Particular Lyrics.
 

Who do you guys think writes good lyrics? What song do you think has good lyrics?

Blondie does. Their songs have.

Attack of the Giant Ants

Giant ants from space
snuff the human race
Then they eat your face
never leave a trace
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
They shoot fire all around
Tokyo burns down
Everybody drowns
The moon falls on the ground
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
They can't be stopped at all
The buildings start to fall
Soldiers shoot all day
and then they run away
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
The world is holocaust
Everything is lost
Mankind is destroyed
Sprinkled in the void
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
Giant ants from space
waste the human race
Then they eat your face
never leave a trace
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la


Ok, bad example.

Its got a nice rhythm to it... Any others?

Well, there's all those classic anti-war songs... like For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away

We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down


And then, if you're looking for something a bit more contemporary/less political, how about Boy Hits Car's Man Without Skin. The lyrics are very symbolic, and not so much to be taken literally.

Can you see the line where the water ends?
Throws itself off into oblivion.
As the sky goes so complacent
And then spits a little compassion.
Dusk approaches, the city's carnivorous.
Moisturous sweat, like it wants to eat us
And devour everything but the smell
Sings of this glorious fetus.
Tucked deep inside the rafts of blood.

Everywhere it seems a distant memory.
Sometimes memories kill me.
As I travel the avenues of the streets
And shadowed alleys of this fucking city.
Everyday day it seems to love a little less.
Seems to love to chew on my calmness.
And drive me to the end of myself
Where there is a taste for something.

You're like a man without skin.
Everything that touches him seems to unhem.
And he says maybe I'm just a person.
But I'll be for you if you let me.

All I want is animals to be free.
Run around and fuck right out in the street.
Every day they kinda wanna eat me.
But I'll try not to take it personally.

And is there no love in this city?
Can someone have just a little pity?

You're like a man without skin.
Everything that touches him seems to unhem.
And he says maybe I'm just a person.
But I'll be for you if you let me.

Just like a man without skin
Everything you see seems to touch him
And he says as the water washes over me
I'll stand around like a naked tree.

Come on, baby.
Penetrate me.
You go so deep,
So deep in me.
Is there no love in this city?
Can someone have just a little pity?

'Cause we're tucked deep inside the rafts of blood
We're tucked deep inside the rafts of blood

You're like a man without skin.
Everything that touches him seems to unhem.
And he says maybe I'm just a person.
But I'll be for you if you let me.

Just like a man without skin
Everything you see seems to touch him
And he says as the water washes over me
I'll stand around like a naked tree.

Penetrate me.
Penetrate me.

Can you see the line where the water ends?
Throws itself off into oblivion.
As the sky goes so complacent
Then spits a little compassion

I also rather enjoy the lyrics of "Ear Ring" by Rainer Maria

have faith
have faith
in the blue
lady

have faith
have faith
in the blue
lady

strange how
the ears ring
after a night
of wrongdoing

strange how
the arms sting
when you're left
holding nothing

have faith
have faith
in the blue
lady

have faith
have faith
in the blue
lady

strange how
the ears ring
after a night
of wrongdoing

strange how
the arms sting
when you're left
holding nothing

you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily

and you already love her
you already love her
you already love her
Love her
love her

strange how
the ears ring
after a night
of wrongdoing

strange how
the arms sting
when you're left
holding nothing

you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily
your conscience is failing
you need contact daily

and you already love her
you already love her
you already
you already love her
you al...
love her
love her
love her
love her
love her
love her

Then for something whose lyrics I just love because they make me laugh, spoofing pop music, how about Title of the Song by Davinci's Notebook:

Declaration of my feelings for you
Elaboration on those feelings
Description of how long these feelings have existed
Belief that no one else could feel the same as I
Reminiscence of the pleasant times we shared
And our relationship's perfection
Recounting of the steps that led to our love's dissolution
Mostly involving my unfaithfulness and lies
Penitent admission of wrongdoing
Discovery of the depth of my affection
Regret over the lateness of my epiphany

Title of the song
Naive expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Enumeration of my various transgressive actions
Of insufficient motivation
Realization that these actions led to your departure
And my resultant lack of sleep and appetite
Renounciation of my past insensitive behavior
Promise of my reformation
Reassurance that you still are foremost in my thoughts now
Need for instructions how to gain your trust again
Request for reconciliation
Listing of the numerous tasks that I'd perform
Of physical and emotional compensation

Title of the song
Naive expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Acknowledgment that I acted foolishly
Increasingly desperate pleas for your return
Sorrow for my infidelity
Vain hope that my sins are forgivable
Appeal for one more opportunity
Drop to my knees to elicit crowd response
Prayers to my chosen deity
Modulation and I hold a high note...

Title of the song
Naive expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Title of the song
Talkin' 'bout the title of the song.

Oh yah, title of the song.
Title of the song.
Listen baby, title of the song.
Title of the song...

They Might be Giants write the best lyrics ever. No contest. And I qoute:

I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea

The yellow Roosevelt Avenue leaf overturned
The ardor of arboreality is an adventure we have spurned, we've spurned
A new leaf overturned
It's a new leaf overturned

And so I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea

We yearn to swim for home, but our only home is bone
How sleepless is the egg knowing that which throws the stone
Foresees the bone, the bone
Our only home is bone
Our only home is bone

And so I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea

Yes I'm going down to Cowtown
The cow's a friend to me
Lives beneath the ocean and that's where I will be
Beneath the waves, the waves
And that's where I will be
I'm gonna see the cow beneath the sea
Yes I'm gonna see (I'm gonna see)
The cow (the cow)
Beneath the sea

See also: Purple Toupee, I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die, and Older.

