Lyrical Masterpieces

[Ether's Bane]

I was just wondering what you guys think are the best lyrics ever written.

My picks would be the following:

Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
The Poet and the Pendulum - Nightwish
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Disposable Heroes - Metallica
Art of Life - X Japan
When a Blind Man Cries - Deep Purple
Keeper of the Seven Keys - Helloween

 

[Ryan the Terrible]

Muse - "Hoodoo"

Come into my life
Regress into a dream
We will hide
And build a new reality
Draw another picture
Of the life you could have had
Follow your instincts
And choose the other path

You should never be afraid
You're protected from trouble and pain
Why, why is this a crisis in your eyes again

Come to be
How did it come to be
Tied to a railroad
No love to set us free
Watch our souls fade away
And our bodies crumbling
Don't be afraid

I will take the blow for you

And I have had recurring nightmares
That I was loved for who I am
And missed the opportunity
To be a better man

 

[departuresong]

I know it's really lame but I'm totally into Lily Allen's lyrics, especially "The Fear." (I know people in the UK are going to absolutely hate me. I'm sorry!)

I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don't care about clever, I don't care about funny
I want loads of clothes and fuckloads of diamonds
I heard people die while they're trying to find them
And I'll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
'Cause everyone knows that's how you get famous
I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror
I'm on the right track, yeah I'm on to a winner

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore
And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
'Cause I'm being taken over by The Fear

Life's about film stars and less about mothers
It's all about fast cars and cussing each other
But it doesn't matter 'cause I'm packing plastic
And that's what makes my life so fucking fantastic
And I am a weapon of massive consumption
And it's not my fault, it's how I'm programmed to function
I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror
I'm on the right track, yeah we're on to a winner

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore
And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
'Cause I'm being taken over by The Fear

Forget about guns and forget ammunition
'Cause I'm killing 'em all on my own little mission
Now I'm not a saint, but I'm not a sinner
Now everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore
And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
'Cause I'm being taken over by The Fear

 

[Fireworks]

Pink Floyd - Time, Money, High Hopes, Wish You Were Here, etc.
Porcupine Tree - Arriving Somewhere But Not Here, Lazarus, My Ashes, etc.
Modest Mouse - Lives
Blackfield - Summer
Pain Of Salvation - the entire BE/Remedy Lane/Scarsick albums, well even Entropia and OHBTCL
Built To Spill - Car

 

[ultraviolet]

I know people don't really fix things anymore,
But if I ever break you, I swear,
I'll put you back together again.
I'll prop you up with wire,
I'll sit you by the fire.
Sew you up with white cotton thread.
And if I ever start to wear you down, I swear,
I'll patch you up like the elbows of your favourite jacket.

Because you're lovely,
The way you look at me.
You are lovely,
I'll be the bread, and you can be the honey.
Think of you loving me.
You are lovely,
I'll be the cup, and you can be the peppermint tea.

I know people don't really write letters anymore,
But this is mine to you:
"Dear love, I hope you're well,
Up here there's not much to tell.
But I can say I'm doing fine.
Outside it's raining like a machine gun,
Days like these you miss the sun.
In other words, wish you were here."

Because you're lovely,
The way you look at me.
You are lovely,
I'll be the bread, and you can be the honey.
Think of you loving me.
You are lovely,
I'll be the cup, and you can be the peppermint tea.

I know people don't really fix things anymore,
But if I ever break you I swear,
I'll put you back together again.

 

[see ya]

Limelight, Marathon, Hemispheres, Entre Nous....A lot of songs - Rush
Firth of Fifth - Genesis
Within You Without You, Across the Universe - The Beatles
Spring and a Storm - Tally Hall
Mercy Street - Peter Gabriel

Pink Floyd - Time

Also this. Pretty much all of DSotM, really. There's probably a lot here I'm missing, but that's just what I grabbed from quickly browsing my library.

 

[Tarvos]

Anything by Pink Floyd.

 

[Minish]

I know it's really lame but I'm totally into Lily Allen's lyrics, especially "The Fear." (I know people in the UK are going to absolutely hate me. I'm sorry!)

I have to say, I did think that song's lyrics were pretty good when I first heard it.

