The Epic Lyrics Appreciation Thread

Started by Captain Maltese, April 01, 2016, 01:26:40 PM

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Captain Maltese

I dedicate this thread to the song lyrics that have made your skin crawl in utter delight over the years. Feel free to explain WHY it means anything to you. A youtube clip is optional but should be Hidden. We already have lots of threads for just posting clips.

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First song out then, is "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean from 1961. Sort of a country song, but it stands out in other ways. For one thing it is a story in third person, which is rarer than you think in song lyrics. Also it tells a complete story rather than just offering you a character. To me this is a story about sin, sacrifice and redemption. Oh, and one more little detail on the personal level - I once knew a a REAL Big John and this song could almost have been about him and his fate. Wherever you go now on the other side my friend, my thoughts go with you.

----------

Every mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed two forty five
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew ya didn't give no lip to big John
(Big John, big John) big bad John (big John)

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much, kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all, you just said hi to Big John

Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisiana fellow to the promised land, big John
(Big John, big John) big bad John (big John)

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought that they'd breathed their last, 'cept John

Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, big John
(Big John, big John) big bad John (big John)

And with all of his strength he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out, there's a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save, big John

With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And then smoke and gas belched out of that mine
Everybody knew it was the end of the line for big John
(Big John, big John) big bad John (big John)

Now they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marble stand in front of it
These few words are written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies a big, big man, big John
(Big John, big John) big bad John (big John)

(Big John, big John) big bad John (big John)


Posting status:  25th December: Up To Date 5 of 9 : last month 2, this month 5, total 38 posts for 2023.

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Lapine

Okay, totally cliche, but I can't help it.  Most romantic song ever and always makes me melt.  Righteous Brothers, Unchained Melody

Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time

And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?

I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me!

Lonely rivers flow
To the sea, to the sea
To the open arms of the sea

Lonely rivers sigh
image: http://static.urx.io/units/web/urx-unit-loader.gif


"Wait for me, wait for me"
I'll be coming home, wait for me!

Oh, my love, my darling
I've hungered, hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time

And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much
Are you still mine?

I need your love
I need your love
God speed your love to me!
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/the-righteous-brothers/unchained-melody-lyrics/#VDfr8QMTG8rJcZ7f.99

Kakihara

Five Finger Death Punch - Far From Home.

I think the lyrics speak to me on a few levels. It captures how I feel outside of regular society because of how I am. And how one can feel lost and far from anything resembling a home. It also reflects my conflict with Christianity and eventually walking away from it.

Another day in this carnival of souls
Another night settles in as quickly as it goes
The memories of shadows, ink on the page
And I can't seem to find my way home

And it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything
To keep me out

All the places I've been and things I've seen
A million stories that made up a million shattered dreams
The faces of people I'll never see again
And I can't seem to find my way home

Cause it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down
Cause it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything to keep me out

[Guitar Solo]

Cause it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down
Cause it's almost like
Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down
To break me down
To break me down

Your heaven's trying everything
Your heaven's trying everything to break me down


CottonKitty

Kansas - Dust in the Wind
Just a little something I try to remember.
"nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky" and try to not hold on to everything.

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Oh, ho, ho
Now, don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind



Captain Maltese

This song, and the group Omnia, are both fairly new to me, but I must have played it a hundred times by now. The text resonates wildly with me. First I thought it was fun and creepy, then I realised that I am one of the toys in the attic. Shadow of memories. Doll that play all day, but nothing matters... Brrrr.

Toys In The Attic by Omnia

Voices on the staircase
Toys in the attic are
Calling from the rafters
Ghost of a sigh
Pretty painted faces
Ride on the rocking horse
Memories of shadow
Dreams never die

I could fly if I wanted to
I could reach for the sky
We can swim like the dolphins and...
We can laugh' till we cry

But there's nothing to say
Dolls made of clay
We can play all day
Toys in the attic…

Sneaking up the staircase
Toys in the attic are
Waiting for me
Eyes in the dark
Looking for my marbles
Bats in the belfry and
I hear music start to play
This will be my happy home
And I'll never be alone
We will swim beneath the trees
All my happy friends and me

Hush baby, don't you cry
Cheer up and dry your eyes
Come join the happy games
Toys in the attic…

