Favourite Song lyrics

[Arcade]

“Belfast To Boston (God’s Rifle)” - James Taylor

There are rifles buried in the countryside for the rising of the moon,
may they lie there long forgotten till they rust away into the ground.
Who will bend this ancient hatred, will the killing to an end?
Who will swallow long injustice, take the devil for a country man?
Who will say “this far no further, oh lord, if I die today?”

Send no weapons no more money. Send no vengeance across the seas,
just the blessing of forgiveness for my new countryman and me.

Missing brothers, martyred fellows, silent children in the ground.
Could we but hear them could they not tell us "Time to lay God’s rifle down."
Who will say, “this far, no further,” oh Lord, if I die today?

[Arcade]

Still not sure what this James Taylor track is about, but I’ve always loved the lyrics…

“New Hymn” - James Taylor

Source of all we hope or dread, sheepdog, jackal, rattler, swan.
We hunt your face and long to trust that your hid mouth will say again
let there be light, a clear new day.
But when we thirst in this dry night,
we drink from hot wells poisoned with the blood of children.
And when we strain to hear a steady homing beam,
our ears are balked by stifled moans
and howls of desolation from the throats of sisters, brother, wild men,
clawing at the gates for bread.

Even our own feeble hands aim to seize the crown you wear
and work our private havoc through the known and unknown lands of space.

Absolute in flame beyond us, seed and source of Dark and Day,
maker whom we beg to be our mother father comrade mate.

Till our few atoms blow to dust or form again in wiser lives
or find your face and hear our name in your calm voice the end of night if dark may end.
Wellspring gold of dark and day, be here, be now.

[Arcade]

Ballads don’t get better than this!..

“Romeo And Juliet”- Dire Straits

A lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Finds a streetlight, steps out of the shade
Says something like, “You and me babe—how 'bout it?”

Juliet says, "Hey it’s Romeo. You nearly gimme a heart attack"
He’s underneath the window; she’s singing, “Hey, la, my boyfriend’s back.
You shouldn’t come around here singing up at people like that.
Anyway what you gonna do about it?”

Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start
And I bet, then you exploded in my heart
And I forget, I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

Come up on different streets, they both were streets of shame
Both dirty, both mean, yes, and the dream was just the same
And I dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
How can you look at me as if I was just another one of your deals?

When you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin, yeah.
Now you just say, “Oh Romeo, yeah. You know, I used to have a scene with him.”

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said, "I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you 'til I die."
There’s a place for us, you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

I can’t do the talks like they talk on the TV
And I can’t do a love song like the way it’s meant to be
I can’t do everything but I’ll do anything for you
I can’t do anything except be in love with you

And all I do is miss you and the way we used to be
All I do is keep the beat, the bad company
All I do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
Julie, I’d do the stars with you any time

Juliet, when we made love you used to cry
You said, "I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you 'til I die."
There’s a place for us, you know the movie song
When you gonna realize it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

And a lovestruck Romeo sings a streetsuss a serenade
Laying everybody low with a love song that he made
Find a convenient streetlight, steps out of the shade
And says something like, “You and me babe—how 'bout it?”

“You and me babe—how about it?”

[Arcade]

“Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” - Kris Kristofferson

Well I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head, that didn’t hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

I’d smoked my mind the night before
With cigarettes and the songs I’d been pickin’
But I lit my first and watched a small kid
Playin’ with a can that he was kicking
Then I walked across the street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone’s fryin’ chicken
And it took me back to somethin’
That I’d lost somewhere, somehow along the way.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk
I’m wishing Lord that I was stoned
’Cause there’s something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there’s nothin’ short of dyin’
That’s half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleepin’ city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin’ comin’ down.

In the park I saw a daddy
With a laughin’ little girl who he was swingin’
And I stopped beside a Sunday school
And listened to the songs they were singin’
Then I headed down the street
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringin’
And it echoed thru the canyon
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk
I’m wishing Lord that I was stoned
’Cause there’s something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there’s nothin’ short of dyin’
That’s half as lonesome as the sound
Of a sleepin’ city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin’ comin’ down.

[JohnSReid]

@Arcade

“You and me babe—how about it?”

I love this line in the song - it really cuts through everything that a ballad stands for. I think it sums up the story, the song and the teenage angst beautifully.

So ironic it’s brilliant.