As for masterpieces, I have to say pretty much anything by Vienna Teng. Her music is pure poetry.

In particular, My Medea, who I urge everyone to listen to at least once:

Inside the labyrinth walls
There lies a tiny child who sleeps alone
And as the daylight falls
The wind becomes so wild across the stone

For I have made her prison be
Her every step away from me
And this child I would destroy
If you tried to set her free

So come to me my love
I'll tap into your strength and drain it dry
Can never have enough
For you I'd burn the length and breadth of sky

For it's my thoughts that bind me here
It's this love that I most fear
And this child I would destroy
For I hold her pain most dear

No haven for this heart
No shelter for this child in mazes lost
Heaven keep us apart
A curse for every mile of ocean crossed

For I must die for what I've done
A twist of fate a desert sun
For I see what I destroy
Sweet reflection knife into me
For I see what I destroy
I can see what I've begun

 

[hopeandjoy]

The Lightning Strike-Snow Patrol

(I) What If This Storm Ends?

What if this storm ends?
And I don't see you
As you are now
Ever again

The perfect halo
Of gold hair and lightning
Sets you off against
The planet's last dance

Just for a minute
The silver forked sky
Lit you up like a star
That I will follow

Now it's found us
Like I have found you
I don't want to run
Just overwhelm me

What if this storm ends?
And leaves us nothing
Except a memory
A distant echo

I want pinned down
I want unsettled
Rattle cage after cage
Until my blood boils

I want to see you
As you are now
Every single day
That I am living

Painted in flames
All peeling thunder
Be the lightning in me
That strikes relentless


(II) The Sunlight Through The Flags

From here the caravans are kids toys
And I can hold them all in my palm
I watch the sea creep round the corner
It connects the dots from here to you
The sunlight burning through the loose flags
Painted high on white church walls
I chase my blood from brain to thumped heart
Until I'm out of breath for trying

Worry not everything is sound
This is the safest place you've found
The only noise beating out is ours
Lacing our tea from honey jars

These accidents of faith and nature
They tend to stick in the spokes of you
But every now and then the trend bucks
And you're repaired by more than glue

Worry not everything is sound
This is the safest place you've found
The only noise beating out is ours
Lacing our tea from honey jars

Why don't you rest your fragile bones
A minute ago you looked alone
Stop waving your arms you're safe and dry
Breathe in and drink up the winter sky


(III) Daybreak

Slowly the day breaks apart in our hands
And soft hallelujahs flow in from the church
The one on the corner you said frightened you
It was too dark and too large to find your soul in

Something was bound to go right sometime today
All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us
It got cold and then dark so suddenly and rained
It rained so hard the two of us were the only thing
That we could see for miles and miles

And in the middle of the flood I felt my worth
When you held onto me like I was your little life raft
Please know that you were mine as well
Drops of water hit the ground like God's own tears
And spread out into shapes like
Salad bowls and basins and buckets for bailing out the flood

As motionless cars rust on driveways and curbs
You take off your raincoat and stretch out your arms
We both laugh out loud and surrender to it
The sheer force of sky and the cold magnet Earth

Something was bound to go right sometime today
All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us
It got cold and then dark so suddenly and rained
It rained so hard the two of us were the only thing
That we could see for miles and miles

And in the middle of the flood I felt my worth
When you held onto me like I was your little life raft
Please know that you were mine as well
Drops of water hit the ground like God's own tears
And spread out into shapes like
Salad bowls and basins and buckets for bailing out the flood

 

[opaltiger]

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

And, of course, most of Pink Floyd's body of work.

 

[Tarvos]

Oh, I forgot about NMH.

 

[Keltena]

As for masterpieces, I have to say pretty much anything by Vienna Teng. Her music is pure poetry.

Yes, yes, yes.

