Thursday, February 9, 2012

13 Reasons Why Songwriting Is Great Writing

I love music.  My entire life seems to play out to music.

Sure, there are plenty of stories that I wish I had written.  But it's usually a great song that stirs me up emotionally every time I hear it.

Today's post is dedicated to great songwriting, because hey, songwriting is writing.

13 Reasons Why Songwriting Is Great Writing

1. OHIO by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
"Four dead in Ohio."

2. PAINT IT BLACK by The Rolling Stones
"No colors anymore, I want them to turn black."

3. HURRICANE by Bob Dylan
"And though they could not produce the gun, The DA said he was the one, who did the deed, And the all-white jury agreed."

4. THE BEAUTY OF GRAY by Live
"If I said you ought to give him some of your water, you'd shake your canteen and walk away."

5. SUSPICIOUS MINDS by Elvis Presley
"You don't believe a word I say."

6. IT'S A MAN'S, MAN'S WORLD by James Brown
"This is a man's world but it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman"

7. LOSE YOURSELF by Eminem
"He choked but he won't give up that easy."

8. BIG TEN INCH RECORD by Aerosmith
"She just loves my big ten inch...record of her favorite blues."

9. ROOSTER by Alice In Chains
"Ain't found a way to kill me yet."

10. WHERE IS MY MIND by The Pixies
"Your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it and you'll ask yourself, Where is my mind?"

11. THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER by Iron Maiden
"Determination makes you run, never stop, got to win, got to run 'til you drop."

12. ONE by Metallica
"Fed through the tube that sticks in me [...] trapped in myself, body my holding cell."

13. THE UNDERTAKER (Renholder Mix) by Puscifer
"Thank you for [...] making it easy to murder your sweet memory."

What are your favorite song lyrics?

Thank you Jorik De Beer on Flickr for the incredible picture!

4 comments:

  1. An eclectic list if ever I saw one!

    Paul Simon is my favorite. Here's one of his best, IMO:

    "Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War" Paul Simon
    Decades gliding by like Indians, Time is cheap

    Love this post. I'm going to be thinking of lyrics all night long, now.

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  2. Eclectic, yes! There are way too many great songs to limit it to only 13. Notice I didn't say "The Top 13 - Reasons Why..." ;-)

    Thanks for the lyrics. Great line. Paul Simon is another great songwriter, as is Sir Mix-A-Lot ;-)

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    Replies
    1. Haha. Sir Mix-A-Lot, indeed! He just has too many gems to even try to pick just one. :) A true inspiration, that man is.

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    2. I just tweeted this, but I feel like tweets get lost. SO,

      Have you seen this? http://nyti.ms/zC3ZFm

      It's in today's paper. Thought of you the moment I saw it!

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