jamesg1213

Moshkito
 
"Apocalyptic Bore", for example, is as much about the joke that Star Wars became, as it is about the commune excitement coming to an end ... or a fantasy, that no longer meant anything for anyone but the idea itself.
 
 

I very much doubt that, seeing as it was recorded 3 years before Star Wars was even released.

Oh snap.

bapu

jamesg1213

Moshkito
 
"Apocalyptic Bore", for example, is as much about the joke that Star Wars became, as it is about the commune excitement coming to an end ... or a fantasy, that no longer meant anything for anyone but the idea itself.
 
 

I very much doubt that, seeing as it was recorded 3 years before Star Wars was even released.

Oh snap.

That it can have applicability to events/ideas AFTER its release is a testament to its abstract beauty.  I find this timelessness in a lot of songs that seem to have been written about specific events, yet can apply more broadly for as long as we care to contemplate the *feelings* that fueled their creation.
 
Yes, another Floyd tune (Gilmour era), but I find timeless applicability in "A Great Day For Freedom", which contains one of my all-time favorite lyrical snippet; the last two lines.  That those lines provide the lead-in to one of the most soulful guitar solos I can recall might have something to do with appreciation of them.  There are several tracks on The Division Bell that have equally compelling lines.
 
"A Great Day For Freedom"


On the day the wall came down
They threw the locks onto the ground
And with glasses high we raised a cry for freedom had arrived
On the day the wall came down
The Ship of Fools had finally ran aground
Promises lit up the night like paper doves in flight

I dreamed you had left my side
No warmth, not even pride remained
And even though you needed me
It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

Now life devalues day by day
As friends and neighbors turn away
And there's a change that, even with regret, cannot be undone
Now frontiers shift like desert sands
While nations wash their bloodied hands
Of loyalty, of history, in shades of grey

I woke to the sound of drums
The music played, the morning sun streamed in
I turned and I looked at you
And all but the bitter residues slipped away...slipped away
 
 
 

How strong must the contempt be that looking at someone you once loved causes all fondness to disappear in the bitterness? 
 
If you had been married to my ex, you would understand
 
Another Division Bell tune with a sublime wrap-up:
 
"Lost For Words"


I was spending my time in the doldrums
I was caught in the cauldron of hate
I felt persecuted and paralyzed
I thought that everything else would just wait
While you are wasting your time on your enemies
Engulfed in a fever of spite
Beyond your tunnel vision reality fades
Like shadows into the night

To martyr yourself to caution
Is not going to help at all
Because there'll be no safety in numbers
When the Right One walks out of the door

Can you see your days blighted by darkness?
Is it true you beat your fists on the floor?
Stuck in a world of isolation
While the ivy grows over the door

So I open my door to my enemies
And I ask could we wipe the slate clean
But they tell me to please go **** myself
You know you just can't win
 

All Rush after Neal joined up.

There are so many great lyric writers....
 
But the first one which came to mind was Ian Anderson.... Jethro Tull.... Thick as a Brick... the album.
 
A buddy of mine.... Mikey Brown and I used to sit around literally for hours listening to that album. Amazing stuff.

Welp...most attempts at "deep" lyrics are pretentious at best and sophomoric at worst. Dylan hit some good licks fairly consistently but one would be hard pressed to top the consicion, simplicity and universality of Randy Newman. While almost any of his his songs can be a primer in both song craft and art, I'll leave you with this lyric which is both evocative and deadly accurate as well as sociologically telling:

"You looked like a princess the night we met
With your hair piled up high, I will never forget
I'm drunk right now baby, but I've got to be
Or I never could tell you what you mean to me
But I loved you the first time I saw you
And I always will love you Marie"

Still makes me tear up every time I hear it. Dern his hide.

Ok, another Knopfler, sorry . I liked this song for a long time before I figured out what it was about. Had to Google 'Ray Kroc', then it all makes sense. Amazes me how he could take an idea like that and fit it into such a cool catchy song.
 
Going to San Bernardino, ring-a-ding-ding
Milkshake mix, yes that's my thing now
These guys bought a heap 'o my stuff
And I gotta see a good thing sure enough now
Or my name is not Kroc, it's Kroc with a K
Like crocodile, but not spelt that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc style, boom like that
Folks line up all down the street
I am seeing this girl devour her meat now
And then I get it, wham as clear as day
My pulse begins to hammer and I hear a voice say
These boys have got this down
Ought to be one of these in every town
These boys have got the touch
It's clean as a whistle and it don't cost much
Wham bam, don't wait long
Shake fries patty, you're gone
And how about that friendly name
Heck, every little thing gotta stay the same
Or my name is not Kroc, that's Kroc with a K
Like crocodile, but not spelt that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Dog eat dog, rat eat rat
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc style, boom like that
You gentlemen ought to expand
You're gonna need a helping hand now
So gentlemen, well, what about me?
We'll make a little business history now
Or my name is not Kroc, call me Ray
Like crocodile, but not spelt that way, now
It's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc style, boom like that
Well, we build it up and I buy 'em out
But man they made me grind it out now
They open up a new place flippin' meat
So I do too, right across the street
I got the name, I need the town
They sell up in the end and it all shuts down
Sometimes you gotta be an S.O.B.
You wanna make a dream reality
Competition send 'em south
If they're gonna drown put a hose in their mouth
Do not pass, go straight to hell
I smell that meat hook smell
Or my name is not Kroc that's Kroc with a K
Like crocodile, but not spelt that way, now
Ohh, it's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Dog eat dog, rat eat rat now
Ohh, it's dog eat dog, rat eat rat
Kroc style, boom like that

Randy's a national treasure, for sure. 
 
"In America, you get food to eat. Don't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet. You just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day. It's great to be an American."

Hi,
 

Guitarhacker
There are so many great lyric writers....
 
But the first one which came to mind was Ian Anderson.... Jethro Tull.... Thick as a Brick... the album.
 
A buddy of mine.... Mikey Brown and I used to sit around literally for hours listening to that album. Amazing stuff.

The lyrics in "Passion Play" are excellent ... but they are very tough and actually very pointed, and not exactly the kind of stuff that radio likes to play, which is mostly blahhh stuff, with an occasion song, that will survive in there, meaning a lot more than otherwise. 
 
Apocalyptic Bore - Amon Duul 2 -
 
One day, when suddenly by fortune
We saw the U.F.O.'s fly
They brought us the so-called paradise
They were spooking from the sky
Desert became a blooming garden
Like a dainty recreation field
Everybody's keenest dreams came true
Even gigantomaniacs were thrilled

Frogmen lifted treasures
Everybody got their parts
It was a worldwide pleasure
We all landed in the charts

No horse that didn't win the race
They found their destination
As if they were shot through the space
It was a big sensation...

My neighbor lived in the middle ages
His castle was cheaply rented
Everybody now could explore the past
'Cause the time-continuum-robot was invented
And then as skywriters signalized
Their majesties the extraterrestians
And when they came down in sparkling haze
We called them the space-pedestrians
There seemed to be happiness for eternity
Mankind scored more and more
Until one day the young growing up generation
Called this age an apocalyptic bore

There was nothing to fight for – no love no hate –
Only a quivering in the air
Kids had taken all their skybikes
And were leaving for the Big Bear
Dark shadows burst through the universe
Mother earth was really shocked
All hopes all dreams had disappeared
All ways, all minds were locked
 
(And the song goes into an amazing guitar/violin duet ... which SCORPIONS copied with the title song to "Fly To The Rainbow" ... and Scorps' song was about having fun, though I can not remember the lyrics for it right now.)
 
(Sadly, this song by AD2, also stated that the band was over, in terms of quality and design. They could never create anything else as strong after that, and the rest of the album was what could be considered a bunch of singles. They still had good stuff, but none with the power and presence of the earlier material. Witness "Mozambique" ... )
 
Peter Hammill - A Way Out
 
Out of joint, out of true, out of love,
Out of the blue, out of order, out of orbit,
Out of control,
Out of touch, out of line, out of sync
And out of time, out of gas, out of tread,
Out of road.
Out of date, out of stock, out of use -
Out, out dammed spot!
You want out, you want out of it for good.
Out of the running, out of the game,
Out on your feet, clear out of range,
Out of context, out of contact,
Out of the woods.
Out, out, looking for a way out,
No straws are left to cling to;
Out, out, going for the fade-out...
but what do you fade into?
Out on the town, out for laughs,
Out of service, out to grass,
Out of mourning, our of purdah,
Out of bail,
Out of kilter, out grace,
Out to get out of this place,
Out of this world, out and out
Beyond the plae.
Right out of character, out of sympathy,
So far out upon a limb
you're out of your tree....
Out of breath, out of tune, out of your head
And out of view, down and out,
Out for the count, or is it just for revenge?
Out of sight, out of mind, leave it out,
Leave it behind out of reach
Of all family, all friends
Out, out, going for the bale-out,
No parachute above you.
Out, out, you'll not feel the fall-out
...I wish I'd said "I love you
 
SW came out later, but the "fad" of the space thing, that had started way earlier, was already coming to an end in 1972 and 1973, and it was even considered stupid ... by the time that the Bee Gees did their thing. But it was the same for me, with SW, when in the 2nd film, the spiritual side of things got removed and replaced with wires ... in other words, no longer human, and separating the inner thing from the outer person, for me!
 
Peter's song, sounds kinda crazy, and yet, it is a love ballad ... and the end line is an absolutely stunning end to the song ... and we all can always look back ... yep ... I did that! It's a tough thing to live with sometimes for many people, but I'm not sure that a "youthful mind" can think beyond the moment as much as the older mind can! So that makes the song even stronger.

You forgot "Hi," - I have a Chrome add-on that looks for this and turns on a TL;DR filter.