They only polled 13,000 people, and it was VH1/MTV, so the audience skewed young, but the list of Britain's 100 Favorite Lyrics is out.

The complete list of songs and artists (though not lyrics) is here. The top 20 lyrics are:
So... even though song lyrics can qualify as your favorite poem or verse, and even though pengirl insists it cannot be done unless it's ten per artist, let's dedicate a thread to Your Top Ten Lyrics...


In random order (because I cannot possibly rank them and it was harder than hell to pare this list down to ten), some of my favorites today are:

- Stevie Wonder, As
"Change your words into truth and change that truth into love; it may be our children's grandchildren and their great-grandchildren will tell."

- Sting, Fragile
"Perhaps this final act was meant to clinch a lifetime's argument: nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could."

- Peter Gabriel, Big Time
"The place where I come from is a small town; they think so small, they use small words. But not me-- I'm smarter than that; I've worked it out."

- Nine Inch Nails, The Only Time
"My moral standing is lying down."

- Cole Porter, Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
"There's no love song finer, but how strange the change from major to minor."

- Johnathon Larson, La Vie Boheme from Rent
"The opposite of war isn't peace; it's creation."

- Aimee Mann, Momentum from Magnolia
"But I can't confront the doubts I've had; I can't admit that maybe the past was bad. And so for the sake of momentum, I'm condemning the future to death so it can match the past."

- The Brand New Heavies, Brother, Sister
"Grandma said, 'At times you'll feel a sting; there'll be sharp turns and up-hills and closed doors.' Then she said, 'Hold on to your faith, 'cause in this world you've got to go and get yours. So you stand up, be strong, go out there, and hold on to the real things that matter, 'cause no one's going to hand it to you on a silver platter.'"

- Chicago, We Can Stop the Hurtin'
"Hadn't we better hand out more than just a line? Shouldn't we try to find solutions with our minds? Haven't you had it knowing nothing's getting solved? Maybe we'd better get involved."

- Joydrop, Beautiful
"That would never, ever be, 'cause I'm not beautiful like you; I'm beautiful like me."

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"Illegal aliens have always been a problem in the Unites States. Ask any Indian." ~Robert Orben

...it was pretty much just a list of the best songs VH1 had videos for. But, it doesn't matter. My current favorite 10 lyrics (no doubt they will change as I listen to more and more songs) are, in no particular order:

2Pac-'Keep Ya Head Up'

"But please don't cry, dry ya eyes
Never let up
Forgive but don't forget girl, keep ya head up"


Nas-'I Can'

"If the truth is told, the youth can grow
They learn to survive until they gain control
Nobody says you have to be gangstas, hoes
Read more learn more, change the globe
Ghetto children, do your thing
Hold your head up, little man, you're a king"


Public Enemy-'Fight The Power'

"What we got to say
Power to the people no delay
To make everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be"


Marvin Gaye-'Let's Get It On'

"Don't you know how sweet and wonderful, life can be
I'm askin you baby, to get it on with me"


The Magnificent Tracers-'Flagpole Sitta'

"Hear the voices in my head
I swear to god it sounds like they're snoring
But if you're bored then you're boring
The agony and the irony, they're killing me'


Stevie Wonder-'Living For The City'

"I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow
This place is cruel no where could be much colder
If we don't change the world will soon be over"


Jimi Hedrix-'Purple Haze'

"Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things just don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
'Scuse me while I kiss the sky"


P Diddy/Notorious B.I.G-'Mo Money Mo Problems'

"I don't know what, they want from me
It's like the mo' money we come across
The mo' problems we see"


2Pac-'I Don't Give A F**k'

"And f**k trying to get with these crooked a$$ hypocrites
They way they see it, we was meant to be keep down
Just can't understand why we getting respect now
Mama told me they're be days like this
But I'm pissed cause it stays like this"


Bob Dylan-'Blowin' In The Wind'

"Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind"


My favourites from the VH1 list are 10, 8, 6, 5, 4 and 3.

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It's the difference between suicide and slow capitulation... - Jim Morrison

Yeah, I definitely need 10 per artist. Will post more later though...

Good call on the Rent line though, Caff

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"Life's a b*tch so I became one" - Rusty in the movie Flawless

from 'World Party'

"Well I heard a rumour of a golden age
somewhere back along the line
Maybe I dreamed it in a whisper or
heard it in a spell
It was something to do with the sign of the times
and the only thing that I remember
Is a summer like a pretty girl
who shimmers and shines
Moving in time
shaking to the beat of the heart of the world

Party (party! party! party! party! party! party! party! party! party!)"

