Lyrics That Matter

[docbennett]

.....My favorite 'perceived' lyrics are from Kurt Cobain where I still hear "don't mosquito my libido", which is much more interesting than "a mosquito, my libido". Heck, I don't know what mosquito-ing a libido is, but it doesn't sound like a bad experience. Don't get me started on "revved up like a douche, another runner in the night".

I love misperceived lyrics more than the real thing. After all, listening to CCR's "bad moon rising" I always wanted to know how to get to "There, on the bathroom on the right"

Jaime introduced me to this website a couple years ago when I had asked folks to post their favorite "misheard lyrics" on a different forum:

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

^^^ From "Purple Haze"...."scuse me, while I kiss this guy"

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

This song leveled me after my divorce. It was a song I had heard 100 time prior - but heard it again, for the first time, when it applied to me.

Thanks very much for this one, Mr. Henley.

I got the call today that I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old, true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you'd found someone

And I thought of all the bad luck,
And the struggles we went through
How I lost me
and you lost you

What are these voices
outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?

But I'm learning to live without you now
And I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again

I've been tryin' to get down
To the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about...forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

Ah...these times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
And people filled with rage

We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive
in such a graceless age?

Ah...the trust and self-assurance
that lead to happiness
They're the very things - we kill I guess...

Ohh pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us
You know it doesn't keep me warm

I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you, baby
And the more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I'd figured out
I have to learn again

I've been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter
But everything changes
And my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about...forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if, you don't love me anymore

There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down, you know they hurt your pride
You better put it all behind you baby; cause' life goes on
If you keep carryin' that anger
it'll eat you up inside, baby

I've been trying to get down
To the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me

I've been tryin' to get down
To the heart of the matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if, you don't love me...

Forgiveness (yeah)
Forgiveness (baby)
Forgiveness (ohh)
Forgiveness (ahh yeaaahhh)
Forgiveness (ohh)
Forgiveness
Even if, you don't love me anymore...

 

[solacematt]

I don't really like the band anymore, but the first single off of their US release, "Fine Again," literally saved my life. I'll always be grateful if anything for that song, no matter how much the singer keeps demeaning what the songs lyrics are about/where they came from. Even though the singer is a Schecter endorser, this track was recorded with a PRS

It seems like every day's the same
And I'm left to discover on my own
It seems like everything is grey
And there's no color to behold
They say it's over and I'm fine again, yeah
Try to stay sober feels like I'm dying here

And I am aware now of how everything's gonna be fine
One day, too late, I'm in hell
And I am prepared now, seems everyone's gonna be fine
One day, too late, just as well

I feel the dream in me expire
And there's no one left to blame it on
I hear you label me a liar
'Cause I can't seem to get this though
You say it's over, I can sigh again, yeah
Why try to stay sober when I'm dying here

And I am aware now of how everything's gonna be fine
One day, too late, I'm in hell
And I am prepared now, seems everyone's gonna be fine
One day, too late, just as well

And I'm not scared now
I must assure you
You're never gonna get away
And I'm not scared now
And I'm not scared now, no...

 

[Shawn@PRS]

It's amazing how we can hear a song for 20 years and it doesn't really register and then because a life event, the song takes on a completely new meaning and importance to us.

 

[Rango]

Great topic
edit - over shared apparently....
Great songs are the sound track to our life...

 

[]-[@n$0Ma☩!©]

It's amazing how we can hear a song for 20 years and it doesn't really register and then because a life event, the song takes on a completely new meaning and importance to us.

Spot on. Happens to me more than I care to admit.

 

[László]

Dylan (Subterranean Homesick Blues, 1965):

"Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the DA
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't try, 'No Doz'
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows."

 

[sergiodeblanc]

With my parents approaching elderly status, I finally understand and appreciate the line: "Once a man and twice a child, and everything is just for a while." I had been listening to that tune for more than 25 years and never got it. I do now.

 

[cjmwrx]

Dave Grohl wrote this song after his best friend Jimmy Swanson died. Since I heard him tell the story, the song gets me everytime. Even hard to type it out, let alone play it.

It got me through my cancer in a way I could never expect.

"Word Forward"

Good Bye Jimmy, farewell youth
I must be on my way, I've had enough of you.
I was a young man, proud and true
Just a simple boy with nothing left to use.

Years that I've wasted,
These I----.O----.U----.'s -------

They're just f*&^ing words!
This is life or death
It's time to clear the air,
you better save you're breath
Say, Have you heard?
Say, Have you heard?
The poison in my heart,
Voices in my head.

