PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Songwriting Lyrics you wish you had written

Howdy, folks...

Are there lyrics for songs that you've heard, that you wish you had been the author/authoress of?

If so, why don't you post them, pretty-please, and accompany the post with a little information about why you are so enamoured of the lyrics, what it was about them that delighted and inspired you so???

May I start things off? I can? Gee, thanks, folks!

Here is a set of lyrics that I wish I had written (truth be told, I wish I had composed the song, too!) The music and lyrics were composed for a film titled, The Long Goodbye, which premiered in the year 1973 and was directed by the late Robert Altman, who adapted a detective novel of the same name written by that famous author of detective fiction, Raymond Chandler, his most famous character being Philip Marlowe.

The Long Goodbye / Music by John Williams (yes, that's right, people, the man who composed the score for "Star Wars" / Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

There’s a long goodbye.
And it happens everyday
When some passerby
Invites your eye
To come her way

Even as she smiles
A quick hello,
You’ve let her go.
You’ve let the moment fly

Too late you turn your head,
You know you’ve said
The long goodbye

Can you recognize the pain?
On some other street
Two people meet
As in a dream

Running for a plane
Through the rain
If the heart is quicker than the eye,
They could be lovers
Until they die

It’s too late to try
When a missed hello
Becomes the long goodbye
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, I'm gonna make this quick. How many of you in your lives have shared a possibly mutually interested romantic glance with a man/woman that you blew, messed up, lost, dropped the ball on, because you were 1) too shy 2) too high, or 3) too married?

Regardless of the circumstance, those kinds of missed moments hurt like a toothache because we never stop kicking ourselves internally for not pursuing the opportunity to take quick, decisive action on what could have turned out to be the "love connection" of a life-time.

And that, basically, is why I wish I had written those lyrics, because of the fact that they do so achingly and truthfully describe the emotional, hopeful potency of that lost moment with an immediate and stunning precision. You feel these lyrics deeply because you've lived them.

Here's a link to a YouTube video featuring the song being sung by the great jazz trumpeter/vocalist Jack Sheldon as it was heard in the film and on the film's soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG0ykzh47q8

If you care to hear a woman interpret the lyrics, here is another link to Ms. Clydie King singing "The Long Goodbye", also as heard in the film and on the soundtrack recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU-N2BZMvj4

Thanks for your attention, folks! All right, now! Who's next? Give it up! Show us "the money"!!!

LOREN (a.k.a. "bluage")

Thank you for posting this Bluage. Yes, truly beautiful and heart wrenching and I dare say most of us can relate to this. It rings so true, possibilities that could have been but never were. This year for me has been one of reckoning as I finally became aware of a beautiful soul who passed and I thought I would hear from again at least one more time in this world. However, in a very unusual dream I became aware of this passing and looked it up on the internet as no one of the family knows me. And oh, did it bring up memories and possibilities that didn't, couldn't happen here. But what still remains is the unquestioning love that's still alive, truly awesome and a long goodbye that's still on going. The goodbye you don't want to end. I said good bye many years ago and it never would end. Love can be a very beautiful thing that has a life of it's own. That's why I love lyrics so much, they touch me almost more than music, but the combination can be heavenly when the vocal expressions and musical interpretations take it to the next level.

Very interesting - I've actually never had this thought. I've heard lyrics that stunned me and really made me stop and think, but I always appreciated the writer more so than thinking about myself writing it. An interesting thought for sure.

Dear Deryk...

The launching of this thread was inspired by the jazz pianist/composer/vocalist Dave Frishberg, who once stated that he wished he had composed the old Christmas season evergreen song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside", by Frank Loesser.

I just thought it was "neat" to read about a successful songwriter paying tribute to another songwriter in a way that just very narrowly skirts around the issue of professional envy, so, I decided to try out the idea on this forum.

Thanks for responding, Deryk! If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it will be a relaxing and enjoyable one!

Sincerely,

LOREN

Ms. Belladonna...

Referencing my quotation, mind my is filled with excited thoughts about the content and subtext of what you wrote. I think that, for you, lyrics are the music! Contemplating that thought causes me to wish I could be inside your head and your heart when you give birth to lyrics. I would like to know what the "music of words" sound like at the moment of their creation...