Frolicking in frenzy
Toys in the attic are
Dancing crazy
Whirling around
Spinning through the cobwebs
Bone and lace twirl in time
As the clock dissects the rhyme

And I could fly if I wanted to
I could reach for the sky
We can swim like the dolphins and
We can laugh' till we cry

But there's nothing to say
Hush baby, don't you cry
Dolls made of clay
Cheer up and dry your eyes
We can play all day
Come join the happy games
Toys in the attic…

Hush baby, don't you cry
Cheer up and dry your eyes
Come join the happy games
Toys in the attic…

Toys in the attic...(3x)


Posting status:  25th December: Up To Date 5 of 9 : last month 2, this month 5, total 38 posts for 2023.

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CottonKitty

Everything Changes by Staind

If you just walked away
What could I really say?
Would it matter anyway?
Would it change how you feel?

I am the mess you chose
The closet you cannot close,
The devil in you I suppose
'Cause the wounds never heal.

But everything changes
If I could turn back the years
If you could learn to forgive me
Then I could learn to feel,

Kakihara

AC/DC's You Shook Me All Night Long.  It is just something about this song that gets me raring and in the mood, not that it's hard. ;) But it's like sensual poetry to me.  Unlike most of their other songs that are just overt sexual innuendo, this one really just makes me want to get hot and heavy, sweaty and screaming. 

"You Shook Me All Night Long"

She was a fast machine she kept her motor clean
She was the best damn woman that I ever seen
She had the sightless eyes telling me no lies
Knocking me out with those American thighs
Taking more than her share
Had me fighting for air
She told me to come but I was already there
Cause the walls start shaking
The earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it
And you shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long

I'm working double time on the seduction line
She's one of a kind she's just mine all mine
Wanted no applause it's just another course
Made a meal outta me
And come back for more
Had to cool me down to take another round
Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing
Cause the walls were shaking the earth was quaking
My mind was aching
And we were making it
And you shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me all night long
Knocked me out I said you
Shook me all night long
You had me shaking and you
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me
When you took me

You really took me and you
Shook me all night long
You shook me all night long
Yeah, yeah, you shook me all night long
You really got me and you
Shook me all night long
Yeah you shook me
Yeah you shook me
All night long

Lapine

This never ever fails to make me crank the dial and want to dance like nobody's watching.  Bob Seger

Just take those old records off the shelf
I'll sit and listen to 'em by myself
Today's music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n' roll
Don't try to take me to a disco
You'll never even get me out on the floor
In ten minutes I'll be late for the door
I like that old time rock 'n' roll
Ooh

Still like that old time rock 'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul ooh
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll
Won't go to hear them play a tango
I'd rather hear some blues or funky old soul
There's only one sure way to get me to go
Start playing old time rock 'n' roll
Call me a relic, call me what you will
Say I'm old-fashioned, say I'm over the hill
Today's music ain't got the same soul
I like that old time rock 'n' roll

Still like that old time rock 'n' roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll

Still like that old time rock and roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock 'n' roll
With that old time rock 'n' roll
With that old time rock 'n' roll

Still like that old time rock 'n' roll.

Chi

Ok I hate CottonKitty for stealing Dust in the Wind because I love the song. It totally reminds me that we're just a fleeting blink in the universe. I sob when I hear it when I'm down, and when I'm high it reminds me that I'm not as special as I think I am. JK Honey!

My song choice is Triumph's Fight The Good Fight, which reminds me that I can't give up without a fight, and I should 'make it worth the price I pay.'

"Fight The Good Fight"

The days grow shorter and the nights are getting long
Feels like we're running out of time
Every day it seems much harder tellin' right from wrong
You got to read between the lines

Don't get discouraged, don't be afraid, we can
Make it through another day
Make it worth the price we pay

The Good Book says it's better to give than to receive
I do my best to do my part
Nothin' in my pockets I got nothin' up my sleeve
I keep my magic in my heart

Keep up your spirit, keep up your faith, baby
I am counting on you
You know what you've got to do

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
It's your only way

All your life you've been waiting for your chance
Where you'll fit into the plan
But you're the master of your own destiny
So give and take the best that you can

