The Reddess, after hearing a discussion the radio, drew my attention to Spin Magazine's list of the top opening lyrics in rock songs. We tried our hands at lists of our own before looking at theirs. Hers is different from mine, but this is my top fifteen:
15. I see myself with a dirty face/I cut my luck with a dirty ace/I leave the light on
- Beth Hart, Leave the Light On
14. If you twist away/tear yourself in two again/if I could you know I would/let it go
- U2, Bad
13. I play in a band/we're the best in the land/we're big in both Chelsea and France
- Dropkick Murphys, Kiss Me I'm S***-faced
12. I met her in a club in old Soho/where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola
- The Kinks Lola
11. Hello/Is there anybody in there?
- Pink Floyd, Comfortably Numb
10. Well, I dreamed I saw the knights/In armor coming/Saying something about a queen/There were peasants singing and Drummers drumming/And the archer split the tree.
- Neil Young, After the Goldrush
9. Five to one, baby, one in five/no one here gets out alive
- The Doors, Five to One
8. Crimson flames tied to my ears/rolling high and mighty traps/Pounced with fire on flaming roads/using ideas as my maps
- Bob Dylan, My Back Pages
7. Everywhere/I hear the sound/of marching, charging feet/boy
- The Rolling Stones, Street Fighting Man
6. I've been a bad, bad girl
- Fiona Apple, Criminal
5. I do it again and again/listening for visions and missions in the wind
- Shannon McNally, Geronimo
4. There must be some way out of here/said the Joker to the thief
- Jimi Hendrix (pace Bob Dylan), All along the Watchtower
3. Never was a cornflake girl
- Tori Amos, Cornflake Girl
2. Every where is freaks and hairies/dykes and fairies/tell me where is sanity
- Ten Years After, I'd Love to Change the World
And the top (although theologically incorrect) opening lyric:
1. Jesus died for somebody's sins/but not mine
- Patti Smith, Gloria:In Excelcis Deo
Three of these are also on the Spin list.
"And the top (although theologically incorrect) opening lyric:"
ReplyDeletePerhaps Patti sings in the voice of Lucifer, the fallen angel, the most successful rebel of all time. Given your bigoted comment, my guess is that you'd view her as sinful, evil, condemned - but not "theologically incorrect."
Please post when you intentd to teach your law school class about "correct theology." Mullah Omar as guest speaker, no?
I think someone needs a nap...
ReplyDeleteanon 8:48
ReplyDeleteLighten up. Fun. Have you ever heard of it? You must be the life of every party.
You get a shiver in the dark
ReplyDeleteIts been raining in the park but meantime
Dire Straits, "Sultans of Swing"
Every where is freaks and hairies/dykes and fairies/tell me where is sanity
ReplyDeleteReminds me of what I saw in "Frisco" circa 1965.
Anon 8:48,
ReplyDeleteThe lyric is theologically incorrect. That doesn't make it incorrect in real life. It's just like saying that the statement "Hercules wasn't the son of Zeus" is theologically (or mythologically) incorrect. According to greek mythology, Hercules was the son of Zeus and according to Christian mythology, Jesus died for everyone's sins. And theology is just another word for mythology. So Rick's statement was correct.
"A distant sound like thunder/Crawling through the cold"
ReplyDeleteAlphaville-"She fades away". That has always been my favorite imagery from any lyric.
As for you theologically incorrect critics...quick there is a "Hell is not real, so don't go there!" book club signing at Barnes & Noble on 76th Street. Run so you can assure your place in line.
She was a girl from Birmingham,
ReplyDeleteshe just had an abortion,
she was a case of insanity,
Her name was Pauline, she lived in a tree.
Bodies by The Sex Pistols.
Its only theologically correct if one views the premise "Jesus Died for Everyone's Sins" as necessarily correct.
ReplyDeleteMany people do so; lots don't.
"Its only theologically correct if one views the premise "Jesus Died for Everyone's Sins" as necessarily correct."
ReplyDeleteI suppose that you could define "theologically" as having to do with "Religious truth," which gets sticky because "religious" and "truth" are so often incompatable. I guess I was defining "theologically correct" as what the church believes to be correct. Under that definition, being theologically correct has nothing to do with being actually correct. It is theologically correct that Pi = 3. Obviously this is false in real life. It is theologically correct that there is an invisible man in the sky that's really concerned about whether or not I eat oysters. I have a hunch this is false in real life too. I suppose the underlying point is that theology is usually incorrect.
Hi Rick,
ReplyDeleteGreat pick of "Bad". Great lyrics, and great performances by U2. I love that song--so much so I covered it on my album, The Marcus Satellite Tribute To U2, on iTunes
Enjoy,
Marcus
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ReplyDelete