[brother95]

“bohemian rhapsody” - Queen

Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.

Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see,
I’m just a poor boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I’m easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Anyway the wind blows doesn’t really matter to me, to me.

Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead.
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away.

Mama, ooh,
Didn’t mean to make you cry,
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow,
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters.

Too late, my time has come,
Sent shivers down my spine,
Body’s aching all the time.
Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go,
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.

Mama, ooh (anyway the wind blows),
I don’t wanna die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all.

I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me.
(Galileo) Galileo.
(Galileo) Galileo,
Galileo Figaro
Magnifico.

I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me.
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family,
Spare him his life from this monstrosity.

Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?
Bismillah! No, we will not let you go. (Let him go!)
Bismillah! We will not let you go. (Let him go!)
Bismillah! We will not let you go. (Let me go!)
Will not let you go. (Let me go!)
Never, never let you go
Never let me go, oh.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Oh, mama mia, mama mia (Mama mia, let me go.)
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me.

So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can love me and leave me to die?
Oh, baby, can’t do this to me, baby,
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here.

(Oh, yeah, oh yeah)

Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters,
Nothing really matters to me.

Anyway the wind blows.

[brother95]

“trouble”- Ray LaMontagne

very simple lyrics but sometimes,no need to make it complicated

Trouble
Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Trouble been doggin’ my soul
Since the day I was born

Worry
Worry, worry, worry, worry
Worry just will not seem to leave
My mind alone

Well, I’ve been saved by a woman
I’ve been saved by a woman
I’ve been saved by a woman

She won’t let me go
She won’t let me go now
She won’t let me go
She won’t let me go now

Trouble
Oh, trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble
Feels like every time I get back on my feet
She come around and knock me down again

Worry
Oh, worry, worry, worry, worry
Sometimes I swear it feels like
This worry is my only friend

Well, I’ve been saved by a woman
I’ve been saved by a woman
I’ve been saved by a woman

She won’t let me go
She won’t let me go now
She won’t let me go
She won’t let me go now

Oh, ah, oh
She good to me now
She gave me love and affection
She good to me now
She gave me love and affection

I said I love her
Yes, I love her
I said I love her
I said I love

She good to me now
She good to me
She good to me

[Arcade]

“Homeless Brother” - Don McLean

I was walking by the graveyard, late last Friday night,
I heard somebody yelling, it sounded like a fight.
It was just a drunken hobo dancing circles in the night,
Pouring whiskey on the headstones in the blue moonlight.
So often have I wondered where these homeless brothers go,
Down in some hidden valley were their sorrows cannot show,
Where the police cannot find them, where the wanted men can go.
There’s freedom when your walking, even though you’re walking slow.

Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can,
that homeless brother is my friend.

It’s hard to be a pack rat, it’s hard to be a 'bo,
but living’s so much harder where the heartless people go.
Somewhere the dogs are barking and the children seem to know
That Jesus on the highway was a lost hobo.
And they hear the holy silence of the temples in the hill,
And they see the ragged tatters as another kind of thrill.
And they envy him the sunshine and they pity him the chill,
And they’re sad to do their living for some other kind of thrill.

Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can,
that homeless brother is my friend.

Somewhere there was a woman, somewhere there was a child,
Somewhere there was a cottage where the marigolds grew wild.
But some where’s just like nowhere when you leave it for a while,
You’ll find the broken-hearted when you’re travelling jungle-style.
Down the bowels of a broken land where numbers live like men,
Where those who keep their senses have them taken back again,
Where the night stick cracks with crazy rage, where madmen don’t pretend,
Where wealth has no beginning and poverty no end.

Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can,
that homeless brother is my friend.

The ghosts of highway royalty have vanished in the night,
The Whitman wanderer walking toward a glowing inner light.
The children have grown older and the cops have gripped us tight,
There’s no spot round the melting pot for free men in their flight.
And you who leave on promises and prosper as you please,
The victim of your riches often dies of your disease,
He can’t hear the factory whistle, just the lonesome freight train’s wheeze,
He’s living on good fortune, he ain’t dying on his knees.

Smash your bottle on a gravestone and live while you can,
that homeless brother is my friend.
That homeless brother is my friend.