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

Neil Pert is the world's greatest lyricist, so my favorite lyrics are saturated with Rush songs... mostly Free Will, Limelight, New World Man, 2112 (though you have to listen to the whole thing to get the story).
To tell the truth, I don't pay much attention to lyrics. I prefer the atmosphere created by the music. Hypocrisy's music is awesome for conveying that sci-fi/horror feel, but the lyrics are horrible!
King Diamond is the best metal guy I know of for combining lyrics with atmosphere to carve out a wicked tale (even though I can't always make sense of the story; the guy's nuts).
But another favorite of mine lyric-wise is Scatterbrain, especially "Don't Call Me Dude" and "Beer Muscles". But it's, once again, the whole songs that are great not just a single line.
I guess I just don't care much for little lyric-bites. But I suppose if I must pick one it's from Rush.
"If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice."

Ahhh... what the hell? Here's some Scatterbrain lyrics from Beer Muscles:
"Hey babe, hey babe, I know what ya like
C'mon, let's go, whatcha mean no, are you some kinda dyke?
Oooooooow, she hit me on the head
Oooooooow, she hit me on the head again.
So I get up off the floor, I say 'you want some more'?
I was ready to beat up everybody, it was lucky that the bouncer threw me out the door"

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"Conservatives say if you don't give the rich more money, they will lose their incentive to invest. As for the poor, they tell us they've lost all incentive because we've given them too much money."

-George Carlin

Hard to beat this - an amazing song from a seriously interesting Scot.
N E X T

"Naked as sin
An army towel, covering my belly
Some of us weep, some of us howl
Knees turn to jelly, but Next! Next!

I was just a child
A hundred like me
I followed a naked body
A naked body followed me, Next! Next!

I was just a child when my innocence was lost
In a mobile army wh*rehouse
A gift of the army, free of cost. Next! Next! Next!

Me, I really would have liked a little bit of tenderness
Maybe a word, maybe a smile, maybe some happiness, but Next! Next!

Oh, it was not so tragic
and heaven did not fall
But how much at that time
I hated being there at all, Next! Next!

I still recall the brothel trucks, the flying flags
The queer lieutenant slapped our arses
He's thinking we are (*)(*)(*)(*). Next! Next! Next!

I swear on the wet head of my
First case of gonorrhea
It is his ugly voice that I forever fear, Next! Next!

A voice that stinks of whiskey, corpses and of mud
The voice of nations
The thick voice of blood, Next! Next!

Since then each woman I have taken into bed
They seem to lie in my arms
And they whisper in my head, Next! Next!

All the naked and the dead
Could hold each other's hands
As they watch me scream at night
In a dream that nobody understands

And though I am not dreaming in a voice grown dry 'n' hollow
I stand on endless naked lines of the following and the followed
The Next! Next!

One day I'll cut my legs off
I'll burn myself alive
I'll do anything to get out of life, to survive

Not ever to be next, Next! Next!

Not ev....er... to be next, not ev............er.....ahh"

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"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."

The Doors "When the Music's Over"

What have we done to the earth?
What have we done to our fair sister?
Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her,
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn,
Tied her with fences, and...
Dragged her down.

Beck "Cyanide Breath Mint"

When they ask you credit,
Give them a branch.
When they want to get it,
Chew on the grass,
I know, I know
'Cause they told me to tell you,
There's nothing to tell you.
There's nothing to sell you.

Tool "Hooker With a Penis"

I met a boy wearing Vans, 501s, and a
Dope Beastie t, nipple rings, and
New tattoos that claimed that he
Was OGT,
From '92,
The first EP.

And in between
Sips of Coke
He told me that
He thought
We were sellin' out,
Layin' down,
Suckin' up
To the man.

Well now I've got some
Advice for you, little buddy.
Before you point the finger
You should know that
I'm the man,

And if I'm the man,

Then you're the man, and
He's the man as well so you can
Point that f--kin' finger up your ass.

All you know about me is what I've sold you,
Dumb f--k.
I sold out long before you ever heard my name.

I sold my soul to make a record,
Dip sh-t,
And you bought one.

All you read and
Wear or see and
Hear on TV
Is a product
Begging for your
Fatass dirty
Dollar

So...Shut up and

Buy my new record
Send more money
F--k you, buddy.




More to come...

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WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

. "You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

Here is my top ten list of all time favorites
1. Bridge Over Trouble Water
2. Blowing in the Wind
3. What's going on
4. Over the Rainbow
5. When I fall in Love
6. Imagine
7. A place in the Sun
8. Time after Time
9. As time go by
10. I'll always love you


Yes, most are old songs but they do last.

few more:

11. I can see clearly now
12. What a wonderful world
13. At Last
14. Sunshine on my shoulder
15. Young at Heart
15. Let it be
16. Monday,Monday
17. California Dreamer
18. Will you still love me tomorrow
19. Rhythm of the rain
20. All I have to do is Dream
21. The sound of Silence
22. To love somebody
23. Red Red Wine
24. Oh Girl
25. Take a slow boat to China!

