[tattoou2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dixie Flatline Hate to let a good thread die. Let's try this, from the late, great, lamented Warren Zevon: "Gorilla, You're A Desperado" by Warren Zevon, from Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School

Only one of countless, great lyrics by Warren. Other memorable lyrics are Detox Mansion, Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, Excitable Boy, The French Inhaler, etc. I've been a Zevonaholic for some years now and everytime I listen to one of his songs, I find something new and a bit different in his lyrics. He left us much too early. RIP, Warren.

Thanks for posting this, Dixie Flatline!

 

[knestle]

I'll probably get the quote wrong,
it's been a long time since I heard Dylan sing it.

"Clowns to the left of me, fools to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle again."

 

[sleepkyng]

"Tom Courtenay" by Yo La Tengo

Julie Christie, the rumors are true
As the pages turn, my eyes are glued
To the movie star and his sordid life
Mr. X and his old-suffering wife
I spent so much time dreaming about Eleanor Bron
In my room with the curtains drawn
See her in the arms of Paul
Say it, I can say no more
As the music swells somehow stronger from adversity
Our hero finds his inner peace
So now I'm looking for a lucky charm
With a needle hanging out of its arm

As time goes by I know it's gonna happen
I know it's going away
Gonna take its toll, gonna take its toll
Gonna take my time
And I'm thinking about the way things are
And I'm thinking about the way things were
Thinking about Eleanor Bron
And I'm thinking about a lucky charm
And I'm thinking about the needle
Oh, I'm thinking about the needle
And I'm thinking about...

 

[sleepkyng]

Kentucky Avenue(1)

Well, Eddie Grace’s Buick got four bullet holes in the side
And Charlie DeLisle is sittin’ at the top of an avocado tree
Mrs. Storm(2) will stab you with a steak knife if you step on her lawn
I got a half a pack of Lucky Strikes, man, so come along with me
And let’s fill our pockets with macadamia nuts
And go over to Bobby Goodmanson’s and jump off the roof


Well, Hilda plays strip poker when her mama’s cross the street
Joey Navinski says she put her tongue in his mouth
And Dicky Faulkner’s got a switchblade and some gooseneck risers
That eucalyptus is a hunchback, there’s a wind down from the south
So let me tie you up with kite string and I’ll show you the scabs on my knee
Watch out for the broken glass, put your shoes and socks on
And come along with me


Let’s follow that fire truck, I think your house is burnin’ down
And go down to the hobo jungle(3) and kill some rattlesnakes with a trowel
And we’ll break all the windows in the old Anderson(4) place
And we’ll steal a bunch of boysenberries and I’ll smear ‘em on your face
I’ll get a dollar from my mama’s purse and buy that scull and crossbones ring
And you can wear it ‘round your neck on an old piece of string


Then we’ll spit on Ronnie Arnold and flip him the bird(5)
And slash the tires on the school bus, now don’t say a word
I’ll take a rusty nail and scratch your initials in my arm
And I’ll show you how to sneak up on the roof of the drugstore
I’ll take the spokes from your wheelchair(6) and a magpie’s wings
And I’ll tie ‘em to your shoulders and your feet
I’ll steal a hacksaw from my dad and cut the braces off your legs
And we’ll bury them tonight out in the cornfield
Just put a church key(7) in your pocket, we’ll hop that freight train(8) in the hall
We’ll slide all the way down the drain to New Orleans in the fall


Written by: Tom Waits
Published by: Fifth Floor Music, Inc. (ASCAP),© 1978 & Warner Bros. Music Ltd, 1986
Official release: "Blue Valentine", Elektra Entertainment/ WEA International Inc., 1978 &
"Asylum Years", WEA International Inc., 1986

taken from the tom waits supplement:
http://www.keeslau.com/TomWaitsSupplement/

 

[Aman]

One of my favorite song lyrics comes from a very underground, slow-moving David Bowie type of bands from my old neighborhood:

"The most beautiful song ever written" - Disconuts

Conservatory rape of the inner goddess
Goddess became man, and man became senseless

This radical organized group
Of retched, awful souls
Brings to the table some soup
In a huge glass bowl

Common sense is lost
As we struggle to be free
We've already gained that freedom
And you still struggle - but not me

Wipe out those devil trumpets
Clean out your angel trombones
Tell your mother to look outside
Nothing will prepare you for the tears and bones

Run upstairs, run far away
You can always look back later
For now, find the truth in a new way
Find it for a better today

The enjoyment is useless
But the need is necessary
Keep on striding for what matters to you
Make sure to leave the evils in the dust too

Speak of these evils
They come off as peaceful
But they are just devils

Look in their minds, they see change
Little do you know what it means
The beautiful face of a virgin girl is what they see

Blood can be found
Seeping through their ears
And then the face goes away
Their eyes turn bright red
And their actions
Kills the heroes today

No amount of beauty
Can prepare you for this discovery
No amount of beauty
Can enlighten you enough

No amount of beauty
Can make you seek your place
No amount of beauty
Can make you love your faith

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by knestle I'll probably get the quote wrong, it's been a long time since I heard Dylan sing it. "Clowns to the left of me, fools to the right, Here I am, stuck in the middle again."

Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

 

[Dixie Flatline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tattoou2 Only one of countless, great lyrics by Warren. Other memorable lyrics are Detox Mansion, Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, Excitable Boy, The French Inhaler, etc. I've been a Zevonaholic for some years now and everytime I listen to one of his songs, I find something new and a bit different in his lyrics. He left us much too early. RIP, Warren.

You forgot "Lawyers, Guns, and Money".

I must say, when it comes my time to go, I hope I can muster the same style and grace that he had. "I now know exactly how much you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich."

And, because I can't resist throwing another Leonard Cohen song into the mix:

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That's how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long-stemmed rose
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that you love me, baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that you've been faithful
Give or take a night or two
Everybody knows you've been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that it's now or never
Everybody knows that it's me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
When you've done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old black Joe's still pickin' cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is coming
Everybody knows that it's moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artifact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there's gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows

And everybody knows that you're in trouble
Everybody knows what you've been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach at Malibu
Everybody knows it's coming apart
Take one last look at this Sacred Heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knows
That's how it goes
Everybody knows...

Leonard Cohen, "Everybody Knows", from I'm Your Man

(I know these are supposed to be short lyrical excerpts, but sometimes you just can't chop up a great song.

)

 

[Megaptera]

Richard Thompson's Gethsemane, from The Old Kit Bag:

Among the headstones you played as boys
Crypts and tombs like a roomful of toys
Just up the river from the smoke and the noise
Gethsemane
And there's war-whoops and secret signs in the trees
Estuary smells coming up on the breeze
O perfect endless days like these
O Gethsemane

Sailboat on the Cadie, pushbike on the quay
In your eyes there's fire, in your hands destiny
'O be something, be something fine!'

 

[dknightd]

Because when the smack begins to flow
I really don't care anymore
About all the Jim-Jim's in this town
And all the politicians makin' crazy sounds
And everybody puttin' everybody else down
And all the dead bodies piled up in mounds

Lou Reed, "Heroin", Rock and Roll Animal

 

[tattoou2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dixie Flatline You forgot "Lawyers, Guns, and Money". I must say, when it comes my time to go, I hope I can muster the same style and grace that he had. "I now know exactly how much you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich."

Well said.

 

[MrMajestic]

Quote:

How I always memorize every single misery and I seem to glorify everything inside of me and the hero never dies if the lover hides between the sheets there' no escape cause you can't sleep and then you'll see your just like me...

Never Recover
by The Cardigans
from First Band on the Moon

 

[chrisczarra]

I remember this qouted from a Robert Pollard album:

I'm not in your dreams
Get out of mine

 

[Jasper994]

I'm so happy.
Cause today I found my friends.
They're in my head.

 

[Jasper994]

In the morning light
Half awake and half asleep
Have you ever laid there thinking
Was it all a dream?
But you reach out and she’s there
Every moment, everywhere
Have you ever been in love?

Have you ever felt
How far a heart can fall
Have you ever stayed up waiting
For a telephone call
Just to hear her say hello
’cause you miss each other so
Have you ever been in love?

Have there been times to laugh
And times you really want to cry
Finding reasons to believe her
’cause you’d die a little if she lied
And when in times of doubt
Have you ever tried to work it out
But still she leaves you wondering
What it’s all about

And when she’s far away
Have you ever felt the need to stray
And tried and then discovered
It just doesn’t pay
’cause with her, you can be true
And with her, you can be you
Have you ever been in love?

Have there been times to laugh
And times you really want to cry
Finding reasons to believe her
’cause you’d die a little if she lied
And when in times of doubt
Have you ever tried to work it out
But still she leaves you wondering
What it’s all about

And when the night comes down
Can you call your house a home
Do you dream you’re still together
And wake up alone
Have you ever been in love
The way that I’m in love
Have you ever been in love?

 

[Jasper994]

If you see me coming up an open road
With an empty glass and a single rose
Take a turn towards the shifting light
There you'll see my shadow lost in the night