[Arcade]

“Black Cowboys” - Bruce Springsteen

Raney William’s playground was among Haven’s streets
Where he ran past melted candles and flower wreaths
Names and photos of the young black faces
Whose death and blood consecrated these places

Raney’s mother said Raney stay at my side
For you are my blessing, you are my pride
It’s your love here that keeps my soul alive
I want you to come home from school and stay inside

Raney’d do his work and put his books away
There was a channel showed a Western movie everyday
And that brought him home books on the black cowboys of the Oklahoma range
The Seminole scouts that fought the tribes of the Great Plains

Summer come and the days grew long
Raney always had his mother’s smile to depend on
Along the street of stray bullets he made his way
To the warmth of her arms at the end of each day

Come the Fall, the rain flooded these homes
In Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones
It fell hard and dark to the ground
It fell without a sound

And they took up with a man whose business was the boulevard
Whose smile was fixed in a face that was never off guard
In the pipes 'neath the kitchen sink his secrets are kept
In the day, behind drawn curtains in the next bedroom he slept

And she got lost in the days
The smile Raney depended on dusted away
The arms that held him were no more his own
He lay at night his head pressed to her chest listening to the ghost in her bones

In the kitchen, Raney slipped his hand between the pipes
From a brown bag pulled five hundred dollar bills and stuck it in his coat side
Stood in the dark at his mother’s bed
Brushed her hair and kissed her eyes

In the twilight Raney walked to the station on streets of stone
Through Pennsylvania and Ohio his train drifted on
Through the small towns of Indiana the big train crept
As he lay his head back on his seat and slept

He woke and the towns gave way to muddy fields of green
Corn and cotton and endless nothing in between
Over the rutted hills of Oklahoma the red sun slipped and was gone
The moon rose and stripped the earth to its bone

[Arcade]

Always liked these lyrics because they’re utter nonsense!

“On The Amazon” - Don McLean

There’s a danger zone, not a stranger zone
Than the little plot I walk on that I call my home
Full of eerie sights, weird and skeery sights
Ev’ry vicious animal that creeps and crawls and bites!!

On the Amazon, the prophylactics prowl On the Amazon, the hypodermics howl On
the Amazon, you’ll hear a scarab scowl and sting zodiacs on the wing

All the stalactites and vicious vertebrae
Hunt the stalagmites while laryngitis slay
All that parasites that come from Paraguay in the spring
Hmm, hmm hmmm

Snarling equinox among the rocks will seize you
And the fahrenheit comes out at night to freeze you

Wild duodenum are lurking in the trees
And the jungle swarms with green apostrophes
Oh, the Amazon is calling me

On the Amazon, the pax vobiscum bite
On the Amazon, the epiglottis fight
On the Amazon, the hemispheres at night all slink where the agnostics drink

All the hippodromes that lie concealed in mud
Hunt the metronomes that live in swamp and flood
Then the kodachromes run out and drink their blood, poor ginks

While velocipedes among the weeds will scare you
And the menopause with hungry jaws ensnares you

Frenzied adenoids infest the hills and slopes
Everyone avoids the deadly stethoscopes

Oh, the Amazon is calling
Yes, the Amazon is calling
Oh, the Amazon is calling me-ee!!

[Arcade]

“Man Out Of Time” - Elvis Costello

So this is where he came to hide
When he ran from you
In a private detective’s overcoat
And dirty dead man’s shoes

The pretty things of Knightsbridge
Lying for a minister of state
Are a far cry from the nod and wink
Here at traitor’s gate

'Cause the high heel he used to be has been ground down
And he listens for the footsteps that would follow him around

To murder my love is crime
But will you still love
A man out of time

There’s a tuppeny hapenny millionaire
Looking for a fourpenny one
With a tight grip on the short hairs
Of the public imagination

But for his private wife and kids somehow
Real life becomes a rumour
Days of dutch courage
Just three French letters and a German sense of humour

He’s got a mind like a sewer and a heart like a fridge
He stands to be insulted and he pays for the privilege

To murder my love is a crime
But will you still love
A man out of time

The biggest wheels of industry
Retire sharp and short
And the after dinner overtures
Are nothing but an after thought
Somebody’s creeping in the kitchen
There’s a reputation to be made
Whose nerves are always on a knife’s edge
Who’s up late polishing the blade

Love is always scarpering or cowering or fawning
You drink yourself insensitive and hate yourself in the morning

