When it comes to music of all types, I’ve always been a lyric driven listener. A song could have a great beat and sound but if the lyrics don’t match up to that melody, I can’t get into it. Back in his WLS radio days, dee-jay Tommy Edwards had listeners call in to guess a song from which lyrics he quoted. Tommy would usually use the song’s opening lines. With that in mind, I thought I’d post up some of my personal favorite opening lyrics. There’s no way I could cover them all in one blog so here’s just a few tune openers.
“The Mississippi Delta was shining like a national guitar. I am following the river down the highway through the cradle of the Civil War.”(‘Graceland’ by Paul Simon)
This IS my very favorite opening line ever. It evokes so much in vision and feel.
“With her killer graces and her secret places that no boy can fill. With her hands on her hips oh and that smile on her lips because she knows that it kills me.” (‘She’s the One’/Springsteen)
Bruce’s track from ‘Born to Run’ is a close second for me. A song about wanting someone so bad in spite of the fact that you know the outcome isn’t going to be a good one.
“You walked in to the party, like you were walking on to a yacht, your hat strategically dipped below one eye, your scarf it was apricot” (“You’re So Vain”/Carly Simon)
Did Carly write this song about Mick Jagger or Warren Beatty? Who cares? It’s a finely framed indictment of a suave and thoughtless Romeo.
“We’ll be fighting in the street, with our children at our feet. And the morals that they worship will be gone.” (‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’/The Who)
There’s not a better defiant set of words.
“Son, she said, have I got a little story for you, what you thought was your daddy, was nothin’ but a…” (‘Alive’/Pearl Jam)
A realistic mini story that’s been told to many a child over the years.
NEXT BLOG– More of my favorite moments at the movies