Lyrical Content

[Shu]

Being only 24, I believe I have listened to a great deal of old and new music but some stands out above the rest because of the lyrical content.

What I mean is the lyrics tend to strike a nerve in you that blows you away.

I don't mean something like Nirvana "smells like teen spirit." Also I don't mean bands that "sound" good and that's the only reason you like them, because that's what music has been reduced to mostly these days.

So I'll start this thread out the right way by throwing down some lyrics I heard lately that were like... "woah."

Follow up by whatever song or Lyric you heard - but try to explain why..

Ben Harper - Amen Omen (live at the Hollywood bowl)

 

[DL Clyde]

Alter Bridge - One by One

It's about those who are fighting in the middle east. It's not having a political stance but just paying respects to those who are out their fighting for their country. I love the first verse.

Underneath the desert sun
They bid my brother's blood to run
Many miles away
Hell has come today
Fire raining from the sky
See the face of fear asking one last time
Let me get home safe
Before it's too late

Theory of a Deadman - The Last Song

The song is from the perspective of someone who has committed suicide and is now having regrets.

 

[Gingerbread Lesbian]

I generally find that smaller bands/artists produce better music lyrical wise because they have to focus more on them to become more successful whereas massive bands will most likely get heaps of praise for the actual music rather than the lyrics.

When you sparkle you shine, like the lights from the line,
They were hung from your heart, it was there from the start,
Touch your skin it felt right, as we dance into the light,
She disappears but do not fear, she'll be there by your side.
Wooah, wooah, woaah - she said 'It's alright.'
Wooah, wooah, wooah - she said 'I'm yours tonight.'
~Blinding Lights - Alistair Griffin~

And I won't tell you we can live forever,
But why the hell can't we all together?
And I'll tell you all my secrets tonight,
And we'll dance beneath the Albion sky,
Nothing in my pockets, living but I've already died.
Can man, be born again?
~Born Again - Alistair Griffin~

And my hands on your perfect face, there's no way to touch your heart,
And if I'm a moment that you're in our lives, sun shining a rain shower that's,
Takes sky, turns it blue, all these things I would do for you,
And I hold onto you.
~Plans - Alistair Griffin~

Middlesbrough's very own.
Smaller artists definitely have much, much more meaning to their lyrics compared to that of larger bands.

 

[LuvHerEyes]

Look at the dead outside my window
Wonder what's on their mind?
Why do they run?
They all seem t have a mission
But then they cry themselves to sleep

You'll receive what you give
And this is like nothing
I feel like shit
But atleast I feel something

Is this all you meant to be?

Their marks in the pavement
You've walked this route too many times
What if I change the signs
Would you even take notice?

You'll receive what you give
And this is like nothing
I feel like shit
But atleast I feel something

Is this all you have to give?
(Go, March.)
Straight jacket union
(Go, March.)
In chains, surrender


the song talks about being unoriginal n stuff. and in chorus...the 4 lines, they managed to come up with the most unoriginal lyrics ever, just to get the message out even more.

 

[Davey Gaga]

The moderating team have decided that this thread should replace "post your favourite lyrics". The last one was open for spam and really required no effort, so we've decided to go for this one instead. In other words, all posts should follow the general pattern of the above and, as always, should "include a bit more effort in the future".

Thanks.

In short, explain what you like about the lyrics.

 

[LordEternal]

You mentioned lyrics which make you go "whoa". The first time I listened to this song whilst reading the lyrics, it certainly made me go "whoa", and not in a good way. Here we go:

Cannibal Corpse - Hammer Smashed Face

There is something inside me
It's coming out
I feel like killing you
Let loose of the anger, held back too long
My blood runs cold
Through my anatomy, dwells another being
Rooted in my cortex, a servant to its bidding
Brutality becomes my appetite
Violence is now a way of life
The sledge my tool to torture
As it pounds down on your forehead
Eyes bulging from the sockets
With every swing of my mallet
I smash your fucking head in, until brains seep in
Through the crack
Blood does leak distorted beauty,
Catastrophe steaming slop.
Splattered all over me
Lifeless body, slouching dead
Lecherous abcess.
Where you once had a head
Avoiding the prophecy of
My new found lust
You will never live again,
Soon your life will end
I'll see you die at my feet, eternally I smash your face
Facial bones collapse as I crack your skull in half
Crushing, cranal, contents
Draining the snot, I rip out the eyes
Squeezing them in my hands nerves are incised
Peeling the flesh off the bottom of my weapon
Involuntarily pulpifying facil region
Suffer, and then you die
Torture, pulverised
At one with my sixth sense, I feel free
To kill as I please, No one can stop me
Created to kill, the carnage continues
Violently reshaping human facial tissue
Brutality becomes my appetite
Violence is now the way of life
The sledge my tool to torture
As it pounds down on your forehead

Pretty shocking right? And this is what masses of people are listening to everyday.

