Jesus’ General suggests some best opening lines to songs and asks you to name more.
Here’s a few from NMK:
Baby take off your coat, real slow
— Joe Cocker, “You Can Leave Your Hat On”
Some folks are born, made to wave the flag,
Ooh they’re red, white and blue
— Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Fortunate Son”
Life, it’s ever so strange, it’s so full of change
You think that you’ve worked it out then,
Bang, right out of the blue, somethin’ happens to you,
To throw you off course
— Jem, “Just a Ride”
All the Gold in California
Is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills
In somebody else’s name
— The Gatlin Brothers, “All the Gold in California”
My my, hey hey,
Rock and roll is here to stay
— Neil Young, “My My, Hey Hey”
When this war is over, it will be a better day
— Eric Clapton & J.J. Cale, “When This War is Over”
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Edwin Starr
Say it again.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Julia W. Howe
I’ll try to offer a few good lines later, but right now I am too busy doubling over, laughing.
I saw Ephraim’s name as the latest to comment on this post, and I thought to myself, “Now, what song would Ephraim quote? What’s the most perfect example of a song for someone who takes himself super seriously, thinks he is more patriotic than everyone else, and is really out of touch? Heh, probably something like ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic.’ No, too obvious.”
Then I clicked on the comments link. Aw, some people never disappoint.
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin’ for a train
And I’s feelin’ near as faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained
It rode us all the way to New Orleans
Kris Kristofferson (arguably one of the finest poets of our time) music and lyrics “Me and Bobby McGee”
If you had not have fallen
Then I would not have found you
Angel flying too close to the ground
And I patched up your broken wing
And hung around a while
Tried to keep your spirits up
And your fever down
Willie Nelson- Lyrics “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”
(ending on a feel good note…come on now)
Aaaaah, haaa
I know a place
Ain’t nobody cryin’
Ain’t nobody worried
Ain’t no smilin’ faces
Mmm-mmm, no, no
Lyin’ to the races
Help me, come on, come on
Somebody, help me, now
(I’ll take you there)
The Staple Singers – lyrics “I’ll Take You There”
I think this is so hard, because different lyrics appeal to each of us for different reasons, but here are a few that came to mind:
The screen door slams
Mary’s dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Bruce Springsteen – Thunder Road
I’m a gonna tell you how it’s gonna be
You’re gonna give your love to me
Buddy Holly – Not Fade Away
I met a gin-soaked bar-room queen in Memphis
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
‘Cause I just can’t seem to drink you off my mind
The Rolling Stones – Honky Tonk Woman
I hear the train a comin’/ It’s rollin’ round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when
Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues
Whenever I see your smiling face/ I have to smile myself
Because I love you (yes I do)
James Taylor – Your Smiling Face
Mother told me, yes she told me, I’d meet girls like you
She also told me “Stay away, you never know what you’ll catch”
Cheap Trick – Surrender
Forgive, sounds good/ Forget, I don’t think I could
They say time heals everything/ But I’m still waiting
Dixie Chicks – Not Ready to Make Nice
(That one’s so Ephraim can say I’m predictable, too)
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
—John Lennon & Plastic Ono Band, “Imagine”
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
—Amazing Grace
OK, here are some more.
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you can him a man?–Dylan
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island –Guthrie
A bit more than the first few lines to get to my favorite part:
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’
Into the future
I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till I’m free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution
Feed the babies
Who don’t have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin’ in the street
Oh, oh, there’s a solution
–Steve Miller, Fly Like an Eagle
From the best song ever written:
Dicen que por las noches no más se le iba en puro llorar.
Cucurrucucú Paloma – Tomás Méndez
This always takes me back to my childhood in ’50s Albuquerque at my family’s Friday night outings at the El Rey Theatre.
http://youtube.com/
“All the snow has turned to water.
Christmas Days have come and gone.
Broken toys and faded colors
Are all that’s left to linger on.
Well I hate graveyards and old pawn shops
For they always bring me tears.
I can’t forgive the way they robbed me
Of my childhood souvenirs.”
John Prine
…And pretty much every other song by him.
Rollin’ down Imperial Highway
Big, nasty redhead at my side…
Randy Newman – “I Love L.A.”
“On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim.
I had to stop for the night.”
The Eagles