Flavia2112 Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 What are the most mind-blowing, clever, rewind-and-listen-to-the-song-again lyrics you've ever heard? I know this is The Rush Forum, and Neil wrote a lot of genius lyrics, so most of these responses will be Rush lyrics, but mine... isn't :blink:. It's from the song "Broken Places" by the Roches. "When the chips are down, we play our acesHiding them in our broken places" What's a broken place? A heart. A broken heart. But you don't hide aces in your heart--you hide them up your sleeve. So if an ace is up your sleeve and that's your heart, you're wearing your heart on your sleeve.That took me around ten years to figure out and blew my mind. Also worth mentioning is "The hopeful depend on a world without end/Whatever the hopeless may say" from "Manhattan Project"--however you feel about nuclear technology, I've always liked the double meaning of "hopeless." :haz: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driventotheedge Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 The entire song Masters of War by Bob DylanThe entire sing War Pigs by Black Sabbath 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezJem Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 The entire song Masters of War by Bob DylanThe entire sing War Pigs by Black SabbathRhyming "masses" with "masses" - and getting away with it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
custom55 Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Now I wonder if she wonders if I wonder if she wonders Ian Hunter - Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbear05 Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) The closing statement of In the Beginning, by the Moody Blues: "There you go man.Keep as cool as you can.Face piles of trials with smiles; it rilesthem to believe that you perceive the web they weave,and keep on thinking free." Edited February 1, 2021 by pjbear05 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Union 5-3992 Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 From "Crawling Back to You" by Tom Petty "I'm so tired of being tiredSure as night will follow dayMost things I worry aboutNever happen anyway" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezJem Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Dylan, "Highlands" - Insanity is smashin' up against my soulYou could say I was on anything but a rollIf I had a conscience, well I just might blow my topWhat would I do with it anyway, maybe take it to the pawn shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick N. Backer Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 I'm not a big believer in the idea that musicians are particularly insightful about the human condition, a lot of times I think pretty simplistic lyrics masquerade as poignant, particularly if you happen to love the song. That said, ironically enough, a line from an Aerosmith song I don't really care for (Amazing) has what I think is a pretty good way of looking at things, especially as you get older and your life becomes more busy: "Life's a journey, not a destination." It's really just a version of "take time to stop and smell the roses," but I still like it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod in Toronto Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 I'm not a big believer in the idea that musicians are particularly insightful about the human condition, a lot of times I think pretty simplistic lyrics masquerade as poignant, particularly if you happen to love the song. That said, ironically enough, a line from an Aerosmith song I don't really care for (Amazing) has what I think is a pretty good way of looking at things, especially as you get older and your life becomes more busy: "Life's a journey, not a destination." It's really just a version of "take time to stop and smell the roses," but I still like it. "The point of the journey...is not to arrive" 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nova Carmina Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 From The Rainmakers "Another Guitar": "There's just somethingin that music that makes usdo that dancein that special brew of tears andbeer and fear and romance." From The Drive-by Truckers "Gravity's Gone": "So I'll meet you at the bottom if there really is oneThey always told me when you hit it you'll know itBut I've been falling so long it's like gravity's gone and I'm just floating." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IbanezJem Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 From The Rainmakers "Another Guitar": "There's just somethingin that music that makes usdo that dancein that special brew of tears andbeer and fear and romance." From The Drive-by Truckers "Gravity's Gone": "So I'll meet you at the bottom if there really is oneThey always told me when you hit it you'll know itBut I've been falling so long it's like gravity's gone and I'm just floating."DBT's have a lot of very quotable lines. You could post all the lyrics from The Dirty South! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepphead Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 How I wish, how I wish you were hereWe're just two lost soulsSwimming in a fish bowlYear after yearRunning over the same old groundWhat have we found?The same old fearsWish you were herePink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepphead Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Remember when the days were longAnd rolled beneath a deep blue skyDidn't have a care in the worldWith mommy and daddy standing byWhen "happily ever after" failsAnd we've been poisoned by these fairy talesThe lawyers dwell on small detailsSince daddy had to flyDon Henley - The End Of The Innocence Edited February 1, 2021 by zepphead 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driventotheedge Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Remember when the days were longAnd rolled beneath a deep blue skyDidn't have a care in the worldWith mommy and daddy standing byWhen "happily ever after" failsAnd we've been poisoned by these fairy talesThe lawyers dwell on small detailsSince daddy had to flyDon Henley - The End Of The Innocence You don't see no hearses with luggage racks A man with a briefcase can steal more money than any man with a gun The