Years, that I've wasted
These I-----.O-----.U-----'s!
They're just fu$%^ng words!

I meant every word!
for word,
for word,
for word,
for word-----

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Simple, but perfect.

Well, she's walking through the clouds,
With a circus mind that's running wild,
Butterflies and Zebras,
And Moonbeams and fairy tales.
That's all she ever thinks about.
Riding with the wind.

When I'm sad, she comes to me,
With a thousand smiles she gives to me free.
It's alright, she says it's alright,
Take anything you want from me,
Anything.
Fly on little wing.

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

A lovestruck romeo sings the street a serenade
Laying everybody low with me a lovesong that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
Says something like you and me babe how about it ?

Juliet says hey it's romeo you nearly gimme a heart attack
He's underneath the window she's singing hey la my boyfriend's back
You shouldn't come around here singing up at people like that
Anyway what you gonna do about it ?

Juliet the dice were loaded from the start
And I bet and you exploded in my heart
And I forget the movie song
When you wanna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet ?

Come up on differents streets they both were streets of shame
Both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same
And I dreamed your dream for you and your dream is real
How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals ?

Where you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything you promised me think and thin
Now you just says oh romeo yeah you know I used to have a scene with him

Juliet when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above I'll love you till I die
There's a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet ?

I can't do the talk like they talk on tv
And I can't do a love song like the way it's meant to be
I can't do everything but I'd do anything for you
I can't do anything except be in love with you

And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be
All do is keep the beat and bad company
All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
Julie I'd do the stars with you any time

Juliet when we made love you used to cry
You said I love you like the stars above I'll love you till I die
There's a place for us you know the movie song
When you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong Juliet ?

A lovestruck romeo sings the street a serenade
Laying everybody low with me a lovesong that he made
Finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
Says something like you and me babe how about it ?

 

[Hopeful Sinner]

Dylan (Subterranean Homesick Blues, 1965):

"Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the DA
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't try, 'No Doz'
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows."

A friend of mine worked part of this song, with Dylan's blessing, into one of his and I think you might get a kick out of it. I know you hate MP3s but I'm hesitant to ship my vinyl copy as it is super rare. I'll post you a link later tonight or tomorrow if you would like to have a listen?

 

[ldg0352]

LEVELLAND, by James McMurtry, called by some America's 'Fiercest' Songwriter. A great lyrical storyteller.....and in this video you will see one Mr. David Grissom playing lead to James' recording (~3:00 and again ~4:50):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-D824LHti4

Flatter than a tabletop
Makes you wonder why they stopped here
Wagon must have lost a wheel or they lacked ambition one
On the great migration west
Separated from the rest
Though they might have tried their best
They never caught the sun
So they sunk some roots down in the dirt
To keep from blowin' off the earth
Built a town around here
And when the dust had all but cleared
They called it Levelland, the pride of man
In Levelland

Granddad grew the dryland wheat
Stood on his own two feet
His mind got incomplete and they put in the home
Daddy's cotton grows so high
Sucks the water table dry
Rolling sprinklers circle round
Bleedin' it to the bone
And I won't be here when it comes a day
It all dries up and blows away
I'd hang around just to see
But they never had much use for me in Levelland
They don't understand me out in Levelland

And I watch those jet trails carving up that big blue sky
Coast to coasters watch 'em go
And I never would blame 'em one damn bit
If they never looked down on this
Not much here they'd wanna know
Just Levelland
Far as you can point your hand
Nothin' but Levelland

Mama used to roll her hair
Back before the central air
We'd sit outside and watch the stars at night
She'd tell me to make a wish
I'd wish we both could fly
Don't think she's seen the sky
Since we got the satellite dish and
I can hear the marching band
Doin' the best they can
They're playing "Smoke on the Water", "Joy to the World"
I've paid off all my debts
Got some change left over yet and I'm
Gettin' on a whisper jet
I'm gonna fly as far as I can get from
Levelland, doin' the best I can
Out in Levelland - imagine that

 

[Goldtop]

I love misperceived lyrics more than the real thing. After all, listening to CCR's "bad moon rising" I always wanted to know how to get to "There, on the bathroom on the right"

Here's a true story about my (thankfully) ex:

We were together for a total of 25 years, and married for over twenty of it. All that time she knew that (A) music was everything to me, and (B) The Who were one of my all-time favorite bands. We'd been together for years, and in one of those ugly fights that sometimes happens, she informed me that among other things, she hated how I loved 'that dumb group The Who so much!'.

