Experts say that the best song lyrics and song title of all time
come from the same forty year old song and that no titles or lyrics have come close since then:
Best Song Title: "You're so Vain, You Prob'ly Think this Song is About You"
Best Song Lyrics: Tied for first from the same song:
"You're where you should be all the time,
And when you're not you're with some underworld spy
Or the wife of a close friend, wife of a close friend."
and
"You walked into the party like you were walking into a yacht,
You're hat strategically dipped below one eye, your scarf it was apricot,
You had one eye on the mirror as you watched yourself gavotte."
(This was deemed by the experts to be #1 simply from the use of the word "gavotte", which has never been used in a popular song before or since.)
I certain wouldn't quarrel with the experts on either of these choices.
8 comments:
Those lyrics are awesome, but "some underworld spy, or the wife of a close friend"... huh?
And who are these "experts"? Experts in what?
You know… those with Ph.D.'s and years of study in pop song lyrics.
(Personally, while no expert, I have always cringed when I hear that song. The melody is fine, but the lyrics seemed to come from the same school of lyric writing that produced such famous country lines as "One man woman, two timing man," i.e. no raw or honest feeling, just a contrivance. But again, one man's meal is another's poison.)
My thoughts exactly. Who are these experts? Just off the top of my head, I thought of several songs with better lyrics.
And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!
Once in a Lifetime
-Talking Heads
Trouble in transit, got through the roadblock
We blended with the crowd
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines
I know that that ain't allowed
We dress like students, we dress like housewives
Or in a suit and a tie
I've changed my hairstyle so many times now
I don't know what I look like.
Life During Wartime
-Talking Heads
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's
Going to get himself a big dish of beef chow mein
* * *
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's
His hair was perfect!
Werewolves of London. . .
Draw blood.
Werewolves Of London
-Warren Zevon
And a press roll drummer go, ballerina to-and-fro cartwheelin' up on that tightrope,
With a cannon blast, lightin' flash, movin' fast
through the tent, Mars bent,
He's gonna miss his fall. . .
Oh God save the human cannonball.
Wild Billy's Circus Story
-Bruce Springsteen
'Cause the bouncer is a sumo wrestler
Cream puff Casper milk toast
And the owner is a mental midget
With the I.Q. of a fencepost
'Cause the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
And you can't find your waitress
With a geiger counter
And she hates you and your friends
And you just can't get served without her
The Piano Has Been Drinking
-Tom Waits
Great selections and I am in awe at what is 'off the top of your head'!
The songs were off the top of my head; the exact lyrics were not (had to look them up).
In the running for best opening line of a song:
I am not in love but I'm open to persuasion
Joan Armatrading "Love and Affection"
Also in the running:
You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips
Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"
We seem to have left out one of the greatest lyricists of all time:
(Also in the running for great titiel)
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Fo' shizzle my nizzle used to dribble down in VA
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
That's the anthem get'cha damn hands up
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
Not guilty ya'll got-ta feel me
H to the izz-O, V to the izz-A
That's the anthem get'cha damn hands UP!
H to the Izzo (Jay-Z)
And the classic:
The year's '94 and my trunk is raw
In my rear view mirror is the mother $#@&$' law
I got two choices y'all pull over the car or (hmmm)
Bounce on the double put the pedal to the floor
Now I ain't tryin' to see no highway chase with Jay.
Plus i got a few dollars i can fight the case
So I...pull over to the side of the road
I heard "Son do you know why I'm stoppin' you for?"
Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hats real low?
Do I look like a mind reader sir, I don't know
Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo'?
"Well you was doin fifty-five in a fifty-fo' "
"Liscense and registration and step out of the car"
"Are you carryin' a weapon on you I know a lot of you are"
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