There’s really no better feeling than listening to a song in which the lyrics inspire you, relate to you, or just make you think ‘they are some lovely lyrics’. Being the poetry of the music world, and seeing as I can apparently remember hundreds of song lyrics yet absolutely nothing that I’ve learned in uni, I’ve decided to run down my top 10 favourite song lyrics, hoping that it gives my readers inspiration to think of their favourite lyrics, and perhaps get into some of the songs that I’m about to mention (all brilliant songs - obviously).
4. “Look at the sun, sinkin' like a ship, ain't that just like my heart, babe, when you kissed my lips?“
- Meet Me In The Morning, Bob Dylan
If anyone knows how to write a good breakup album it’s Bob Dylan, Blood On The Tracks being a devastating, yet wonderful example. Every song of this album tells the story of Dylan’s heartache after the separation from his long term partner. This song in particular is so beautifully tragic, his emotion filling every line as he sings. This lyric encapsulates Dylan’s sinking heart in the midst of his breakup and stands out to me most compared to rest of the song; why I’m not sure, but it’s lovingly sad.
5. “Rock on ancient queen, follow those who pale in your shadow. Rulers make bad lovers, you better put your kingdom up for sale”
- Gold Dust Woman, Fleetwood Mac
I love me a badass woman, and Miss Stevie Nicks is no exception. Though backed by the equally wonderful members of Fleetwood Mac, ‘Gold Dust Woman’ puts all the spotlight on Stevie, and lyrics such as this showcase how she sings lyrics like this like no one else could - she delivers them with such confidence and attack, mnaning these particular, strong minded lyrics, stands out as one of my favourites.
6. “Does my heaven burn like hell on you?”
- Back and Forth, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are the perfect juxtaposition for me, because although they are very much of the heavy rock and roll genre, they’re lyrics are still meaningful and thought out. ‘Back and Forth’ is my favourite of their album Wasting Light, as it is heavy and emotionally charged, this lyric being a standout for me - it’s a sure fire ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe.
7. “Let’s take Jesus off the dashboard, got enough on his mind”
- Diet Mountain Dew, Lana Del Rey
I listened to SO many Lana songs, attempting to a pick favourite lyric, and there are so many I could have chosen. This lyric sticks out to me because this is such a fun and carefree song, and though mentioning Jesus in a song doesn’t normally invite light-heartedness, somehow Lana does it. It’s quite an amusing image of Lana being her lovely and rebellious self and moving a Jesus statue off her dashboard for fear of judgement - I’m not sure why this appeals to me so much but it’s just a good ol’ lyric. Well done Lana.
8. “The ugliness of being a fool, ain't youth meant to be beautiful?”
- Teen Idle, Marina and the Diamonds
Marina, in her album Electra Heart, perfectly tells the story of youth, love and heartbreak. This song in particular has resonated for years throughout my teenage years, as it describes with such a beautiful song, the trials and tribulations of teenagedom. The questioning in my chosen lyric, for me, is the main question of youth; we are told that it will be the best years of our lives, yet it is always filled with a lot of heartache and bad times. There’s nothing better than being able to perfectly relate to a song, and this is definitely one of them.
9. “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old”
- Serve The Servants, Nirvana
This lyric made it onto my Twitter or Instagram bio at some point I’m sure, because I thought it was so cool sounding; and honestly I still think that to this day. If it’s one thing Cobain’s lyrics often did was be brutally honest, and I can’t help that when I am in fact bored and old, I will look back on this lyric and he will be proved right. Nirvana have a repertoire of great lyrics, and this one will always stick with me, whether as an angsty teen or a bored and old 40 something year old.
10. “You’re all I need, I’m in the middle of your picture, lying in the leaves”
- All I Need, Radiohead
Having already ranted about my love for Radiohead on this blog, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to any regular readers that I found it near impossible to pick one song and one favourite lyric. This band’s song lyrics are often very contextualised to a certain theme of that song or indeed the entire album, so to isolate one to talk about is very difficult as they do not make as much sense or seem as powerful by themselves. I wouldn’t say Radiohead are known for very love dovey love songs, but this is one I would categorise this as, and there are some beautifully meaningful lyrics in it that can be appreciated in isolation, such as my chosen one. I really like this lyric because it is not the typical way one would compliment someone, yet the imagine of Thom Yorke lying in amongst leaves ina picture of his love done is pretty lovely to think about, so it was only right that it got a mention.
This piece had the potential to be 50 songs long, but I’m proud for narrowing down all the amazing lyrics out there to these 10. Writing this has reminded me how talented songwriters are; deserving endless recognition for their thoughtful musical poetry. Hopefully this has encouraged you to delve into the meanings behind your favourite songs, and to really appreciate the endless amount of wonderful words out there for us to listen to.
P.S Thanks to everyone who has been sharing and reading my blog lately, I’m really enjoying it right now and it’s only worth it if people are reading and enjoying it, so thank you!