Personally, the lyrics I write for my songs come from I-don't-know-where. I mean it !!! I don't know where they come from. 99.9999 percent of them are not the result of premeditation. They just...show up, like a crowd of unwanted visitors leaning too heavily on my doorbell. Ding-dong. Ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong! Ding-ding-ding-ding-dong! "You-hoo! Ohhhh, Looorrr-en! May we come in and run around in your mind until you find something for us to do"???

In fact, I feel sometimes that deceased songwriters are using me to pursue a posthumous career . That's a kooky thought, now, ain't it?!

Intrigued,

LOREN

I wish I has written the Lyrics to 'Song 2' by Blur...

My whole life changed when I heard Jungleland for the first time.

I was in a state of awe.

I still am.

I pulled over to the side of the road in my Mustang to listen to it.

When it was over, the radio announcer said:

"9 minutes and 38 seconds of magic, from Bruce Springsteen."

Yes, and I will never be the same.

Reason?

It's like a Shakespeare play. The first time I had ever heard a real poem and a play set to music in 10 minutes.

It is probably the most brilliant piece of original cinematic songwriting I have ever heard, and I don't think anything else is on the same planet with it.




Jungleland

Bruce Springsteen

The Rangers had a homecoming
In Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine
Over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town, rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance
And disappear down Flamingo Lane
Well, the Maximum Lawmen run down Flamingo
Chasing the Rat and the barefoot girl
And the kids 'round there live just like shadows
Always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails
Tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand
Down in Jungleland
The midnight gang's assembled
And picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet 'neath that giant Exxon sign
That brings this fair city light
Man, there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops, Cherry-Tops, rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they flash unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switchblades
Hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted
Explode into rock 'n' roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street
Down in Jungleland
In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing
To the records that the DJ plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on
Just one look and a whisper, and they're gone
Beneath the city, two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender
In a bedroom locked in whispers
Of soft refusal and then surrender
In the tunnels uptown, the Rat's own dream guns him down
As shots echo down them hallways in the night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light
Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here don't write nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of a knife, they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland

Songwriters: Bruce Springsteen
Jungleland lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

Got to agree with David on Bruce Springsteen. Especially his early stuff. Jungle Land, Born to Run, 4th of July.... yeah ...


But on a more modern groove.....





and....





yeah....I'd love to have written these 2 modern songs.

Mr. David Snyder...

Thank you for participating in my first songwriting thread post!

Would it be possible for you to post the lyrics, and maybe offer just a little of the reasons for your awesome reverence for the song?

Thank you, sir!

Sincerely,

LOREN

Hey, there, Mikke!

Thanks for joining the thread! Do you think you could post the lyrics, and tell us why you wish you had written those lyrics?

Thanks, again!

LOREN

Hey Bluage, Absolutely.

First of, I love the flow of the song. A great example of lyrical flow.

The lyrics can mean nothing, or everything. They are completely subjective.

Second, It is a Globally recognized song, which spent a long time on the top of the charts, and the album went platinum.

Now, you can simply say "Oh, that Woo-Hoo song!"

A great example of how lyrics are only as powerful as they are perceived, something that may on paper seem like nothing, became a music phenomenon.

"Guitarhacker"...

Thank you for contributing to my first songwriting thread!

I did not listen to country music closely, and for pure enjoyment, until I began visiting the User's Forum back in 2009. But since then, I can tell you that I've grown to appreciate it, and plan on making a contribution in that genre in the User's Forum someday.

In a comment I posted about "Bud" & Ms. Janice's song, "I Choose to Be with You", I told them that I thought I had finally come to understand what the appeal of country music might be for those who are dedicated listeners, and that is, that the music has a simplicity of expression, and an emotional directness, that is irresistibly appealing.

Would you say that's true?

LOREN

Mikke...

That's an incredibly interesting response, meaning the idea you offered about the audience's perception of the lyrics being entirely subjective. I've always believed, very generally speaking, that lyrics were more interesting and impactful, when they described something concrete, observable, and that could be easily validated, emotionally speaking, by a listener.

I hoped I would get interesting and unexpected responses when I posted this thread, and you have fulfilled my expectations! I will look for the song on YouTube.

Thanks, Mikke!

