Sunday, August 26, 2007

Sunday diversion: Top opening rock lyrics

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.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

"And the top (although theologically incorrect) opening lyric:"

Perhaps 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?

Anonymous said...

I think someone needs a nap...

Anonymous said...

anon 8:48

Lighten up. Fun. Have you ever heard of it? You must be the life of every party.

James Wigderson said...

You get a shiver in the dark
Its been raining in the park but meantime

Dire Straits, "Sultans of Swing"

Anonymous said...

Every where is freaks and hairies/dykes and fairies/tell me where is sanity

Reminds me of what I saw in "Frisco" circa 1965.

JesusIsJustAlrightWithMe said...

Anon 8:48,
The 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.

Anonymous said...

"A distant sound like thunder/Crawling through the cold"
Alphaville-"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.

Anonymous said...

She was a girl from Birmingham,
she just had an abortion,
she was a case of insanity,
Her name was Pauline, she lived in a tree.

Bodies by The Sex Pistols.

Anonymous said...

Its only theologically correct if one views the premise "Jesus Died for Everyone's Sins" as necessarily correct.

Many people do so; lots don't.

JesusIsJustAlrightWithMe said...

"Its only theologically correct if one views the premise "Jesus Died for Everyone's Sins" as necessarily correct."

I 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.

Marcus Satellite said...

Hi Rick,

Great 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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