re: Songs with amazing lyrics

Well my buckle makes impressions
On the inside of her thigh
There are little feathered Indians
Where we tussled through the night
If I'd known she was religious
Then I wouldn't have came stoned
To the house of such an angel
Too fricked up to get back home
Lookin' over West Virginia
Smoking Spirits on the roof
She asked ain't anybody told ya
That them things are bad for you
I said many folks have warned me
There's been several people try
But up till now, there ain't been nothing
That I couldn't leave behind
Hold me close my dear
Sing your whispering song
Softly in my ear
And I will sing along
Honey, tell me how your love runs true
And how I can always count on you
To be there when the bullets fly
I'd run across a river just to hold you tonight
Well my heart is sweating bullets
From the circles it has raced
Like a little feathered indian
Callin' out the clouds for rain
I'd go runnin' through the thicket
I'd go careless through the thorns
Just to hold her for a minute
Though it'd leave me wanting more
Hold me close my dear
Sing your whispering song
Softly in my ear
And I will sing along
Honey tell me how your love runs true
And how I can always count on you
To be there when the bullets fly
I'd run across a river just to hold you tonight

quote:

---

Well, I'm a jitterbug boy, by the shoe-shine
Resting on my laurels and my hardys too
Life of Riley on a swing shift, girls follow my drift
Once upon a time I was in show biz too

I've seen the Brooklyn Dodgers playing at Ebbets Field
Seen the Kentucky Derby too
It's fast women, slower horses, Unreliable sources
And I'm holding up a lamp post if you want to know

I've seen the Wabash Cannonball, buddy, I've done it all
Because I slept with the lions, and Marilyn Monroe
Had breakfast in the eye of a hurricane
Fought Rocky Marciano, played Minnesota Fats
Burned hundred-dollar bills, I've eaten Mulligan stew
Got drunk with Louis Armstrong, what's that old song?
I taught Mickey Mantle everything that he knows

So you'll ask me what I'm doing here, holding up a lamp-post
Flipping this quarter, trying to make up my mind
And if it's heads I'll go to Tennessee, and tails I'll buy a drink
If it lands on the edge I'll keep talking to you

---

jitterbug boy is one of my favorites, simply bc it reminds me of my pops

another one is kentucky avenue. really, i could list about 20 different waits songs.

quote:

---

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 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 and kill some rattlesnakes with a trowel
And we'll break all the windows in the old Anderson 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
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 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 in your pocket, we'll hop that freight train in the hall
We'll slide all the way down the drain to New Orleans in the fall

---

"Frou-Frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires"

[Verse 1]
All broken and lost
Has got enemies
How the righteous speak
They warn all may lose
Close in to stay apart
A fire drinks ignitions
They turn infant’s breath, my
Milk in drafts to baby

[Chorus]
And day from night take all…

[Verse 2]
All broken and lost
I’ve got enemies
How the righteous speak
They warn all may lose
Small features to have voice
A fire drinks ignitions
They turn infant’s breath, my
Milk in drafts to baby

[Chorus]
And day from night take all
Bad thoughts and soothe
All he was
Knows you

[Refrain]
Singed, but I pulled her out of my blazening (Pull)
Eyes not in the usual deep silence of cherry-coloured (Tighter)
Limelight’s not the music, plain as this can be so (Pull tight)
All that I found, I have to go back, now I need to choose (Tighter)
(Susan, let’s go together in the morning)
Rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled round
Singed, but I pulled her out of my blazening (Pull)
Eyes not in the usual deep silence of cherry-coloured (Tighter)
Limelight’s not the music, as plain as it can be so (Pull tight)
All that I found, I have to go back, now I need to choose (Tighter)
(Susan, let’s go together in the morning)
Rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled round
(Pull)
(Tighter)
(Pull tight)
(Tighter)

[Verse 3]
Now vanity gone
Whose servants desert me
I’ve mostly been pressed
Now live down impression
Lead weight that seemed hopeless
The yoke that was young kids
I’m noosing the snares, I
Hung nets just to find you