To murder my love is a crime
But will you still love
A man out of time

[SteveE1966]

The Wurzels - I am A Cider Drinker

When the moon shines on the cow shed
And we’re rollin’ in the hay
All the cows are out there grazing
And the milk is on its way

Chorus:
I am a cider drinker
I drinks it all of the day
I am a cider drinker
It soothes all me troubles away
Ooh aargh ooh argh aay

It’s so comely in the kitchen
The smell of rabbit stew
When the breeze blows past the farmyard
You can smell the cow sheds too
When those combine wheels stops turning
And a hard day’s work is done
There’s a pub around the corner
It’s the place we have our fun

Chorus:
I am a cider drinker
I drinks it all of the day
I am a cider drinker
It soothes all me troubles away
Ooh aargh ooh argh aay

Now dear old Mabel, when she’s able
We takes a stroll down lover’s lane
And we’ll sink a pint of Sproffey
And we’ll play old natures game
But we end up in the duck pond
The pub is sized to close
With me breeches full of tadpoles
And the newts between me toes

Chorus:
I am a cider drinker
I drinks it all of the day
I am a cider drinker
It soothes all me troubles away
Ooh aargh ooh argh aay
Ooh aargh ooh argh aay (x3)

LET CIDER BE THE SPICE OF LIFE

[brother95]

“woman in chains” - Tears For Fears

You better love loving and you better behave
You better love loving and you better behave
Woman in Chains
Woman in Chains
Calls her man the Great White Hope
Says she’s fine, she’ll always cope
Woman in Chains
Woman in Chains
Well I feel lying and waiting is a poor man’s deal
And I feel hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps Woman in Chains
Trades her soul as skin and bones
Sells the only thing she owns
Woman in Chains
Woman in Chains
Men of Stone
Men of Stone
Well I feel deep in your heart there are wounds Time can’t heals
And I feel somebody somewhere is trying to breathe
Well you know what I mean
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps Woman in Chains
It’s under my skin but out of my hands
I’ll tear it apart but I won’t understand
I will not accept the Greatness of Man
It’s a world gone crazy
Keeps Woman in Chains
So Free Her
So Free Her

[brother95]

“mathilde” - Jacques Brel

Ma mère, voici le temps venu
D´aller prier pour mon salut
Mathilde est revenue
Bougnat, tu peux garder ton vin
Ce soir je boirai mon chagrin
Mathilde est revenue
Toi la servante, toi la Maria
Vaudrait p´t-être mieux changer nos draps
Mathilde est revenue
Mes amis, ne me laissez pas, non
Ce soir je repars au combat
Maudite Mathilde, puisque te v´là

Mon cœur, mon cœur ne t´emballe pas
Fais comme si tu ne savais pas
Que la Mathilde est revenue
Mon cœur, arrête de répéter
Qu´elle est plus belle qu´avant l´été
La Mathilde qui est revenue
Mon cœur, arrête de bringuebaler
Souviens-toi qu´elle t´a déchiré
La Mathilde qui est revenue
Mes amis, ne me laissez pas, non
Dites-moi, dites-moi qu´il ne faut pas
Maudite Mathilde puisque te v´là

Et vous mes mains, restez tranquilles
C´est un chien qui nous revient de la ville
Mathilde est revenue
Et vous mes mains, ne frappez pas
Tout ça ne vous regarde pas
Mathilde est revenue
Et vous mes mains, ne tremblez plus
Souvenez-vous quand j´vous pleurais d´ssus
Mathilde est revenue
Vous mes mains, ne vous ouvrez pas
Vous mes bras, ne vous tendez pas
Sacrée Mathilde puisque te v´là

Ma mère, arrête tes prières
Ton Jacques retourne en enfer
Mathilde m´est revenue
Bougnat, apporte-nous du vin
Celui des noces et des festins
Mathilde m´est revenue
Toi la servante, toi la Maria
Va tendre mon grand lit de draps
Mathilde m´est revenue
Amis, ne comptez plus sur moi
Je crache au ciel encore une fois
Ma belle Mathilde puisque te v´là, te v´là!