LOREN

"Something In The Way She Moves" (James Taylor)

Something in the way she moves, or looks my way, or calls my name
That seems to leave this troubled world behind
And if I'm feeling down and blue or troubled by some foolish game
She always seems to make me change my mind..

And I feel fine anytime she's around me now, she's around me now almost all the time
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine

Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning
And I find myself careening in places where I should not let me go
She has the power to go where no one else can find me and to silently remind me
Of the happiness and the good times that I know, and then I just got to go there.

It isn't what she's got to say but how she thinks and where she's been
To me, the words are nice, the way they sound
I like to hear them best that way, it doesn't much matter what they mean
She says them mostly just to calm me down

And I feel fine anytime she's around me now, she's around me now almost all the time
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine


This lyric was a comfort to me when I lost my mother at a young age. It's taken on a new meaning now having a wife to whom English is a second language and with whom communication is sometimes a sweet struggle.

<i>It isn't what she's got to say but how she thinks and where she's been
To me, the words are nice, the way they sound
I like to hear them best that way, it doesn't much matter what they mean
She says them mostly just to calm me down</i>


I've also though of my guitar, at times, as the "she" in that lyric.

Like was said earlier, these don't read like epic poetry, but without a wasted syllable, are delivered naturally with grace. That makes a great lyric.

I LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE ME

I like the feel of your name on my lips
and I like the sound of your sweet gentle kiss.
The way that your fingers run through my hair,
and how your scent lingers even when you're not there.

And I like the way your eyes dance when you laugh,
and how you enjoy your two hour bath.
And how you convinced me to dance in the rain
with everyone watching like we were insane.

But I love the way you love me.
Strong and wild, slow and easy.
Heart and soul, so completely.
I love the way you love me.

I like to imitate ol' Jerry Lee
an' watch you roll your eyes when I'm slightly off-key.
And I like the innocent way that you cry
at sappy old movies you've seen hundreds of times

But I love the way you love me.
Strong and wild, slow and easy.
Heart and soul, so completely.
I love the way you love me.

And I could list a million things I love to like about you,
but they all come down to one reason I could never live without you.

But I love the way you love me.
Strong and wild, slow and easy.
Heart and soul, so completely.
I love the way you love me.

©1992 Victoria Shaw and Chuck Cannon



A perfect love song.
Touching images. Sweet without being syrupy.
Every line is good. Familiar yet original, fresh...
So relatable.
It makes you want to fall in love all over again.

Tangmo - good choice. This was our wedding song (40+ years ago). I sang it on tape (we had one of the old, big TEAC machines to play it on)

Howdy, "Tangmo"...

Thanks for adding your own thread into my first songwriting thread!

First thing is, I'm deeply sorry to read that you lost your mother at a young age. I can't imagine -- and would be afraid to imagine -- what that was like. I truly hope that whatever memories you may have about her bring you pleasure and solace.

Concerning your lyrics-that-I wish-I-had-written selection, boy-oh-boy, it ain't difficult for me to understand why they resonate with you so, even apart from your stated reason concerning your memory of your mother.

First of all, the subject of Mr. Taylor's lyrics (if not himself) seems to describe a particular, perhaps living person, even, for whom he had strong feelings of love and respect. Truth be told, the lyrics imply that the subject may have lived through some sort of trauma that was soothed and possibly cured by the loving attention he received from the individual he wrote about in such a praiseworthy manner:

"And I feel fine anytime she's around me now, she's around me now almost all the time
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine"

Again, the poor subject of the song sounds like he may have "fallen through the cracks" of life in perhaps some tragic way: an accident? A nervous and/or mental breakdown? A veteran of a war who returned home broken in spirit, or just as worse, physically wounded?

"Every now and then the things I lean on lose their meaning
And I find myself careening in places where I should not let me go
She has the power to go where no one else can find me and to silently remind me
Of the happiness and the good times that I know, and then I just got to go then"

The man appears to have lost something that has impaired his ability just to survive, even -- or, so I believe. And then, in a moment of wellness of that provides clarity, and the gift of sweet recognition and appreciation of the profound blessings he has received in the form of the person who came to his rescue, he reveals his loving thankfulness:

"And I feel fine anytime she's around me now, she's around me now almost all the time
And if I'm well you can tell she's been with me now
She's been with me now quite a long, long time and I feel fine"

Of course, what you've read is my own "take" of the meaning of the lyrics, so feel free, "Tangmo", to disagree, debate and deconstruct what I've written. Regardless, "Something In The Way She Moves" by James Taylor projects lyrics that are powerful, powerfully intimate, that is, if you've known the kind of pain, and also the kind of healing, transformative loving that his sensitive heart testified to in the song.

