[HFat]

In anglo "rock", my fave is probably Patti Smith.

You're doing yourself a disfavor if you're discounting folk, spoken word, hip-hop and so on BTW.
I don't care for grammar though so your mileage may vary. I even like writers who mix languages and make up words...

 

[TMusic]

This song has been in my head for twenty years now. Maria McKee's Breathe has stood the test of time for me. She has the smoothest voice on this song that I'll ever hear. You owe it to yourself to take a listen sometime.


Breathe
At first I was scared when I opened up my head
And the motor that was runnin’ was the mind of you
I was scared when I looked at my reflection and the shine I saw were the eyes of you
I was scared when you touched my lips
And the breath I took was a breath that shook me with a shock
Like a flame as eternal as a song and the song is you and I
I will let you breathe through me
I will let you be with me

Whenever I’m alone and you’re lost out there
I can feel you breathe ‘cause our lungs we share
Whenever I’m alone anytime anywhere
I can feel your heart beat ‘cause our blood we share

I was scared when you came into my room
The walls became the sea, your voice was the moon
Oh when you rocked me in your arms
Like a song, a wave on the tide of you and I
I will let you breathe through me
I will let you be with me
[ these lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]

My heart beats your blood
Your breath fills my lungs
Your heart beats my blood
My breath fills your lungs

I was scared when you came into my room
The walls became the sea, your voice was the moon
Oh when you rocked me in your arms
Be with me...

I will let you breathe through me
I will let you...
I will let you...
I will let you...

 

[Denver Max]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinx /img/forum/go_quote.gif mewithoutYou... they freakin rock

YES
Quote:

Originally Posted by Silencer - mewithoutYou Don't waste your lips on words I've heard before Kiss my tired head. And each letter written wastes your hand, young man Come and lead me to your bed You gave me hope that I'd not lost her And then thought it rather strange to see me smile- as I don't do too much smiling these days. She put on happiness like a loose dress Over pain I'll never know "So the peace you had," she says, "I must confess, I'm glad to see it go." We're two white roses lying frozen just outside his door I've made you so happy and so sad, But which should I be more sorry for? Come kiss my face goodbye, that space below my eye and above my cheek Cause I'm faint and fading fast, I see a darkness And I shall be released. I'll pass like a fever from this body, And softly slip into his hands I tried to love you and I failed, But I have another plan. My Lord, how long to sing this song? And my Lord, how muchmore of this pretending to be strong? When she stands before your throne Dressed in beauty not her own All soft and small, you'll hear her call "you brought me here, now take me home."

 

[Mrtn77]

I'd say the lyricist closest to actual poetry (as work in langage and form and not mere purveyor of "moving imagery" or "engaging sentiment") is the very brillant and criminally under-rated Peter Blegvad, perhaps best known for his work with Slapp Happy (with Anthony Moore and Dagmar Krause) and, through that band, with Henry Cow.
A near-random exemple, from the wonderful Slapp Happy / Henry Cow joint album Desperate Straights :
(The song is here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL4R5iIMz-w )
 
[size=12pt]A Worm is at Work[/size]


[size=12pt]Holding forth
on a topic of no worth,
pissy myth about birth
of War

And as for those "Hats", they're a bore.
Not amusing anymore.
Dare I ask myself what
it's for?

A worm is at work in the core

No no no no no no no
Stop that cynical line!
Mind, cease your spinning & unwind!

At stage right -
Good counsel dressed all in white;
Temptation, black as night, stage left
(& I've a hunch his hooves are cleft!)
Between 'em am I, bereft.
Like tempter's hoof my mind
is cleft,

divided I fall, nothing's left…

No no no no no no no
Stop that cynical line!
Mind, cease your spinning & unwind!

[/size]

 

[Maverickmonk]

"Indie Rap" takes the cake as far as genre here for me, here's a couple from various artists in Doomtree:
 
"It seems like we've fallen out of favor/ the era ended on us/
Now the moneys just paper/ the houses all haunted/
We had a hell of a run before it caught up/
For all the corners cut/ we got an avalanche of sawdust/
Life of the party/ we're the death of the novel/
The glass is half empty/ so pass the next bottle/
Its the flight of the salesman/ death of the bumblebee/
Nothing left for the/ attorneys and the tumbleweeds/
They say that Gods on the right/ so goes the rhetoric/
But I think that cross is a kite/ that left a skeleton/
And I think that Russel was right/ but that's irrelevant friend/
For all I know there'll be nothing left to defend tomorrow/
Sugar in the gas tank/ nothing in the cash box/
Thought that we were sick/ lookin' like its smallpox/
The bullets are still on the shelves/
But when the armory empties/ were melting down the bells/" (Low Light Low Life)

Another that gives me chills every time is Sims "Sink or Syncopate". The words really put you there, RIGHT there.
"we stayed up late drinking, smoking,
talking backwards
laughing under a moon of alabaster
looking at downtown smiling
that bright battleship on the horizon
we talked about dying, legacy, infamy,
abandoned industry
feeling strangled, peoples angles
we spoke on angels, heaven and hell
while the church across the park rang
its twelve o’clock bells
and she sighed to herself, another day in the veldt
pulled the dagger from her hip and turned it in
scratched another notch in the cracked
leather on her belt
she took a pull of whiskey and said I’ll play
the hand I’m dealt
and I’m going to get there you know,
even if I have to put the feathers on myself"

 

[ldtboyl]

I like what Joni Mitchell does with her lyrics
 
Both Sides Now
 
Bows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

Oh but now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From WIN and LOSE and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

 

[angevoi]

David Sylvian - Thoroughly Lost To Logic
 
When the little one came
A hole was blown open
A partial surrendering in the midst of knowing
And for an instance the constant heart shed its own tears 
Wave upon wave carried me over
Beyond the peripheries of hope and fear
Deadening the voice of relentless biography 
I stood at the center and danced at the extremities
Mapping the city as subtle as silence
Then on, outwards, into the darkness
When the crazy one came
She placed her finger on my forehead
And pushed on through
I woke up, face on fire
Spitting out diamonds
Thoroughly lost to logic
Craving her madness