You think a little more money will buy your soul some rest
You'd better think of something else instead
You're so afraid of being honest with yourself
You'd better take a look inside your head

Nothing is easy, nothing good is free
But I can tell you where to start
Take a look inside your heart
There's an answer in your heart

Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay

Every moment of your lifetime
Every minute every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay

~~~ Language is my canvas, and words are my palette. Wanna finger paint?  ~~~

Lapine

The Boxer ~ Simon and Garfunkle

This has always struck a chord with me about hope, futility and perseverance.

I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told,
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocket full of mumbles, such are promises
All lies and jests
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest

When I left my home and my family,
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station,
Running scared,
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places
Only they would know

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie la la lie

Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job,
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores
On Seventh Avenue
I do declare,
There were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there, le le le le le le le

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie
Lie la lie, lie la la la la lie la la lie

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone,
Going home
Where the New York City winters
Aren't bleeding me,
Leading me,
Going home

In the clearing stands a boxer,
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev'ry glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains, mmm mmm

Lie la lie, lie la la la lie lie

CottonKitty

Helplessly Hoping - Crosby Stills and Nash
 
"They are three together" - took me awhile to understand but I like it

And of course:  "they are for each other"


Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit he runs
Wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of goodbye

Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside
Heartlessly helping himself to her bad dreams he worries
Did he hear a good-bye?
Or even hello?

They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other

Stand by the stairway you'll see something certain to tell you
Confusion has its cost
Love isn't lying it's loose in a lady who lingers
Saying she is lost
And choking on hello

They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other

Captain Maltese

"Willie McBride" is a song about the Great War, and a song about the mourning of those who went to war marching and returned in coffins. It has been recorded by numerous artists but the text is rarely changed. It paints pictures in my mind whenever I hear it.

CHORUS
Did they beat the drum slowly did they play the fife lowly,
did they sound the death march as they lowered you down
did the band play the last post and chorus,
did the pipes play the "Flowers of the Forest"

Well how do you do young Willie McBride?
do you mind if I sit down here by your graveside
and rest for a while 'neath the warm summer sun
I've been walkin' all day and I'm nearly done
I see by your gravestone you were only nineteen
when you joined the great fallen of 1916
Well I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean
Willie McBride was it slow and obscene CHORUS

And the beautiful wife or the sweetheart for life
in some faithful heart are you forever enshrined
and although you died back in 1916
in that faithful heart are you forever nineteen?
or are you a stranger without even a name
enshrined forever behind a glass pane
in an ould photograph torn tattered and stained,
fading to yellow in a brown leather frame? CHORUS

Now the sun shines down on the green fields of France
a warm summer wind makes the red poppys dance
The trences have vanished under the plows,
there's no gas no barbed wire, there's no guns firing now
but here in this graveyard it's still No Man's land,
the countless white crosses stand mute in the sand
for man's blind indifference to his fellow man,
to a whole generation that was butchered and damned CHORUS

Now Willie McBride I can't help wonder why
Do those who lie here do they know why they died
Did they really beleive when they answered the call
did they really believe that this war would end wars
Forever this song of suffereing and shame
the killing the dying was all done in vain
for young Willie McBride it's all happened again,
and again, and again, and again and again
Willie McBride aka Green Fields Of France

Posting status:  25th December: Up To Date 5 of 9 : last month 2, this month 5, total 38 posts for 2023.

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Kakihara

Ok, so the lyrics are not the greatest, so not sure if it fits this but it's the feeling of the song that's really expressed in the video that really hits me.  As someone who came through some very dark times when I was young, between attempting suicide to wanting to hurt people, it really speaks in a visceral way of how one feels in those young, hormonal and emotional years of what it can feel like living in the darkness.  I have long since dealt with those issues and moved on but damn is it still hard to watch this video.


It's caving in around me
What I thought was solid ground