Thanks again, "Tangmo", for the richly rewarding song lyric selection you posted!

Gratefully,

LOREN

P.S. Concerning your statement that the lyrics don't read like "epic" poetry, all I can say to that is, "epic" poetry is for "epic" egos, and Mr. Taylor surely seems to have dispossessed himself of such lofty, mostly unattainable, and hardly-worth-pursuing goals.

Just edited my OP

Uh-oh, the illustrious Floyd Jane has joined the thread! Mr. Jane, there's coffee and donuts at the table. If you smoke, there's a door to your left that'll take you outside where you can light-up and smoke 'til ya' choke!

Thanks for dropping by, sir!

Happy for your presence,

LOREN

Thank you, sir!

LOREN

I posted a lyric for you as well...

Mr. Jane...

Ooo, but those are some seriously soulful, sensuous and sensual lyrics! I'll bet the lady-listeners swooned and fell all over themselves on this one, huh? No mystery about it, either, when you see that a lady was part of the team. Was she the lyricist, the composer, or did the pair share the songwriting chores?

As usual you express yourself with a brevity, but yet with a potency that always delivers. I'm gonna use you as model to refine my commenting skills!

Thank you for posting such immersive, heartfelt lyrics-that-you-wish-you-had-written. Quiet as it's kept, I believe you have contributed to the User's Forum a song, or three that possessed lyrical sentiments that were equally as compelling as Mr. Montgomery's.

Truly,

LOREN

The same thing happened to me when I hear Thunder Road.


THUNDER ROAD

The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again
Don't run back inside, darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alright
Oh, and that's alright with me

You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well now, I ain't no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now?
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
Well, the night's busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, heaven's waiting on down the tracks

Oh oh, come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh oh oh, Thunder Road
Oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey, I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh oh oh oh, Thunder Road
Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride ain't free
And I know you're lonely for words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free, all the promises'll be broken

There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines rolling on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind
So Mary, climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win

©BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN





And then BORN TO RUN....

The Highwayman written by Jimmy Webb

I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his life blood on my blade
The b**tards hung me in the spring of '25
But I am still alive

I was a sailor
I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide
I sailed a schooner 'round the horn to Mexico
I went aloft to furl the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still

I was a dam builder
Across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around.
I'll always be around, and around, and around, and around, and around.

I'll fly a starship
Across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again
and again, and again, and again, and again...



Love the genius of Jimmy Webb, the storytelling, the imagery and the thread of immortality in this story.

Mr. Jane...

The lyrics for "Thunder Road" possess all of the intensity, passion, and urgency of a preacher's exhortations to his/her congregation. If you had not revealed to me that Bruce Springsteen had written them, I would have bet money that they were Bob Dylan's creation.

Powerful stuff! Thank you for adding them to the thread.

LOREN

Dear Ms. Belladonna...

Yes, Jimmy Webb's lyrics do indeed tell quite a story! The lyrics are imaginative and fast-moving as he travels up and down the corridors of time, living one fantastic life after another in a glorious blaze of restless existence.

It's a totally unique post to this thread, Ms. Belladonna! Thank you for unearthing it.

Awed,

LOREN

Mr. Synder...

Whoa! Whew! That's there's some electrifying, white-hot, noirish lyric-writing. It's as though Mr. Springsteen couldn't stop the words from forcing their way out his fever-dreaming brain and wild heart in a torrent of inspiration. And, yes, yes, the lyrics are as cinematic as all get-out.

Wow! Am I ever getting me some serious edu-ma-cation out of this thread! So be it. Let it be done! Thanks!

LOREN

There is a lot of really interesting commentary in this thread. I really appreciate the thought that has gone in to people's choices. Really cool thread idea.

Keep On Rockin in the Free World - Neil Young

I usually can’t abide listening to him but when it his song came out it was the first in a long time that made me go back for multiple listens and take stock of what I had heard.

