the positive recognizing that the best revenge is to live haters obfuscate, instigate, complicate lust for the power to control your fate but we don't sweat them we gon' forget them we gon let them set their own death lay them to rest cuz they've already confessed implicitly that they're guilty of the worst hypocrisy complicit in the worst atrocities precipitated by depraved philosophies advocating the rejection of the rational in favor of the blatantly fantastical now they try to put obstacles up in my path try to pull the plug on my bubble bath party poopers and storm troopers ain't even a threat naked lady mudflaps is all you gon' get now I'm talkin bout myself and I know why you're hatin some serious wealth is what I'm creatin psychological health is what I'm demonstratin take it somewhere else if your aim is instigatin I ain't cuban, puerto rican, haitian or jamaican my ethnicity officially is "straight money-makin" I take down statists with a well-placed brickbat expose their long noses and two-faced kickbacks gettin sharp cheddar like I'm from wisconsin takin out these thugs like I'm charles bronson no guns but I'm causing mass casualties pummeling the parasites perpetually intelligence cuz my logic is aristotalean eloquence cuz my rhymes are sesquipedalian I got the technique and the culinary know-how spicy -I'll burn your tongue like some kung pao Mr. Scott blowin spots cuz I gotz da stugots buckshot on these flocks talkin poc trellat I rock the bomba clots, outfox the despots Scotch their rotten plots and mock their mental schlock from concretes to concepts and all the way back from the simplest perceptions to the most abstract it ain't worth smack if it ain't about facts so the faculty of reason is what they attack And I always focus on the positive recognizing that the best revenge is to live haters obfuscate, instigate, complicate lust for the power to control your fate ..file under shameless self-promotion. 'Focus' will be on my upcoming CD five by five, but you can hear part of this song here. Check out www.exaltron.com/blog for updates. ad gloriam exaltron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondigitalia Posted January 13, 2006 Report Share Posted January 13, 2006 I wouldn't classify him as pop (he's pretty obscure), but Ted Leo's lyrics are in a league of their own. Here is his song "Bridges, Squares": As i walked to kendall square and crossed the river basin there the charles was black, the sky was blue the view was old, the bridge was new and past the flow's constricted mouth commercial lines flowed mostly south or east across a boundless sea where rising soon, the star would be the tides are moved by sun and moon the spring will last from march to june the red line train will pass behind as long as bridge joins stream and sky and from that point where i did stand i wondered at the works of man i wondered how this walk began til red line train came round again but it's not the time to ossify it's not the end of wondering why it's not in your faith or your apostasy it's not the end of history as i can take, so i could give if i could shop where i could live as i can read, so i'd write books if i could eat where i could cook where talkers have a place to meet where walkers walk along the street and subways travel paths well hid but ferries take you off the grid and it's not the time to ossify it's not the end of wondering why it's not in your faith or your apostasy it's not the end of... predictable waves of historicity nostalgia for gas-lit times i'll never see futurians manifest, internationalists connected are the promenades and waterways the living waves of harbor nights and city days and where is the builder was there something missed hidden in the plans to the bridge that started this but it's not the time to ossify it's not the end of wondering why it's not in your faith or your apostasy it's not the end of history as i walked on to founders' square and crossed the river basin there, the passaic was grey, the sky was blue the bridge was old, the view was new. and from that point where i did stand i wondered at the builder's plan. i wondered how this walk will end til path train came around again but it's not the time to ossify it's not the end of wondering why it's not in your faith or your apostasy it's not the end of history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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