[brother95]

“love is all” - Roger Glover

very simple lyrics but it says the essential

Everybody’s got to live together
All the people got to understand
So, love your neighbour
Like you love your brother
Come on and join the band

Well, all you need is love and understanding
Ring the bell and let the people know
We’re so happy and we’re celebrating
Come on and let your feelings show

Love is all, well love is all
Love is all, can’t you hear the call
Oh, love is all you need
Love is all you need at the Butterfly Ball

Ain’t you happy that we’re all together
At the ball in nature’s countryside
And although we’re wearing different faces
Nobody wants to hide

Love is all and love is all and
It’s easy, yes it’s so easy
At the Butterfly Ball where love is all
And It’s so easy

All you need is love and understanding
Ring the bell and let the people know
We’re so happy and we’re celebrating
Let your feelings show

Love is all, yes love is all at the Butterfly Ball
Love is big, love is small
Love is free, love is all
At the Butterfly Ball

When your back’s to the wall
When you’re starting to fall
You got something to lean on
Love is everything

It can make you sing at the Butterfly Ball
Love is all, I say love is all, yes love is all
At the Butterfly Ball

[Lauri]

I feel so much in common with these lyrics (except for the fact that I don’t have a dog).

EELS - THINGS THE GRANDCHILDREN SHOULD KNOW

i go to bed real early
everybody thinks it’s strange
i get up early in the morning
no matter how disappointed i was
with the day before
it feels new

i don’t leave the house much
i don’t like being around people
makes me nervous and weird
i don’t like going to shows either
it’s better for me to stay home
some might think it means i hate people
but that’s not quite right

i do some stupid things
but my heart’s in the right place
and this i know

i got a dog
i take him for a walk
and all the people like to say hello
i’m used to staring down at the sidewalk cracks
i’m learning how to say hello
without too much trouble

i’m turning out just like my father
though i swore i never would
now i can say that i have love for him
i never really understood
what it must have been like for him
living inside his head
i feel like he’s here with me now
even though he’s dead

it’s not all good and it’s not all bad
don’t believe everything you read
i’m the only one who knows what it’s like
so i thought i’d better tell you
before i leave

so in the end i’d like to say
that i’m a very thankful man
i tried to make the most of my situations
and enjoy what i had
i knew true love and i knew passion
and the difference between the two
and i had some regrets
but if i had to do it all again
well, it’s something i’d like to do

[brother95]

“the river” - Bruce Springsteen

that’s what I love in Springsteen’s lyrics:you can always easily imagine what’s in the words and see them in your mind:simple stories and words but extremely direct and full of everyday’s life:brilliant!

I come from down in the valley
Where mister when you’re young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
When she was just seventeen
We’d drive out of this valley down to where the fields were green

We’d go down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh down to the river we’d ride

Then I got Mary pregnant
And man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
And the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we’d dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain’t been much work on account
of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don’t remember
Mary acts like she don’t care

But I remember us riding in my brother’s car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I’d lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
They haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true
Or is it something worse
That sends me down to the river
Though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
My baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

[SteveE1966]

to write the rites to right my wrongs

[brother95]

“what’s going on” - Marvin Gaye

Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today - Ya

Father, father
We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what’s going on
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Ah, what’s going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we’re wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What’s going on
Ya, what’s going on
Tell me what’s going on
I’ll tell you what’s going on - Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby

[KevTheLeveller]

New Model Army, ‘Modern Times’, these lyrics get more prescient every year…

It seems strange to write about these things now, but the time has probably come when we should accept whatever is past and gone and never will return…

Looking back to the beginning, I see a flood of painful memories and the bitter hurt and wounded pride that comes with our defeat…

We set out with our heads held high, So sure of our ground, our righteousness
The new Jerusalem to be built with love and guts and truth…

But in the end we surrendered easily…it’s no use pretending otherwise… Well most of us had a little something to lose, enough to break our nerve…

Well, some of us made an easy peace and moved into the brave new world…
It’s hard for the true believers to look back now and realize that for many of the crowd it was just the fashion, the cause of the moment well we, If anyone should know that you can look pretty dumb, standing in last year’s clothes…

And some of us, shell-shocked still, ran for shelter and do the rituals, the same old way, pretending that someone out there cares…

And some of us live in the modern world
We give unto Caesar what is due
And harbor the bitterness of defeat and daydreams of revenge

Now nothing you see out there is real
It matters not what you believe in
It matters less what you say but only what you are
It matters what you are, it matters what you are
It matters what you are

Read more: New Model Army - Modern Times Lyrics | MetroLyrics