This was supposed to be a ten item list, but I had trouble finding two last songs worthy of nomination. The trick here is that I'm not actually thinking of the top ten best songs, or my top ten favorite, or even just the top ten best song lyrics. I'm only thinking of great opening lines. The rest of the song may bomb (though in the case of the eight on my list so far, they all stand pretty strong as songs in their own right), but the opening lines have a strange evocative power, resonating deeply in the imagination for years. Sometimes I find myself muttering these lines to myself in moments of sadness or joy, and somehow the haze of my heart starts to dissipate.
Anyways, here's my list so far. Any suggestions for the two missing songs?
1. “I want to run, I want to hide/I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside” Where the Streets Have No Name, U2
2. “In the days of my youth I was told what it means to be a man/Now I’ve reached that age I try to do all those things the best I can” Good Times/Bad Times, Led Zeppelin
3. “I read the news today, O boy/About a lucky man who made the grade/And though the news was rather sad/Well I just had to laugh/I saw the photograph” A Day in the Life, The Beatles
4. “Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord /That David played and it pleased the Lord/But you don’t really care for music, do ya?” Hallelujah¸ Leonard Cohen
5. “There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief / There’s too much confusion here, I cant get no relief” All Along the Watchtower, Bob Dylan
6. “You thought the leaden winter would bring you down forever / But you rode upon a steamer to the violence of the sun” Tales of Brave Ulysses, Cream
7. “You get to feel so guilty / You got so much for so little /Then you find that feeling just won't go away” Gone, U2
8. “Pour un instant, j'ai oublié mon nom / Ça m'a permis enfin d'écrire cette chanson" Pour un instant, Harmonium
9. ??
10. ??
3 comments:
Those are good ones indeed. How about a translation on the French one?
Two that come to mind for me are from Hurt by Nine Inch Nails, although it is Cash whose voice I hear: "Tried to hurt myself today/To see if I still feel/I focus on the pain/the only thing that's real." It sticks with me because it just cuts to the chase.
The other one that springs to mind is one I've been listening to lately, from U2, Wake up Dead Man: "Jesus, Jesus help me/I'm alone in this world/And a ****** up world it is too/Tell me, tell me the story/The one about eternity/And the way its all gonna be. . ."
Both great suggestions, esp. Hurt. I've never forgotten when you spoke about it in Media Chapel way back. Very powerful.
The Harmonium song means something like: "For a moment I've forgotten my name/That's allowed me finally to write this song"
I only have one.
Hello darkness my old friend.
I've come to talk to you again.
Simon & Garfunkel
When I was young, it talked to me where I was at.
No0w. it talks to me about where our society is.
OB1
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