Them's fightin' words my friends!

I explained that The Who were a band, not a group, and asked why she thought they were dumb. She said their songs made no sense. Like a fool I asked for an example. She said 'That song New Orleans... What the he** is that supposed to mean anyway? Who does a song about a place like New Orleans?'

I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked her to sing some of it for me. (By now I'm much more interested in this subject than whatever we had been fighting about in the first place.) So she said 'Neeew Orleans; New, New... New, New.' SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT "Who Are You?"!!!

Long story short, my laughing didn't help the situation one bit. Now, years removed from her and the marriage, whenever I think of her one of the memories that comes to mind is that day and 'New Orleans'. That Pete Townshend... What a buffoon!

Goldtop

 

[Mikegarveyblues]

Speaking of misperceived lyrics:

 

[ldg0352]

I agree with Shawn about Mark Knopfler - one of my favorite lyricists as well.

And I know from Shawn he is also a big fan of Butch Hancock (1/3 of the Flatlanders).

How about Butch's "If You Were a Bluebird?" - some more great 'Americana' music. Here is a video from 1990, again with David Grissom and his Seagreen PRS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBwyPV1WEQc

If You Were A Bluebird

If you were a bluebird you'd be a sad one
I'd give you a true word
But you've already had one
If you were a bluebird,
you'd be crying
You'd be flying home

If you were a raindrop,
You'd shine like a rainbow
And if you were a train stop,
The conductor would sing low
If you were a raindrop,
You'd be falling
You'd be calling home

If you were a hotel
Honey, you'd be a grand one
But, if you hit a slow spell,
Do you think you could stand one
If you were a hotel,
Well I'd lean on your doorbell
I'd call you my home

If I was a highway,
I'd stretch alongside you
I'd help you pass by ways
That had dissatisfied you
If I was a highway,
Well I'd be stretchin'
I'd be fetchin' you home

If you were a bluebird you'd be a sad one
I'd give you a true word
But you've already had one
If you were a bluebird,
you'd be crying
You'd be flying home

 

[Shawn@PRS]

Butch Hancock is a great American poet.

You might chase dreams, you might Flies
you might chase girls, you might chase guys

You might chase the road, little angels have trod
you might chase gold, you might chase god

you might chase the wind, you might chase stars
you might chase cats, you might chase cars

you might chase rainbows and you might chase clouds
you might chase wide open spaces or you might chase crowds

you might chase rabbits, you might chase deer
you might chase whiskey, with a bottle of beer

You might chase a tune, you might chase the mews
you might chase the moon and you might chase the blues

 

[Goldtop]

This is one that really does it for me. Depending on the day, or my mood, or whatever, someone could ask me 'who are you?' and I would tell them to go listen to this. It's on my Final Party list.

I Stood there boldly
Sweatin' in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of summer
I'd never felt that strong
Like a rock

I was eighteen
Didn't have a care
Working for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere
Like a rock

My hands were steady
My eyes were clear and bright
My walk had purpose
My steps were quick and light
And I held firmly
To what I felt was right
Like a rock

Like a rock, I was strong as I could be
Like a rock, nothin' ever got to me
Like a rock, I was something to see
Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers and their schemes
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

Twenty years now
Where'd they go?
Twenty years
I don't know
I sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they've gone

And sometimes late at night
When I'm bathed in the firelight
The moon comes callin' a ghostly white
And I recall
I recall

Like a rock. standin' arrow straight
Like a rock, chargin' from the gate
Like a rock, carryin' the weight
Like a rock

Lihe a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock

Lloyd

 

[Boogie]

This song leveled me after my divorce. It was a song I had heard 100 time prior - but heard it again, for the first time, when it applied to me.

Thanks very much for this one, Mr. Henley.

That song has deep meaning for everyone, I think. One of my all-time favorites. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[alantig]

So many that can be listed here...

Jill Sobule's "Vrbana Bridge", which was inspired by a series of news photos from Serbia. It was two young lovers who were trying to escape across the bridge, but were shot down. The young man died instantly, but the young woman crawled back to him and died hugging him.

Warren Zevon - good lord, there are so many, especially from the last couple albums. "My Sh*t's F*cked Up", "Don't Let Us Get Sick", "Please Stay", and especially "Keep Me In Your Heart For A While".

And Meat Loaf's "For Crying Out Loud". Gives me chills every time I hear it.