Anyways, sorry if this thread is about my favourite lyrics, I just kinda thought of lyrics which "strike a nerve"

 

[Donald Trump]

Grace by Jeff Buckley

There's the moon asking to stay
Long enough for the clouds to fly me away
Though it's my time coming, I'm not afraid, afraid to die
My fading voice sings of love,
But she cries to the clicking of time,
Of time

Wait in the fire...

And she weeps on my arm
Walking to the bright lights in sorrow
Oh drink a bit of wine we both might go tomorrow,oh my love
And the rain is falling and I believe
My time has come
It reminds me of the pain I might leave
Leave behind

Wait in the fire...

And I feel them drown my name
So easy to know and forget with this kiss
But I'm not afraid to go but it goes so slow

Wait in the fire...

I really like all of Jeff Buckley's lyrics.
It's about mortality, he is saying that inevitable death is something he is fine with as he is going to be with someone he loves before he dies. Considering that he died at 30 they seem more relevant. Essentially he is saying that life shouldn't be wasted and if you spend it doing this you love, death is irrelevant.

 

[Shu]

Classic song I heard today by Mr. Everlast Whitey ford himself.

Ends, some people will rob their mother
For the ends, rats snitch on one another
For the ends, sometimes kids get murdered
For the ends, so before we go any further
I want my ends

I knew this cat named Darrell, he didn't have a dollar
He was Harvard material, Ivy League scholar
Had a Ph.D., had an M.B.A.
But now he's waiting tables cause there's rent to pay
Companies downsizing, inflation's rising
Can't find a job, he's feeling kind of stressed
Doesn't even feel the effects when he says
Forgot to count how many times he been blessed
So he falls off track, starts smoking the crack
And once it hits his brain, it starts to chain react
He sells the shirt off his back, shoes off his feet
He's losing all his teeth, now he's out in the street
And all of sudden he's like Jesse James
Trying to stick up kids for their watches and chains
But he's from business school, and he's nervous with the tool
So he ends up on his back in a bloody pool

For the ends...etc.

I knew this chick named Sally, she had a nice strut
And everywhere that I went, she was up in the cut
Swinging that butt, like 'place your ad here'
Only rapped the benz, and rocked the fly gear
Brand name wearing, champagne waving
Jewels around the neck, a life style she's craving
Ain't no saving, she's doing enough spending
If you do the lending, she'll do the bending
Straight machine vending, it's money for take
Shopping sprees get her on her knees
And if you hit her with keys to your crib, you acting funny
Come home one day, find her counting out your money
From the Wetlands, all the way to the Apollo
If you're broke she's spittin, and if you're rich she might swallow

For the ends...etc.

I knew these two homeboys, that made a lot of noise
Making money on the block, kids was on they jock
They was tougher than leather like Reverend Run
DMC, they was toting guns
Holdin' weight, goin' out of state
Stackin' mad chips, and pushin' phat whips
Fly jewels and clothes, and got no job
And then one dissapeared, and one got robbed

For the ends...etc.

 

[Addaam]

You mentioned lyrics which make you go "whoa". The first time I listened to this song whilst reading the lyrics, it certainly made me go "whoa", and not in a good way. Here we go:

Cannibal Corpse - Hammer Smashed Face

Heh, there's worse than that

I tend to look at music more than lyrics but their are some good lyrics out there. The regular crap you get on the radio about loving someone or losing someone is kinda dull and overused. It's like they do that just to get people that can relate to it and eat it up.

I like lyrics that people elaborate on mysteries, deep subjects or anything generally weird
Death, the future, history, religion, psychology, etc.

 

[Donald Trump]

Kings Crossing - Elliot Smith.