I tried to look the other way
But I couldn't turn around
It's OK for you to hate me
For all the things I've done
I've made a few mistakes
But I'm not the only one

Step away from the ledge
I'm coming down

I could never be
What you want me to
You pulled me under
To save yourself
(Save yourself)
You will never see
What's inside of me
I pulled you under just to save myself

Was there ever any question
On how much I could take?
You kept feeding me your bullshit
Hoping I would break
Is there anybody out there?
Is there anyone who cares?
Is there anybody listening?
Will they hear my final prayers?

Step away from the ledge
I'm coming down

I could never be
What you want me to
You pulled me under
To save yourself
(Save yourself)
You will never see
What's inside of me
I pulled you under just to save myself
(Save myself)

It's caving in around me
(Caving in)
It's tearing me apart
(Tearing me)
It's all coming down around me
(Coming down)
Does anyone
Anyone
Care at all?

I will never be
What you want me to
You pull me under
I pull you under

I could never be
What you want me to
You pulled me under
To save yourself
(Save yourself)
You will never see
What's inside of me
I pulled you under just to save myself

Captain Maltese

This Johnny Cash song means a lot to me. The tale might be cheeky but the story is hard and it mirrors parts of my own youth. The fights, the anger, the being an outcast. And the best version he ever made was recorded live in the prison San Quentin, which makes complete sense. But for the throw of a coin, I might have ended up in a similar place. In the song the young man got his revenge, sort of. I envy him. But I can at least admire him, and find a little hope in that.

"A Boy Named Sue"

My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!


Posting status:  25th December: Up To Date 5 of 9 : last month 2, this month 5, total 38 posts for 2023.

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Captain Maltese

#14
This song I know best in the original Norwegian, but today I found an a new and English version. It's sung by a woman in this new version rather in a male voice as in the original, but the result is still stunning. A tale of old age and old memories, of dreams and of reunion past death - as I read it anyway.

Tir n`a Noir
It's a cold November
As the sea crashes in
But I still do remember
Though the memory grows dim
To a magical summer
With sweet Mary McKear
In the west, in Tirna Noir

Were you there as a dream
Though it all seems so real
With the laughter I hear and the touch I can feel
Far beyond the horizon
Where the fog disappears
You were mine dear Mary McKear

Though my body is broken
And my spirit is weak
My soul is awoken
As I hear someone speak
Please come back my lover
Now your future lies here
Please come back to Tirna Noir

You were good, you were kind
You'll have all that you earned
For the secrets you kept
And the lessons you learned
So I'll take you with me
As your pain disappears
I'll be yours, your Mary McKear

For all who have lived through
A life of regret
Who have need to remember
But try to forget
There's a place in the distance
Who's future is clear
In the west, in Tirna Noir

Were you there as a dream
Though it all seems so real
With the laughter I hear and the touch I can feel
I can cure all your sorrows
And heal all your fears
I'll be yours, your Mary McKear


Posting status:  25th December: Up To Date 5 of 9 : last month 2, this month 5, total 38 posts for 2023.

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Oniya

(I am going to lose all of my cool points with this one.)


Just one voice, singing in the darkness
All it takes is one voice
Singing so they hear what's on your mind
And when you look around you'll find

There's more than one voice
Singing in the darkness
Joining with your one voice
Each and every note another octave
Hands are joined and fears unlocked

If only one voice, would start it on its own
We need just one voice facing the unknown
And then that one voice would never be alone
It takes that one voice

It takes that one voice
Just one voice, singing in the darkness
All it takes is one voice
Shout it out and let it ring
Just one voice, it takes that one voice
And everyone will sing

"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Horckytr

Between the Wheels - Rush

To live between a rock and a hard place
In between time
Cruising in prime time
Soaking up the cathode rays

To live between the wars in our time
Living in real time
Holding the good time
Holding on to yesterdays

You know how that rabbit feels
Going under your speeding wheels
Bright images flashing by
Like windshields towards a fly
Frozen in the fatal climb
But the wheels of time
Just pass you by
Wheels can take you around
Wheels can cut you down

We can go from boom to bust
From dreams to a bowl of dust
We can fall from rockets' red glare
Down to brother can you spare
Another war
Another wasteland
And another lost generation

It slips between your hands like water
This living in real time
A dizzying lifetime
Reeling by on celluloid

Struck between the eyes
By the big time world
Walking uneasy streets
Hiding beneath the sheets
Got to try and fill the void

You know how that rabbit feels
Going under your speeding wheels
Bright images flashing by
Like windshields towards a fly
Frozen in the fatal climb
But the wheels of time
Just pass you by
Wheels can take you around
Wheels can cut you down