Dear Ms. Ember...

Interesting name you have, there, "Ember": a small piece of burning or glowing coal or wood in a dying fire.

Thank you for visiting the thread and adding your comments about it!

Truly-ooly,

LOREN

Hey, there, "Rockstar"!

Thanks for offering another set of lyrics-you-wish-you-had-written. Think you could post the lyrics for us to read?

Gratefully,

LOREN

When I was young in the 80s and living the wild life with a lot of parties, etc. - a song called "After the Party" came out from a Danish band called "Sneakers" - and the song very much expressed the feeling many of us had when leaving or waking up after a wild party.

Here's the text (to my best ability - it is really difficult to translate lyrics):

There is quiet in the house after the party
and all the people sleep as we go
The day starts in blue, behind the horizon
It's bright pale around us where we stand
and the last birds of the night fly home, one by one
The day begins and the morning wind blows the sky clean

The road runs from the city towards the sea
and star after star burns out
And I can feel the heat and the smell of your body
in the sand at the beach, while we wait for the sun to rise

And we, we have no words that we must tell
We give no promises, which we later only remember half
We just want to get out and feel the sun

The water flashes around us and shower
in wave after wave towards the shore
The sun rises from the sea and the light
sailing towards the white beach
And there is no other than us who know
We have no names that can tie our love

And we, we have no words that we must tell
We give no promises, which we later only remember half
We just want to get out and feel the sun

Yes that's all
We just want to go out into the sun

Yes that's all
We just want to feel the sun

Yes that's all
We just want to feel the sun


And the song in Danish (very 1980, but good in my opinion):



Will

In this case there is supposedly a publisher request not to repost the lyrics. I will honor that. You can find them via Google. Better yet, watch the video. https://g.co/kgs/aFbYLH

There are so many great lyrics out there!

I would love to be able to write the words for something as powerfully inspirational as "One Moment In Time". Dana Winner's performance below is one of the best I've heard.

"rockstar_not"...

I appreciate you explaining the reason why you could not post the lyrics. Can't beat artists supporting other artists!

I'll give the video a viewing. Thank you, sir!

Sincerely,

LOREN

"Will Josef"...

Ms. Sanne Salomonsen's performance of the song "After the Party" is smashingly good! It reminds me to seek out musical talent outside of the United States more frequently.

As far as the lyrics are concerned, they are obviously more centered on what can happen after a night of "wild partying" has passed. In fact, I find the words rather transcendent, and liberating, insofar as they describe a sense of renewal, of a mutual escalation of passionate feelings, and all symbolized by the repetitive references to the water, the sun, the wind, and so on. The person who wrote the lyrics seems to be have been quite inspired by, and thankful for, Mother Nature's gifts to humans.

Thanks for posting the lyrics-you-wished-you-had-written to this thread, "Will Josef"!

Sincerely,

LOREN

Dear "Noel96"...

If that wasn't a "show-stopper", then surely, I don't know what is. Ms. Winner sounded as though she was singing out to the entire universe!

There's no mystery as to why the lyrics for "One Moment in Time" would mean so much to you in particular, and to all who would listen to the song, even. Is there anyone, anywhere, at anytime, who has not experienced the burning desire to rise above the crowd? To search for, discover, and then apply all that they find within themselves to make their mark on the world, to change things that too, too many people say cannot be changed?

"One Moment in Time" is torch lit by empowering flames of hope, self-affirmation, and the will to be, that should be passed on by everyone who has heard it, to everyone who hasn't.

Bloody good post of lyrics-you-wish-you-had-written, "Noel96"!!!

Inspirationally,

LOREN

Dear Mikke...

Wwwhhhhooo-aaa! Man, that video almost literally blew those musicians away !!! If I had been on the set where it was filmed, I would have handed out goggles to everyone .

(Dusting myself off) Now, then, back to those lyrics. I found them humorous, tossed-off as casually as bones from a fish dinner...and that ain't a bad thing, now, is it? Especially if you enjoy eating fish! I believe that they acted more as an engine of accompaniment to the room-busting rhythm pounded out by the drummer, and the stratospherically wailing guitar parts. More to the point, the lyrics became another musical instrument in themselves.

And, of course, thanks for providing the link to the video!

