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Lyrics
Oct 29, 2020 14:26:25 GMT
Post by richard on Oct 29, 2020 14:26:25 GMT
I'm a bit surprised that there hasn't been a lyrics thread (non-ABBA) in this section of the forum. I'm perhaps the wrong person to suggest this topic because, on the whole, I've found it easy enough not to care that much about the lyrics if I like the tune, arrangement, overall vocal sound, etc, on a track. But for whatever reason, lyrics generally hold more interest for me now.
I think Billy Joel is an outstanding lyricist - sometimes his words reach out to me more than the tunes in some of his compositions. But I love everything about this song of his, including the lyrics:
PIANO MAN
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sittin' next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, "son, can you play me a memory?
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes"
La, la, la, di, dee, da
La, la, di, dee, da, da, dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's some place that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me"
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Oh, la, la, la, di, dee, da
La, la, di, dee, da, da, dum
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you got us feelin' alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "man, what are you doin' here?"
Oh, la, la, la, di, dee, da
La, la, di, dee, da, da, dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Billy Joel
Piano Man lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Do you have any favourite lyrics, or a line or two, perhaps?
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Lyrics
Nov 4, 2020 18:45:44 GMT
Post by Michal on Nov 4, 2020 18:45:44 GMT
This is a very interesting thread that really deserves more replies. As a non-English speaker I generally pay less attention to the lyrics as it's sometimes quite difficult. I also listen to a lot of Swedish music and my knowledge of Swedish language is very limited so the lyrics always play a secondary role. However, especially in recent years I try to tranlate the lyrics of the songs I like and I must admit that I started to appreciate some of the tracks even more because of the lyrics. My favourites that will certainly be familiar to the members of the forum are for example Too Much Love Will Kill You by Brian May or The Sound Of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. One of the lesser known lyrics that absolutely fascinate me is Carol Masters by Alphaville:
She sits by the window
Stares into the night
Just waiting for a foreign sound from outside
Far beyond the atmospheres, she is listening for a call
To take her homewards to herself
Oh I love you so
He who's Master of the icy shots won't harm you in the morning
She knows that the pavement's hard, there between the stars
To travel on to Martian-Homesick-City
She is weeping silently
But there's not a tear
Just raindrops falling from the painted ceiling
The dance of the foraging bee will number all the things
She has been longing for since she was young
"I will not pass this night in vain!"
She says, "I'll stand this kind of rain, I'll break the glass,
I'll find the path."
Yes, Carol wants to go to Mars, back, where the red-cold sun
Is sinking to the Channels of A'DAAR
Day breaks through the grating
Someone moves a chair
And sunlight blisters dazzling on a glass
Take a pill and greet the day for sedative holidays
Why aren't you sleeping at night?!
...Oh I love you so!
He who's Master of the icy shots won't harm you till the evening
We shall meet tomorrow night, and I kiss you just as tenderly
As CYGNUS kissed the deserts
We shall meet tomorrow night, and I kiss you just as tenderly
As CYGNUS kissed the deserts
Especially this part makes me shiver every time:
Day breaks through the grating
Someone moves a chair
And sunlight blisters dazzling on a glass
Take a pill and greet the day for sedative holidays
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Lyrics
Nov 4, 2020 19:34:43 GMT
Post by Michal on Nov 4, 2020 19:34:43 GMT
I hope I won't be the only one, who replies to this thread but I can't help but mention one more song that has (IMO) especially clever lyrics - Ironic by Alanis Morissette:
An old man turned ninety-eight,
He won the lottery and died the next day.
It’s a black fly in your Chardonnay.
It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late.
And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think?
It’s like rain on your wedding day.
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid.
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take.
And who would have thought?
It figures!
Mr. Play-it-safe was afraid to fly,
He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye.
He waited his whole damn life to take that flight,
And as the plane crashed down he thought,
“Well, isn’t this nice…”
And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think?
It’s like rain on your wedding day.
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid.
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take.
And who would have thought?
It figures!
Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right.
And life has a funny way of helping you out
When you think everything’s gone wrong
And everything blows up in your face.
A traffic jam when you’re already late.
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break.
It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife.
It’s meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife.
And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think?
A little too ironic.
And yeah, I really do think.
It’s like rain on your wedding day.
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid.
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take.
And who would have thought?
It figures!
Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out.
Helping you out...
I always marvel at how many ironic situations she managed to come up with. I think that's Björn was in similar situation when writing The Day Before You Came. Only he was coming up with the most ordinary and routine-like activities.
Here the lines like "Black fly in your Chardonnay" or "death row pardon two minutes two late" are absolute genius...
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Lyrics
Nov 4, 2020 21:04:03 GMT
Post by richard on Nov 4, 2020 21:04:03 GMT
I enjoyed reading the 'Ironic' lyric. Some clever lines, I agree.
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Post by shoshin on Nov 7, 2020 3:32:59 GMT
I hope I won't be the only one, who replies to this thread but I can't help but mention one more song that has (IMO) especially clever lyrics - Ironic by Alanis Morissette...I always marvel at how many ironic situations she managed to come up with.
The well documented problem with these lyrics is that the situations described in them aren't examples of irony.
You can have hours of fun trying to extend each line in the song to add irony. For instance, 'Rain on your wedding day' isn't ironic unless, let's say, you are marrying a meteorologist.
