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

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