Song Lyrics

I get a lot of song lyrics lodged in my head. Lately I've been singing "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (including the gunshot parts). Just in my head, mind you. You would not want me singing audibly. Trust me on that one.

I'm not much of a poet myself, but like most English majors I do love poetry. So maybe that is why certain song lyrics appeal to me so much. I have a little repository of them that I store in my brain. That particular mental filing cabinet is in trouble, though. Ever since I became responsible for another human life, it seems like when one piece of information lands with a thud inside my cerebellum, another tidbit of information bounces out.

Here are a few song lyrics I dig. Who else has some good ones stuck in their head?

Freedom has a scent
Like the top of a newborn baby's head
U2 - Miracle Drug

Have a little faith
There's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty but hey, you're alright
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road

Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer

Can I take you to a restaurant that's got glass tables
You can watch yourself while you are eating
The English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom

You pour yourself over me
Like the sun through the blinds
Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up

Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground
James Taylor - Fire and Rain

The light's about to change
You better stand aside
Why you wanna walk
Don't you want to ride ride ride ride
Fountains of Wayne - Survival Car

Breathe out
So I could breathe you in
Hold you in
Foo Fighters - Everlong

You don't really love that guy you make it with now do you?
Trust me when I say I know the pathway to your heart
REM - Superman

My therapist said not to see you no more
She said you’re like a disease without any cure
She said I’m so obsessed that I’m becoming a bore, oh no
Ah, you think you’re so pretty
James - Laid

Hot tears flow
As she recounts
Her favorite worded token
Forgive me please for hurting so
Don't go away heartbroken, no
Peter Murphy - Marlene Dietrich's Favourite Poem

Comments

Marginwalker said…
SO interesting you just posted this. I had a Nirvana song in my head all day yesterday, sang the same lines over and over, not realizing until late in the evening that it was the 15th anniversary of the death of Kurt Cobain. This is the one:

"Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of your highness, I'm left black
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back"

Nirvana ~ Heart-Shaped Box
April 9, 2009 at 11:07 PM
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