[Verse 4]
All broken and lost
I’ve got enemies
How the righteous speak
They warn all may lose
Close in to stay apart
A fire drinks ignitions
They turn infant’s breath, like
Milk in drafts to baby

[Chorus]
And day, yeah, from night take all
That I took, come sleep
All he made
Loves you
And day, open the air and
Your eyes, because doll
He made
Those stars I lost just to find you

[Refrain]
Singed, but I pulled her out of my blazening (Pull)
Eyes not in the usual deep silence of cherry-coloured (Tighter)
Limelight’s not the music, as plain as it can be so (Pull tight)
All that I found, I have to go back, now I need to choose (Tighter)
(Susan, let’s go together in the morning)
Rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled round
Singed, but I pulled her out of my blazening (Pull)
Eyes not in the usual deep silence of cherry-coloured (Tighter)
Limelight’s not the music, as plain as it can be so (Pull tight)
All that I found, I have to go back, now I need to choose (Tighter)
(Susan, let’s go together in the morning)
Rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled round
Singed, but I pulled her out of my blazening (Now)
Eyes not in the usual deep silence of cherry-coloured (Tighter)
Limelight’s not the music, as plain as it can be so (Pull tight)
All that I found, I have to go back, now I need to choose (Tighter)
(Susan, let’s go together in the morning)
Rounder, pulled rounder
Pulled rounder, pulled rounder...

I'm goin' down to the Greyhound station
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with two or three kids
And sit down by her side
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me
'Bout two or three times
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat
Tryin' to hide my sorrow from the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where the people say y'all
Sing a song with a friend
Change the shape that I'm in
And get back in the game and start playin' again
I'd like to stay
But I might have to go to start over again
Might go back down to Texas
Might go to somewhere that I've never been
And get up in the mornin' and go out at night
And I won't have to go home
Get used to bein' alone
Change the words to this song, and start singin' again
I'm tired of runnin' 'round
Lookin' for answers to questions that I already know
I could build me a castle of memories
Just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights that it takes
To get back in the saddle again
Feed the pigeons some clay, turn the night into day
And start talkin' again when I know what to say
I'm goin' down to the Greyhound station
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with two or three kids
And sit down by her side
Ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me
'Bout two or three times
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
And start talkin' again when I know what to say

As much credit as Dylan gets for his obscure references, complex metaphors and tortured rhymes in many of his more famous works, I consider this relatively straightforward song is his best lyric. The final verse is one of the best things written in the English language that I’ve ever read.

Well the pressure's down, the boss ain't here
He gone North, for a while
They say that vanity got the best of him
But he sure left here in style
By the way, that's a cute hat
And that smile's so hard to resist
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?

You know, I once knew a woman who looked like you
She wanted a whole man, not just a half
She used to call me sweet daddy when I was only a child
You kind of remind me of her when you laugh
In order to deal in this game, got to make the queen disappear
It's done with a flick of the wrist
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?

You know, a woman like you should be at home
That's where you belong
Taking care for somebody nice
Who don't know how to do you wrong
Just how much abuse will you be able to take ?
Well, there's no way to tell by that first kiss
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?

You know you can make a name for yourself
You can hear them tires squeal
You can be known as the most beautiful woman
Who ever crawled across cut glass to make a deal.

You know, news of you has come down the line
Even before ya came in the door
They say in your father's house, there's many mansions
Each one of them got a fireproof floor
Snap out of it baby, people are jealous of you
They smile to your face, but behind your back they hiss
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?

Got to be an important person to be in here, honey
Got to have done some evil deed
Got to have your own harem when you come in the door
Got to play your harp until your lips bleed.

They say that patriotism is the last refuge
To which a scoundrel clings
Steal a little and they throw you in jail
Steal a lot and they make you king
There's only one step down from here, baby
It's called the land of permanent bliss
What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this ?