Also recommending "Signal Fire" by her:

Warm breezes on the island shore
Another night is setting in
I feed on the landscape and breathe in the air
Forgetting the deeper starvation

Then a melody cry
Some voice of distance
Hold tight around me, the voice of a man
Fold right around me, the arms of a man
If not for this dividing sea

He and I light our signal fires
The smoke memories of things to be
In realness our lives of strings and keys
And spiderweb wires
Weave an ocean
Dive unafraid and surface at the other's flame
Oh wise desire
I see his signal fire

Then a melody cry
Some voice of distance
Torn innocence, the voice of a child
Once born innocent, the heart of a child
Maybe cries out for me

She and I light our signal fires
The sparks anger and hope combined
In realness the crushing ties that bind
To a passive despair
Overcome this
Dive unafraid and surface at the other's flame
Lift it higher
I see her signal fire

And the island is shelter
And the island is safe as the dark isolates me
If I stay here forever...

You and I light our signal fires
The flames all our love to be given away
In realness we're strangers and dare not to say
What the future may bear
I am searching
Dive unafraid and call the other by name
Your hidden pyre
I see your signal fire

Aaand... "Center of the Sun" by Conjure One (feat. Poe):

Young girl in the market, music to the men
When the men leave, her eyes are red
When her eyes are closed again she sees the dark markings
Of a violin

And she sings: "They say the most horrible things.
But I hear violins.
When I close my eyes, I am at the center of the sun
And I cannot be hurt by anything this wicked world has done."

Young boy in the market, follows all the men
When the men leave, he's out of his head
When his eyes are closed again, he sees the dark markings
Of a violin

And he sings: "They break the most beautiful things.
But I hear violins.
When I close my eyes, I am at the center of the sun.
And I cannot be hurt by anything this wicked world has done.
I look into your eyes, and I am at the center of the sun.
And I cannot be hurt by anything this wicked world has done."

Young boy in the market, sees a girl alone
And asks her: "Have you lost your way home?"
She sings: "You say the most beautiful things.
Just like my violins.

I look into your eyes, and I am at the center of the sun.
And I cannot be hurt by anything this wicked world has done.
When I close my eyes, I am at the center of the sun.
And I cannot be hurt by anything this wicked world has done.

'Cause I hear violins, I hear violins
I hear violins, I hear violins

I hear... violins..."

Other songs by other artists...

Winter - Tori Amos
Viva la Vida - Coldplay (though I'm aware there are very varying opinions on this one)
Angels on the Moon - Thriving Ivory

I am absolutely, definitely forgetting some. Like always.

 

[Tarvos]

Anathema - Thin Air

 

[Minish]

Just remembered another one: Oceania by Björk. Short, but one of the most magical songs I've ever heard.

One breath away from mother Oceania
Your nimble feet make prints in my sands
You have done good for yourselves
Since you left my wet embrace
And crawled ashore
Every boy, is a snake is a lily
Every pearl is a lynx, is a girl

Sweet like harmony made into flesh
You dance by my side
Children sublime

You show me continents
I see the islands
You count the centuries
I blink my eyes
Hawks and sparrows race in my waters
Stingrays are floating
Across the sky
Little ones, my sons and my daughters

Your sweat is salty; I am why.
I am why
I am why

Your sweat is salty; I am why.
I am why
I am why

The really amazing thing about this song is the mermaid-like backing vocalisation; I urge anyone to go listen to it. :D

 

[opaltiger]

Just remembered another one: Oceania by Björk. Short, but one of the most magical songs I've ever heard.



The really amazing thing about this song is the mermaid-like backing vocalisation; I urge anyone to go listen to it. :D

Oceania is, I think, the most beautiful song I know.

Also, Icarus by Jason Webley:

I wake up every morning to the sound of motors roaring
they are drowning out the voices in my head
at night while I am sleeping I can hear the angels speaking but I can't recall a single thing they said
I see their lips move clearly I feel their presence near me
but each word they try to tell me just slips through the cracks
I push I strain I wrestle with my brain and then a voice from somewhere whispers to relax.

I'll say a word for sickness
she is my favorite mistress
yes she knows my body like no other can
my flesh and spirit keep colliding when her fingers are inside me
oh my god oh my god, lady
I'm your man
Fever flu malaria come near me
do not spare me
I just long to spend another night under attack
I wretch, I shake, I cry until I break
and then I feel something release and I relax

I've banged my head for days against the walls inside this maze
I've never been to good at this damn kind of thing
I'm in here with my father I'm just pacing but he's smarter
he's been bulding a fantastic set of wings
and like that I'm up and flying
with the labrynth behind me
but I go too high
the sun is melting through the wax
it burns it hurts I tumble to the earth and as I fall I feel myself relax.