LOREN

The song with lyrics that stands above all the rest to me is +++ I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" +++ which has been attributed to both Paul Gilley and Hank Williams. +++ HERE +++ are the song lyrics.

The song is a powerful testament to me that no matter how lonely and sad you may feel, you are truly not alone. Someone else has been that low and lived to tell the tale. It sounds strange but the song is so lonesome it comforts me, makes feel better and can even put a smile on my face.

I've listened to that song so many times during dark moments that now it is like a friend. No other song has affected me so deeply.

I've always felt envy that someone was able to capture and express a feeling so well. So, yes I guess I wish I'd written the lyrics to "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".

Hi Loren

This is a favourite of mine.
I like it because the lyrics seem a little bit crazy and outline the story without filling in too much. Cheers.

Gun Street Girl
Tom Waits

One, two, three
Falling down James in the Tahoe mud
Stick around to tell us all a tale
Well, he fell in love with a Gun Street girl
And now he's dancing in the Birmingham jail
Dancing in the Birmingham jail

He took a hundred dollars off a slaughterhouse Joe
Brought a brand new Michigan twenty-gauge
He got all liquored up on that road house corn
Blew a hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette
A hole in the hood of a yellow Corvette

He bought a second-hand Nova from a Cuban Chinese
And dyed his hair in the bathroom of a Texaco
With a pawnshop radio, quarter past four
He left for Waukegan at the slamming of the door
Left for Waukegan at the slamming of the door

I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home

He's sitting in a sycamore in St. John's wood
Soaking day-old bread in kerosene
Well, he was blue as a robin's egg and brown as a hog
He's staying out of circulation till the dogs get tired
Out of circulation till the dogs get tired

Shadow fixed the toilet with an old trombone
He never get up in the morning on a Saturday
Sitting by the Erie with a bull-whipped dog
Telling everyone he saw, "they went that-a-way, boys"
Telling everyone he saw, "they went that-a-way"

Now the rain's like gravel on an old tin roof
And the Burlington Northern pulling out of the world
Now a head full of bourbon and a dream in the straw
And a Gun Street girl was the cause of it all
A Gun Street girl was the cause of it all

Well, he's riding in the shadow by the St. Joe ridge
Hearing the click-clack tapping of a blind man's cane
He was pulling into Baker on a New Year's Eve
One eye on a pistol and the other on the door
One eye on a pistol and the other on the door

Miss Charlotte took her satchel down to King Fish Row
Smuggled in a brand new pair of alligator shoes
With her fireman's raincoat and her long yellow hair
Well, they tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire
Tied her to a tree with a skinny millionaire

I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home

Banging on the table with an old tin cup
Sing I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again
Never kiss a Gun Street girl again
I'll never kiss a Gun Street girl again

I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home
I said John, John, he's long gone
Gone to Indiana, ain't never coming home

Songwriters: Thomas A. Waits
Gun Street Girl lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Yes, Sanne Salomonsen for sure deserves attention. She was/is very popular in most of the northern countries of Europe:

Mornin' Mr. Fogle...

First of all, let me say that the way you described your affection for this song, is as poignant in its own way as the lyrics for "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Second thing is, as a result of the number of people who have responded to this thread, I am being exposed to a whole mess'a music that I had been only casually aware of, and so, I'm grateful for that!

Yes, indeed, Hank Williams' sorrowful voice sure does send those lyrics to a place in the heart that is dark, seemingly hopeless, and final. In fact, his misery sounds so complete that it's almost suicidal.

And yet, you say you find a comfort in it! Could it be that by comparing your own situation, or state-of-mind, to the song's depressive outlook, that it reminds you to count your blessings?

Mr. Fogle, thank you for posting these lyrics-you-wish-you-had-written!

LOREN

Hello, RichMac...

Boy, is there ever a lot to like about these lyrics for "Gun Street Girl"!

The free-verse, almost rhymeless word structure gives the song a spoken-word quality, which in turn caused this listener to imagine that I was absorbing a colorful (if somewhat violently-imaged) tall-tale being spun by some gruff, seen-it-all, down-and-outer passing through town on his way to his next cup of coffee and another drunken adventure!

You can smell the old tobacco, breath-warmed whiskey, and feel the subject's survival-tested personality from the beginning to the end of the song.