Alright I will say I am a huge fan of the more "obscure bands" My title is the lyrics of a song by Remy Zero.

However Some of my favorite lyrics are these...

Rage Against The Machine: Bulls on Parade

Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!
The microphone explodes, shattering the molds
Either drop tha hits like de la O or get tha fuck off tha commode
Wit tha sure shot, sure ta make tha bodies drop
Drop an don't copy yo, don't call this a co-op
Terror rains drenchin', quenchin' tha thirst of tha power dons
That five sided fist-a-gon
Tha rotten sore on tha face of mother earth gets bigger
Tha triggers cold empty ya purse

Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells

Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a library
Line up to tha mind cemetary now
What we don't know keeps tha contracts alive an movin'
They don't gotta burn tha books they just remove 'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells
Rally round tha family, pockets full of shells

Rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells
They rally round tha family! With a pocket full of shells

Bulls on parade

Come wit it now!
Come wit it now!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!
Bulls on parade!

"Hey You" by pink Floyd, has one of my favorite Lines in a song of all time.

Hey you ! out there in the cold
Getting lonely, getting old, can you feel me
Hey you ! Standing in the aisles
With itchy feet and fading smiles, can you feel me
Hey you ! don't help them to bury the light
Don't give in without a fight.
Hey you ! out there on your own
sitting naked by the phone would you touch me
Hey you ! with your ear against the wall
Waiting for someone to call out would you touch me
Hey you ! would you help me to carry the stone
Open your heart, I'm coming home
But it was only a fantasy
The wall was too high as you can see
No matter how he tried he could not break free
And the worms ate into his brain.
Hey you ! out there on the road
Doing what you're told, can you help me
Hey you ! out there beyond the wall
Breaking bottles in the hall, can you help me
Hey you ! don't tell me there's no hope at all
Together we stand, divided we fall.

I would put Stairway to Heaven but someone will probably do that.

I also Think John Cale & Frank Zappa were pretty good at writing lyrics...

I am quite Partial to Pearl Jam myself. They can come up with something really deep when they try.

Example:

"I Am Mine"

The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind

The North is to South what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine

And the feeling, it gets left behind
All the innocence lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at hightide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine

And the meaning, it gets left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
Significant, behind the eyes
There's no need to hide
We're safe tonight

And the feelings that get left behind
All the innocents broken with lies
Significance, between the lines
(We may need to hide)

And the meanings that get left behind
All the innocents lost at one time
We're all different behind the eyes
There's no need to hide

I also am a fan of Mudvayn's song, "World So Cold." It's great when you're in a deep blue funk.

When passion's lost
And all the trust is gone
For way too far
For way too long
Children crying
Cast out and neglected
Only in a world so cold
Only in a world this cold
Hold the hand of your best friend
Look into their eyes
Then watch them drift away
Some might say
We've done the wrong things
For way too long
For way too long
Fever inside the storm
So I'm turning away
Away from the game
Away from the storm
Cuz I'm through mending the wounds of us
Keep your thorns
Cuz I'm running away
Away from the games
Away from the space
The circumstances of a world so cold
Burning whispers
Remind me of the days
I was left alone
In a world this cold
Guilty of the same things
Provoked by the cause
I've left alone in a world so cold
Fever inside the storm
So I'm turning away
Away from the game
Away from the storm
Its like through mending the worlds of us
Keep your thorns
Cuz I'm running away
Away from the games
Away from space
The circumstances of a world so cold
I'm flying
I'm flying away
Away from the games
Away from the flames
The circumstances of a world so cold
Why does everyone feel like my enemy
Don't want any part of depression or darkness
I've had enough, sick and tired,
Bring the sun or I'm gone
or I'm gone, I'm backing out, I'm no pawn, no motherfuckin' slave to this
Never lived, never loved, never lied, never left, never lost,
never hurt, never worried about being me,
Or anyone else, not a care, no concern, don't give a shit about anything,
backing out, giving up, no motherfuckin' slave to this Never lived, never
loved, never lied, never left, never lost, never hurt never worried about
being me, Or anyone else, not a care, no concern, don't give a shit about
anything,
I need to find a darkened corner
A lightlessess corner,
where its safer and calmer
I'm running away, away from the flames away from the stones

Cause I through mending the wounds of us,
I'm running away, away from the game away from this space
the circumstances of a world so cold,
I'm flying, I'm flying away, away from the game away from the game
the circumstances of a world so cold.

Always love the peppy, upbeat songs with the catchy chorus that 90% of people never seem to realize have all kinds of fucked up bullshit going on in the lyrics.

Like Lola, for example.

Lola, la-la-la-la Lola
Lola, la-la-la-la Lola

I mean, how can you not sing along to that? And to the casual listener, the lyrics just sound like some guy singing about a girl he met in a bar.

And then you pay attention, and it's some guy singing about how he met a girl in a bar who turned out to be a dude. A dude who has trouble taking no for an answer.

Other classics in the genre include Lust for Life, in which Iggy Pop and Johnny Yen are up to some truly fucked up shit, and that "If you steal my sunshine" song a few years back which was all about doing ecstacy.

I shouldn't even have to mention YMCA.

Yes Lyics can mean one thing and sound another. That is a fact.

AC/DC
Everything

-----------

Black Sabbath
Die Young
Heaven And Hell
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
and most every song they have ever done

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Blind Guardian
Everything

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Iced Earth
Question Of Heaven
and most every song they have ever done

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Iron Maiden
Everything

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Led Zeppelin
Everything

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The Beatles
Every song

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I did not post the lyrics to all of the songs that I think are great songs from these bands because that would be too much text and would most likely break the thread.

Yeah from now on only about two to three songs per post.