I judge wisely, as if nothin ever surprise me
Loungin between two pillars of ivory,
I'm lively. My dome piece is like buildin' stones in Greece.
My poems are deep from ancient tomes I speak.
I'm overwhelmed, as my mind roams the realm.
My eye's the vision, memory is the film.
Others act sub-tile, but they fragile above crowds.
They act wild and couldn't budge a crowd.
No matter how loud they get, though they growl and spit, Clutch they fists, and throw up signs like a Crip,
And throw all types of fits,
I leave 'em split, like a$$ cheeks and ragged p*ssy lips.


Beck "Nightmare Hippie Girl"

She's a magical, sparkling' tease
She's a rainbow choking' the breeze
Yo, she's busting' out onto the scene
With nightmare bogus poetry
She's a melted avocado on the shelf
She's the science of herself
She's spazzing out on a cosmic level
And she's meditating with the devil
She's cooking salad for breakfast
She's got tofu the size of Texas
She's a witness to her own glory
She's a never-ending story
She's a frolicking depression
She's a self-inflicted obsession
She's got a thousand lonely husbands
She's playing' footsie in another dimension
She's a goddess milking her time
For all that it's...worth.

__________________
WARNING: In the unlikely event of an accidental agreement with any or all points made in the above post, contact a clinical psychologist immediately.

The views expressed in the above post are not necessarily those of Joker and/or any of his affiliates.

. "You have found the secret message. Do you have too much time on your hands? ...Let it go."

I was going to go on and on and ramble about my favorite behind-the-scenes, semi-reclusive songwriters (I seem to be an expert at these) but I was listening to one of their lyrics on the way home and this song always hits me hard. It's by a group Bernie Taupin was part of called The Farm Dogs and their second album, Immigrant Sons. Taupin, best known for being Elton John's lyricist, helped form this band and they recorded just two albums, unfortunately. The song is called America On Trial and the images, as usual from Taupin, are at least fabulous and at best profound.. I know I could go on all day about the symbolism but I won't bother.

"Well, I stood up to be counted as the big red trucks came rolling down Goliath
Like eighteen wheels of armor
It's America on trial.
I was standing at the window when the last great comet came screaming out of the sky,
Like the pride of Mother Nature,
Like America On Trial

I'm a hand in a fist of a foreign glove,
Where the buck stops at the well.
I'm a cold dark cloud on a map of the world
And a crack in the liberty bell.

I'm going down, I'm drowning fast
Help me stand on my feet.
I'm short of breath, I'm on my knees
I'm at the judgment seat.

Lay me down in the sands of time
At the edge of the miracle mile.
Was it Cochise or Columbus, put America on trial?
The golden eagle's golden beak
Couldn't hope to raise a smile
Here on the edge of the century,
It's America on trial.

They were hiding in the bushes when the dragon roared
In the shadow of a noose
Like cannibls eatin' cornbread
Like nouveau Hitler youth.
I was standing in the valley as the architects came struggling up the hill,
Saying 'Be it by our own design'
America's on trial.

I'm a bat and a ball in the final game.
Where the home run never ends.
I'm the last great thief
Who's stolen the ink
From the declaration pen."

Taupin has so many others that I could list but I can't even narrow it down to a favorite ten though I will offer this from a song called Wicked Dream: "It's written clear, across the room, in silent words the blind could understand." I'm not even sure what that means but that is one powerful image.

As for my other favorite living songwriter, Jim Steinman, best known for writing for Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler, well, what can I say about the little wingnut? If you like his lyrics, they're nothing compared to some of the quotes you can get from him in person. I've had the honor of meeting him more than once and he's a riot. He's also one of the reasons the theory of genius being linked with insanity is still going. A few of my favorites:

"You can't run away forever, but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start." Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through.

"I know you're looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks, but there ain't no Coupe de Ville hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box." Two Out of Three Ain't Bad.

"I swore I would love you 'til the end of time...so now I'm praying for the end of time." Paradise by the Dashboard Light

"I used her body just like a bandage; she used my body just like a wound. I'll never know where she disappeared but I can see her rising up out of my backseat now, just like an angel rising up from the tomb." Objects in the Rearview Mirror (May Appear Closer Than They Are)

"I'm an impressionable child in a tumultuous world and they say I'm at a difficult stage." Everything Louder than Everything Else (frankly, I'm just surprised Meat could sing all that - that's quite a mouthful).

Finally, from a spoken word piece that has a woman listing all of the horribly bad dates she's had since placing her singles ad: "...the astronomer who cried like a baby and said he had been betrayed by every star he ever knew; the fanatic priest who wanted me to confess to things I'd never even dreamed of!" The Want Ad.

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"Life's a b*tch so I became one" - Rusty in the movie Flawless