Thanks for posting these lyrics-you-wish-you-had-written, "RichMac"

LOREN

Mine's a little different from what's been posted so far. There are a lot of loud, raucous songs i really like and make get on the dance floor and make a fool of myself - and I have fun doing it. But I'm a sucker for a heartbreaking, tear jerking song. And this is my favorite as it never fails to touch me.

What I like so much about this song is that no matter who or what you are, you're not immune to heartbreak. And regardless of how much money you have, the position you hold, or how strong you are, your heart is always vulnerable beyond your ability to protect it. The innocence of the lyric reminds us how fragile we are beneath our public facade.

There were two fairly big hits with it that I'm aware of: Carlene Carter and Jessica Andrews. The song was written by Carlene Carter's keyboard player, Denmont Tench. This is my wife, Di, singing it in a simple video. It's very close to the Jessicas Andrews rendition.


http://www.singsnap.com/karaoke/watchandlisten/play/c0857893b


"Unbreakable Heart"

An empty room a broken fairytale
A hollow girl with empty arms
From an angels tears God made the stars
Why can't He make me an unbreakable heart
In my blue world you shone like heavens fire
And left me cryin' in the dark
How could anyone be so hard
Did you think I had an unbreakable heart

I suppose I should know
Sometimes love just comes and goes
But I believed foolish me
Wed go on and on

One day someone will come to you
And rock you tightly in her arms
Please remember this when you drop your guard
Nobody has an unbreakable heart
From an angels wings to a fallen star
God makes everything but unbreakable hearts

(c) Benmont Tench

Excellent to once again hear a song with Di singing. Thanks for sharing that Al.

Thank you, Jim. I have about 200 videos in this simple video format of her singing plus over a thousand audio only recordings by her.

This song touches me in so many ways and her voice, in my opinion, is perfect for it. Unfortunately, her health is so bad now she doesn't have enough energy to make all the way through a song. She took one of my very favorite songs and made it so very special. Glad you enjoyed it. Wishing you the very best.

Alan

Busted flat in baton rouge

what a line Cliff

Dear Alan...

This is the first time I ever heard you singing, Ms. Di. As soon as you opened her mouth (and heart) to sing "Unbreakable Heart", I was silenced, immediately and awesomely. How clear, how expressive, how emotionally affecting your voice is! I felt deep down in my soul every word of those heart-breaking lyrics. I wished someone had been present with me as I listened to you, so I could tell them urgently, "Hey! Hey, you all, pipe down, and then get yourselves in here and listen to this woman sing!"

Thank you, thank you, Ms. Di, for this lovely, lovely Christmas gift that you gave to this thread. God bless you, and keep you, too.

Alan, the lyrics are so imaginative in the they illuminate the subject of the song -- broken hearts -- that they could soothe the pain of any heart-broken soul who read them:

"From an angels tears God made the stars..."

"In my blue world you shone like heavens fire..."

Those words assembled with such undeniable inspiration crystallize so much feeling that they made me sit still with my eyes closed so my heart could see what they were saying.

Thank you, Alan and Ms. Di, for enriching my evening with this song. I hope that you two have a warm, memorable, nostalgic and spiritually meaningful Christmas and New Year .

Most sincerely,

LOREN

Anything by Billy Joel, for example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaA3YZ6QdJU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuFScoO4tb0

Dear "sinbad"...

Yes, certainly Billy Joel wrote some memorable lyrics! If you read and listen closely to the lyrics for "Just the Way You Are"...

Don't go trying some new fashion
Don't change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

... you may agree with me that what makes these simple words work so well with the music, is that he seems to be describing an actual person. That's how intimate they sound. You could imagine him singing the song to a person who is in his actual presence.

No wonder the song was a favorite of grooms and brides all over the world! Thank you for posting such memorable lyrics-you-wish-you-had-written, "sinbad".

Sincerely,

LOREN

Listened to a very wide variety of music this past week and two artists whose lyrics make me laugh always, are Junior Brown, and the punk rock band Art Brut.

Simple stuff and straight to the funny bone. Wish I could pull that off.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfdn00mXsmU

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cHsFuvvXPFE&feature=youtu.be&list=PLpNtTug56iqFVmGZhaxCAImA8lMJEQ_WZ