The unintentional absence of irony in a composition titled Ironic is indeed ironic. So Alanis did write an ironic song after all :-) |
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Post by Alan on Nov 7, 2020 9:50:54 GMT
The Wikipedia article on the song Ironic mentions this:
”It's Finally Ironic" by sisters Rachael and Eliza Hurwitz, from New York City, who published their version on YouTube. The sisters adjusted the lyrics to reflect irony (e.g., "it's a black fly in your chardonnay, that was specifically purchased to repel black flies") and sing the line "We fixed it for you, Alanis. You're welcome." throughout their video.
Not actually checked it out yet but based on that one line, I think I will!
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Lyrics
Nov 7, 2020 23:50:55 GMT
Post by shoshin on Nov 7, 2020 23:50:55 GMT
The Wikipedia article on the song Ironic mentions this: ”It's Finally Ironic" by sisters Rachael and Eliza Hurwitz, from New York City, who published their version on YouTube. The sisters adjusted the lyrics to reflect irony (e.g., "it's a black fly in your chardonnay, that was specifically purchased to repel black flies")...
I don't think the sisters have consistently got the hang of it either 
We can do better than this, Abbachatters. Let's try 
'It’s meeting the man of my dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife'…who turns out to be the owner of that dating agency that couldn't find a match for me. |
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Lyrics
Nov 22, 2020 15:18:12 GMT
Post by Michal on Nov 22, 2020 15:18:12 GMT
I hope I won't be the only one, who replies to this thread but I can't help but mention one more song that has (IMO) especially clever lyrics - Ironic by Alanis Morissette...I always marvel at how many ironic situations she managed to come up with.
The well documented problem with these lyrics is that the situations described in them aren't examples of irony.
You can have hours of fun trying to extend each line in the song to add irony. For instance, 'Rain on your wedding day' isn't ironic unless, let's say, you are marrying a meteorologist.
The unintentional absence of irony in a composition titled Ironic is indeed ironic. So Alanis did write an ironic song after all :-) Ha, do you believe that I actually never realized it? :-) Well, at least some lines have some irony in them. To win a lottery and die the next day is one of them. Or is it called just bad luck? :-) |
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Lyrics
Nov 22, 2020 15:25:29 GMT
Post by Michal on Nov 22, 2020 15:25:29 GMT
By the way, what do you guys actually appreciate about the lyrics (any lyrics, not the ones mentioned here). Personally, I don't need a groundbreaking story or political awareness (indeed, I would rather listen to the prog movement than ABBA if that was the case :-)) or something like that. Of course, sometimes it IS the story that catches my attention but more often it is a clever choice of words, good rhyming and rhythm etc. These details are better appreciated in one's mother tongue naturally but sometimes I can spot such things even in foreign language recordings.
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Lyrics
Nov 22, 2020 19:12:19 GMT
Post by richard on Nov 22, 2020 19:12:19 GMT
Michal , I agree about that. And also, for me, lyrics that capture, in a few telling words, a moment or a feeling or an experience. Going right back (1932), to a great standard song, this lyric is about someone's feelings coming alive. It would have meant nothing to me when I was younger - it's meaning just wouldn't have touched me, but it does now. APRIL IN PARIS Words by E.Y. Harburg. Music by Vernon Duke April in Paris Chestnuts in blossum Holiday tables under the trees April in Paris This is a feeling Nothing can ever reprise I never knew the charm of spring Never met it face-to-face I never knew my heart could sing Never missed a warm embrace Till April in Paris Whom can I run to? What have you done to My heart?
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Lyrics
Dec 4, 2020 0:51:36 GMT
Post by shoshin on Dec 4, 2020 0:51:36 GMT
The well documented problem with these lyrics is that the situations described in them aren't examples of irony...
...To win a lottery and die the next day is one of them. Or is it called just bad luck? :-) Just bad luck. But if it was a charity lottery to fund research into heart disease and the shock of winning it caused a fatal heart attack... :-) |
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Post by Michal on Dec 8, 2020 10:44:37 GMT
A very good example of a song that has a captivating story and a surprising point is a song by an artist who would feel deeply ashamed of being mentioned on an ABBA forum  - Mikael Wiehe (you surely know the story how this prog artist was approached by Stig Anderson). The song in question is called Flickan och kråkan: lyricstranslate.com/en/flickan-och-krakan-girl-and-crow.html-1 By the way, did you know that Frida intended to record a cover for her Something's Going On album but didn't get Wiehe's permission for obvious reasons? |
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Lyrics
Oct 30, 2021 14:40:45 GMT
Post by richard on Oct 30, 2021 14:40:45 GMT
Chuck Berry has been mentioned by jj on the Voyage: General Discussion thread in relation to Benny being a big fan. That has reminded me of this thread and one of my favourite Chuck Berry lyrics: You Never Can Tell (1964)It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale But when Pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast Seven hundred little records, all rock, rhythm and jazz But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell They bought a souped-up jitney, 'twas a cherry red '53 They drove it down to Orleans to celebrate the anniversary It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely mademoiselle "C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Chuck Berry You Can Never Can Tell lyrics © BMG Rights Management genius.com › Chuck-berry-y... |
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- Mikael Wiehe (you surely know the story how this prog artist was approached by Stig Anderson). The song in question is called Flickan och kråkan: