My Favorite Single Line of Song Lyric, And You?
My all-time favorite single line of song lyric? Drum solo, please.
Ta-dum!
“Beauty walks a razor’s edge, someday I’ll make it mine.”
Bob Dylan, Blood On Tracks, “Shelter From Storm”.
I haven’t a fucking clue what it means and yet somehow I totally get it. I can’t possibly explain it to you and yet I totally and truly believe it for myself: someday I will make beauty mine. Someday.
The whole song is pretty awesome and there are some close runner’s up for favorite single lyrics in it.
And you? What is your all-time favorite single line of song lyric. It doesn’t need to be deep — just a single line of lyric that you think of often and think of as your favorite.
I’ve been sitting here thinking about this for 20 minutes and I still can’t pick a single favourite. Seriously.
So I’m going with kind of funny…
“There’s Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, there’s Moonbeam, Ontari-ario”
Mostly for the “ari-ario” moment.
And because I love The Tragically Hip.
bfg
April 16, 2009
Thanks for grappling with it!
Needless to say, after your ode to all things Tragic and Hip, I kinda expected your choice would come from the pen Downie:
http://thestarvingartistblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-love-tragically-hip.html
sterlinglynch
April 16, 2009
I want to answer this but am trying to abstain on the grounds that it will make me look like a cheese-wad. (:
I’ll try to to summon up some guts. I’ll give a hint – its from a Fiona Apple song. I love her.
Paper Bag Princess
April 16, 2009
I had whatever Apple album Criminal was on and really liked it. None of it was cheese waddish as I recall. Haven’t really listened to anything else by her. Would have had I kept buying CDs, but I kind of game up on CDs after all my freaking cross-country / cross-world moves.
sterlinglynch
April 16, 2009
Ooh, that’s Tidal – same album! ‘Pale September’ is the song. Gah! I’ve already said too much! (:
When the Pawn is my other fave FA album – it is great too.
paper bag princess
April 16, 2009
Oh come on!
How cheese-erific could it be!
sterlinglynch
April 16, 2009
End of a busy day here at work. I don’t have
a favourite per se, but at the moment “Going to
the country gonna eat a lot of peaches” is
stuck in my head. Does that count
Wayne C
April 16, 2009
Of course!
Not surprisingly, it is now stuck in my head….
sterlinglynch
April 16, 2009
ugh. single line of lyric? that’s too hard. *whine*
Amanda
April 16, 2009
Oh, come on!
Chose one. You can always second guess yourself later….
sterlinglynch
April 16, 2009
“He who fucks nuns will later join the church.” – The Clash, Death or Glory
I seem to have this line in my head every mid-afternoon when I pause from my government job and make tea.
Erinn
April 22, 2009
Awesome!
sterlinglynch
April 22, 2009
I wouldn’t say this is my all time favourite song lyric, but there is a song I am obsessed with right now, partly because the lyrics are so neat:
“Have I found you, flightless bird, grounded, bleeding; or lost you, american mouth, big pill stuck going down”
I have listened to this song on my ipod every day since I heard it in the movie Twilight. It is ok, you can laugh. (:
It’s called ‘Flightless Bird, American Mouth’ by Iron and Wine’ and it is the prettiest song. Download it!!
Paper Bag Princess
April 22, 2009
That works! I don’t think I’ve heard it. I’ve been mostly untouched by the Twilight phenomenon so I have no real opinion of it. I’d probably watch it as an exercise in cultural anthropology.
sterlinglynch
April 22, 2009
“Don’cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me”
Mostly because everyone once in a while, you can catch an unassuming heterosexual male mouthing the lyrics either on a dance floor on in a car without any sense of irony. It’s a rare and fleeting moment, magical really. But when it happens, it makes th world a better place.
2nd favourite is “My lumps, my lumps, my lovely lady lumps. Check’em out”. For much the same reason.
Tony
April 22, 2009
Lol! Hilarious.
My achilles heel is Beyonce. It takes a lot of self-control not to sing along when it comes on at the gym.
sterlinglynch
April 22, 2009
Or Lady Gaga! I am physically unable not to toe tap and sing along to Poker Face. Catchiest song ever.
Paper Bag Princess
April 22, 2009
Just because we’ve been playing tonsil hockey doesn’t mean you get to score the goal that’s in my jockey”. Flight of the Conchords.
Jay Lutes
April 22, 2009
Awesome! Thanks Jay.
sterlinglynch
April 22, 2009
This has been bothering me for weeks (seriously, ask Wayne). How can anyone possibly narrow it down to a single line? Lyrically, my favorite single artist has to be Tom Waits (everything he does is brilliant). As far as specific lines, I’m partial to:
“There’s nothing wrong with a lady drinking alone in her room” (Murder in the Red Barn)
I’ve also always liked Nick Cave’s line “I knew you’d find me ’cause I longed you here”
There are just so many…
Kelly
April 23, 2009
Hello Kelly! Thanks for grappling with it.
That’s what makes it a game I think. The challenge of it. I am huge fan of Tom Waits! I also like Mr. Cave as well. Hey wait a minute, that’s two lines…. 
sterlinglynch
April 23, 2009
Yeah…I thought you might pick up on that..
Kelly
April 23, 2009
This had been plaguing me. I sing endless streams of song lyrics over and over in my head. I must answer this question before the question eats me up inside.
I don’t even know if it’s the lyric or Stevie Nick’s voice. It’s from Landslide by Fleetwood Mac (one of my mom’s favorite songs)
“mirror in the sky, what is love?”
ack. sounds so cheesy. maybe I’ll change my mind and go with
“when I crack that whip everybody gon’ trip just like a circus”
Amanda
April 23, 2009
Sorry to have wished a plague upon thee
I don’t think it’s cheesy and think it’s kind of nice that it connects to your mom. Is the second line also F. Mac?
sterlinglynch
April 23, 2009
no, the second line would be the immortal genius of Britney Spears.
Amanda
April 23, 2009
[...] Filed under: Blog | Tags: favorite song lyrics, Leonard Cohen, Movement, Sterling Lynch, Suzanne | Many moons ago, I posted my favorite single line of song lyric and asked people to share theirs. Now we move from [...]
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