Am I letting go? I think I'm letting go.
I must be letting go.
I've got to let it go. Let it go. Let it go. Let it go.

I wake up every morning
to the sound of motors roaring
they are drowning out the voices in my head
at night while I am sleeping I can hear the angels speaking but I can't recall a single thing they said
I see their lips move clearly I feel their presence near me
but each word they try to tell me just slips through the cracks
I push I strain I wrestle with my brain I wretch, I shake, I cry until I break
it burns it hurts I tumble to the earth and as I fall I feel myself relax.

 

[Teh Ebil Snorlax]

People Get Ready - The Frames

People all get ready
'Cause we're tearing down the stand
Rebuild what's gone unsteady
And see it through with newer hands
And what has gone between us
Is a lot, is a lot
And who'll be there to clean us
If you're not, if you're not

People all get ready
'Cause we're breaking down again
Rebuild what's gone unsteady
And see it through with wiser hands
And what has gone before us
Is a lot, is a lot
And who'll be there to ignore us
When you're not, when you're not

And we have all the time in the world
To get it right, to get it right
And we have all the love in the world
To set alight, to set alight

People all get ready
'Cause we're breaking down the band
Rewrite what's gone already
And see it through with angry hands
And what has gone before us
Is a lot, is a lot
And who'll be there to ignore us
When you're not, when you're not

And we have all the time in the world
To get it right, to get it right
And we have all the love in the world
To set alight, to set alight
Just look up, just look up

And we have all the time in the world
To get it right, to get it right
And we have all the love in the world
To set alight, to set alight
Just look up, just look up

And we have all the time in the world
To get it right, to get it right
And we have all the love in the world
To set alight, to set alight

People all get ready
'Cause we're coming to a stop

Many of Horror - Biffy Clyro

You say "I love you boy",
But I know you lie.
I trust you all the same,
I don't know why.

'Cause when my back is turned,
My bruises shine.
Our broken fairytale,
So hard to hide.

I still believe
It's you and me
'Til the end of time.

When we collide we come together,
If we don't, we'll always be apart.
I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it.
When you hit me, hit me hard.

Sitting in a wishing hole,
Hoping it stays dry.
Feet cast in solid stone,
I got Gilligan's eyes.

I still believe
It's you and me
'Til the end of time.

When we collide we come together,
If we don't, we'll always be apart.
I'll take a bruise i know you're worth it.
When you hit me, hit me hard.

'Cause you said our love,
Is letting us go against what
Our future is for
Many of horror
Our future's for
Many of horror

I still believe,
It's you and me
till the end of time.

When we collide we come together,
If we don't we'll always be apart.
I'll take a bruise, I know you're worth it.
When you hit me, hit me hard.

The Walls of Jericho - Fair to Midland

Splendidly weaved from an atom bomb,
Retrieved from a teleprompt,
Practical, you are not.
Break the ice with a cotton swab,
A fever that cools us all,
Handshake's a contact sport.

No one was waiting to throw out the pilot,
We'll float on the back of the winds that you send us.

Another tomorrow,
Shedding the shade we made yesterday,
Disguised as the lightning,
Dissolving all of the thunder,
Then appeasing a monster under the acrylic skies,
Another tomorrow.

So grab my hand here comes the crash,
I live for the strong impact that renders both our airbags.
Takes every letter you send,
Don't fold if you're made to bend,
Rekindle the feud again.

No one was waiting to throw out the pilot,
We'll float on the back of the winds that you send us.

Another tomorrow,
Shedding the shade we made yesterday,
Disguised as the lightning,
Dissolving all of the thunder,
Then appeasing a monster under the acrylic skies,
Another tomorrow.

Did you recognize your next door neighbor today?
Did you?

String up your harp,
Play like today will last five minutes.
This won't take long,
Sing us a song that stops the silence.

String up your harp,
Play like today will last five minutes.
This won't take long,
Sing us a song that stops the silence.

Another tomorrow,
Shedding the shade we made yesterday,
Disguised as the lightning,
Dissolving all of the thunder,
Then appeasing a monster under the acrylic sky,
Another tomorrow.