Love love love
H x
1. “I just want to love you in my own language”
- 3WW, alt - J
Undoubtedly the highlight of the band’s third album Relaxer, 3WW is a tender, loving tune with relaxing melodies and beautifully innocent lyrics. This particular line, repeated throughout the song, stands out to me because of its ability to capture the innocence of love, and the exclusiveness that a love between two people creates - giving them the opportunity to love each other in their own, unique language. Pretty cute.
2. “I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me”
- Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown), The Beatles
Again on the theme of lovey dovey lyrics, though the rest of this song isn’t particularly lovey, this lyric again exemplifies young love, and if not love, at least lust. The character of this song, whether it’s based on any of the band is unclear, is clearly infatuated with the girl, so it becomes a pretty dismal tune when the rest of the lyrics play out. Even so, there is something lovely about this particular, opening line.
3. “Don’t get me wrong though there’s boys in bands, and kids who like to scrap with pool queues in their hands”
- A Certain Romance, Arctic Monkeys
I could have featured almost any lyric from this song really, as it resonates so much with me. This song really showcases in even the dodgiest neighbourhoods there is a light of hope, talent and friendship. With the band also being from the north, I can completely relate to the narrative of all of the lyrics and it makes me so thankful for my friends and the craziness of Liverpool where I’m from - a place so often condemned for its roughness yet also the ground that so many talented people have grown.
- Meet Me In The Morning, Bob Dylan
If anyone knows how to write a good breakup album it’s Bob Dylan, Blood On The Tracks being a devastating, yet wonderful example. Every song of this album tells the story of Dylan’s heartache after the separation from his long term partner. This song in particular is so beautifully tragic, his emotion filling every line as he sings. This lyric encapsulates Dylan’s sinking heart in the midst of his breakup and stands out to me most compared to rest of the song; why I’m not sure, but it’s lovingly sad.
5. “Rock on ancient queen, follow those who pale in your shadow. Rulers make bad lovers, you better put your kingdom up for sale”
- Gold Dust Woman, Fleetwood Mac
6. “Does my heaven burn like hell on you?”
- Back and Forth, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters are the perfect juxtaposition for me, because although they are very much of the heavy rock and roll genre, they’re lyrics are still meaningful and thought out. ‘Back and Forth’ is my favourite of their album Wasting Light, as it is heavy and emotionally charged, this lyric being a standout for me - it’s a sure fire ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe.
7. “Let’s take Jesus off the dashboard, got enough on his mind”
- Diet Mountain Dew, Lana Del Rey
I listened to SO many Lana songs, attempting to a pick favourite lyric, and there are so many I could have chosen. This lyric sticks out to me because this is such a fun and carefree song, and though mentioning Jesus in a song doesn’t normally invite light-heartedness, somehow Lana does it. It’s quite an amusing image of Lana being her lovely and rebellious self and moving a Jesus statue off her dashboard for fear of judgement - I’m not sure why this appeals to me so much but it’s just a good ol’ lyric. Well done Lana.
8. “The ugliness of being a fool, ain't youth meant to be beautiful?”
- Teen Idle, Marina and the Diamonds
Marina, in her album Electra Heart, perfectly tells the story of youth, love and heartbreak. This song in particular has resonated for years throughout my teenage years, as it describes with such a beautiful song, the trials and tribulations of teenagedom. The questioning in my chosen lyric, for me, is the main question of youth; we are told that it will be the best years of our lives, yet it is always filled with a lot of heartache and bad times. There’s nothing better than being able to perfectly relate to a song, and this is definitely one of them.
9. “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old”
- Serve The Servants, Nirvana
This lyric made it onto my Twitter or Instagram bio at some point I’m sure, because I thought it was so cool sounding; and honestly I still think that to this day. If it’s one thing Cobain’s lyrics often did was be brutally honest, and I can’t help that when I am in fact bored and old, I will look back on this lyric and he will be proved right. Nirvana have a repertoire of great lyrics, and this one will always stick with me, whether as an angsty teen or a bored and old 40 something year old.
10. “You’re all I need, I’m in the middle of your picture, lying in the leaves”
- All I Need, Radiohead
Having already ranted about my love for Radiohead on this blog, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to any regular readers that I found it near impossible to pick one song and one favourite lyric. This band’s song lyrics are often very contextualised to a certain theme of that song or indeed the entire album, so to isolate one to talk about is very difficult as they do not make as much sense or seem as powerful by themselves. I wouldn’t say Radiohead are known for very love dovey love songs, but this is one I would categorise this as, and there are some beautifully meaningful lyrics in it that can be appreciated in isolation, such as my chosen one. I really like this lyric because it is not the typical way one would compliment someone, yet the imagine of Thom Yorke lying in amongst leaves ina picture of his love done is pretty lovely to think about, so it was only right that it got a mention.
This piece had the potential to be 50 songs long, but I’m proud for narrowing down all the amazing lyrics out there to these 10. Writing this has reminded me how talented songwriters are; deserving endless recognition for their thoughtful musical poetry. Hopefully this has encouraged you to delve into the meanings behind your favourite songs, and to really appreciate the endless amount of wonderful words out there for us to listen to.
P.S Thanks to everyone who has been sharing and reading my blog lately, I’m really enjoying it right now and it’s only worth it if people are reading and enjoying it, so thank you!
Love love love
H x
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