cowboy’s name was jingoAnd he knew that there was troubleSo in a blaze of gloryHe rode out of the west No one was ever certainWhat it was that he was sayin’But they loved it when he told themThey were better than the rest Edited February 1, 2021 by driventotheedge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driventotheedge Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Send me money, send me green, heaven you will meetMake a contribution and you'll get the better seatLie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, lie Edited February 1, 2021 by driventotheedge 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangy Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Charlie Daniels People say I'm no good and crazy as a loon'Cause I get stoned in the morningAnd get drunk in the afternoonKinda like my old blue tick houndI like to lay around in the shadeAnd I ain't got no money but I damn sure got it made'Cause I ain't asking nobody for nothin'If I cant get it on my ownIf you don't like the way I'm livin'You just leave this long-haired country boy alonePreacher man talking on T.V.Puttin' down the rock and rollWants me to send a donation'Cause he's worried about my soulHe said Jesus walked on the waterAnd I know that it's trueBut sometimes I think that preachermanWould like to do a little walking tooBut I ain't asking nobody for nothin'If I cant get it on my ownIf you don't like the way I'm livin'You just leave this long-haired country boy aloneA poor girl wants to marryAnd a rich girl wants to flirtA rich man goes to collegeAnd a poor man goes to workA drunkard wants another drink of wineAnd a politician wants a voteI don't want much of nothin' at allBut I will take another tokeBut I ain't asking nobody for nothin'If I can't get it on my ownIf you don't like the way I'm livin'You just leave this long-haired country boy alone 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangy Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Get it on...... Clean this mess up else we'll all end up in jailThose test-tubes and the scaleJust get it all out of hereIs there gas in the car?Yes, there's gas in the carI think the people down the hall know who you are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithrandir Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 "Hanging Tree" - Bob Mould These things happen all the timeShould I throw myself from the hanging tree? "Is there a place for those of us who don't belong?I haven't found it yet" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 And bandmate Grant HartIt was his aluminumThat attracted her to himAnd quite a day there did unfoldTurning garbage into goldCharity, chastity, prudence, and hopeCharity, chastity, prudence, and hopeShe took that money in a trunkAnd bought a bunch of worthless junkAnd now they're back where they beganDigging through the trash for cans 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible airwave Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 (edited) This song is so meta. This song has nothing tricky about itThis song ain't black or white and as far as I knowDon't infringe on anyone's copyright, soThis song, we'll let beThis song is in EThis song is for you andThis tune has nothing bright about itThis tune ain't bad or good and come ever what mayMy expert tells me it's okayAs this song came to meUnknowinglyThis song could be you could be, oohThis riff ain't trying to win gold medalsThis riff ain't hip or square, well-done or rareMay end up one more weight to bearBut this song could well beA reason to seeThat without you there's no point to this songOoh, oohBut this song could well beA reason to seeThat without you there's no point to this song Edited February 2, 2021 by invisible airwave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemiBeers Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Harry Chapin - Cats in the Cradle Payback's a bitch....'Dad'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entre_Perpetuo Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 Mostly rap lyrics tend to make me do double takes moreso than any other style of vocals. There's just a lot more of an opportunity for internal rhyme on top of double entendre on top of poignance or interesting observations when rapping. Dylan comes close sometimes though since he crams so many words into his songs, and since he's a genius. Here's a verse by André 3000 from an OutKast song I really love called Elevators (Me And You) Got stopped at the mall the other dayHeard a call from the other way that I just came fromSome n**** was saying something, talking 'bout smoke something "Hey, man, you remember me from school?""No, not really"But he kept smiling like a clown, facial expression looking sillyAnd he kept asking me, "What kinda car you drive?I know you paid, I know y'all got beaucoup hoesFrom all them songs that y'all done made"And I replied that I had been going through the same things that he hadTrue, I've got more fans than the average manBut not enough loot to last me to the end of the weekI live by the beat like you live check-to-checkIf it don't move your feet, then, I don't eat, so we like neck-to-neckYes, we done come a long way like them slim-ass cigarettesFrom Virginia, this ain't gon' stop, so we just gon' continue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driventotheedge Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flavia2112 Posted February 3, 2021 Author Share Posted February 3, 2021 Okay, right after I created this thread I listened to Power Windows, and now I've got another genius lyric to add. I can't believe I've been obsessed with the song "Territories" for like forever and only realized this now. The whole wide world, an endless universeYet we keep looking through the eyeglass in reverse For the longest time I just thought Neil meant a spyglass, instead of an eyeglass. Like a telescope. And then I realized it could actually mean eyeglasses. If you're looking through your eyeglasses in reverse, you're looking at yourself. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driventotheedge Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 You're nearly a laughYou're nearly a laughBut you're really a cry 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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