The king's crossing was the main attraction
Dominoes falling in a chain reaction
A scraping subject ruled by fear
Told me whiskey works better than beer
The judge is on vinyl, decisions are final
And nobody gets a reprieve
And every wave is tidal - if you hang around
You're going to get wet
I can't prepare for death any more than I already have
All you can do now is watch the shells
The game looks easy, that's why it sells
Frustrated fireworks inside your head
Are going to stand and deliver talk instead
The method acting that pays my bills
Keeps a fat man feeding in Beverly Hills
I got a heavy metal mouth that hurls obscenity
And I get my check from the trash treasury
Because I took my own insides out
It don't matter 'cos I have no sex life
And all I want to do now is inject my ex-wife
I've seen the movie and I know what happens
It's Christmas time, and the needles on the tree
A skinny Santa is bringing something to me
His voice is overwhelming, but his speech is slurred
And I only understand every other word
Open your parachute and grab your gun
Falling down like an omen, a setting sun
Read the part and return at five
It's a hell of a role if you can keep it alive
But I don't care if I fuck up
I'm going on a date with a rich white lady
Ain't life great?
Give me one good reason not to do it
(Because I love you)
So do it
This is the place where time reverses
Dead men talk to all the pretty nurses
Instruments shine on a silver tray
Don't let me get carried away
Don't let me get carried away
Don't let me be carried away

The song is about his drug addiction, but it's much more than that. The lyrics reflect his own attitude towards his addiction, from apathy to, at the end not wanting to die. There's also a wry sense of humour, which I think causes a reaction of 'that's quite clever' rather than funny. It can raise a smile, but it's quite a sad song. The ending of the song is slightly ironic/predictive/haunting, as the album was released posthumously because he stabbed himself to death.

 

[Seymour]

Nymphetamine-Cradle of Filth

Lead to the river
Midsummer, I waved
A "V" of black swans
On with hope to the grave
And though Red September
With skies fire-paved
I begged you appear
Like a thorn for the holy ones ​

Cold was my soul
Untold was the pain
I faced when you left me
A rose in the rain...
So I swore to the razor
That never, enchained
Would your dark nails of faith
Be pushed through my veins again ​

Bared on your tomb
I'm a prayer for your loneliness
And would you ever soon
Come above onto me?
For once upon a time
From the binds of your lowliness
I could always find the right slot for your sacred key ​

Six feet deep is the incision
In my heart, that barless prison
Discoulours all with tunnel vision​

Sunsetter...
Nymphetamine ​

Sick and weak from my condition
This lust, this vampyric addiction
To Her alone in full submission​

None better...
Nymphetamine​

Nymphetamine, Nymphetamine...
Nymphetamine girl.​

Nymphetamine, Nymphetamine...
My Nymphetamine girl. ​

Wicked with your charm
I'm circled like prey
Back in the forest
Were whispers persuade
More sugar trails
More white lady laid
Than pillars of salt...
(Keeping Sodom at at bay) ​

Fold to my arms
Hold their mesmeric sway
And dance her to the moon
As we did in those golden days​

Glistening stars
I remember the way
We were needle and spoon
Mislaid in the burning hay ​

Bared on your tomb
I'm a prayer for your loneliness
And would you ever soon
Come above onto me?
For once upon a time
From the bind of your holiness
I could always find the right slot for your sacred key ​

Six feet deep is the incision
In my heart, that barless prison
Discoulours all with tunnel vision​

Sunsetter...
Nymphetamine ​

Sick and weak from my condition
This lust, this vampyric addiction
To Her alone in full submission​

None better...
Nymphetamine​

Sunsetter
Nymphetamine ​

None better...
Nymphetamine​

Nymphetamine, Nymphetamine...
Nymphetamine girl.​

Nymphetamine, Nymphetamine...
My Nymphetamine girl.​

This song is about how Dani is addicted to a woman in question with her insidious vampire like qualities literally bringing her lover back from a spiritual grave.

 

[Shu]

Tool - Schism

I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering, fundamental differing,
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication

I know the pieces fit
cuz I watched them tumble down
No fault, none to blame it doesnt mean I dont desire to
Point the finger, blame the other, watch the templetopple over.
To bring the pieces back together, rediscover communication.

The poetry that comes from the squaring off between,
And the circling is worth it.
Findingbeauty in the dissonance.

There was a time that the pieces fit, but I watched them fall away.
Mildewed and smoldering, strangled by our coveting
Ive done the the math enough to know the dangers of a second guessing
Doomed to crumble unless we grow, and strengthen our communication

Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion

Between supposed lovers
Between supposed lovers.

And I know the pieces fit.