Songs featuring the frankly INTOLERABLY lazy 'they say' lyrical trope

A frequent visitor to the 'will this do?' school of lyric writing. There must be a bunch of these, but the first two that spring to mind are:

Sometimes It Snows In April ('all good things, they say, never last' - a magnificent song, nonetheless obvs.)
Out of Sight ('They say that pride comes before a fall'. Jason Pierce is a serial visitor to the school.)

Which others spring to mind?

I Shall Be Released

Shit, yes - that was the one I meant to use.

There is nothing lazy about the lyrics of "I Shall Be Released"!

"That's the Way (My Love Is)" by the Smashing Pumpkins. all of the verses are based on "they say." first verse:

They say that life ain’t easy
They’ll say your life’s a crime
Destroy up all good reason
How i’m alive

another Pumpkins song that uses this (much less egregiously) is "Geek U.S.A." which features the line:

I can't believe them / when they say that it's alright

Not exactly "they say" but still a classic of the trope, Don McLean's 'Vincent"

They would not listen
They did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now.

U2's The Fly

It's no secret that the stars are falling from the sky
It's no secret that our world is in darkness tonight
They say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by a moon
You know I don't see you when she walks in the room

There is nothing lazy about the lyrics of "I Shall Be Released"!

Agreed. It feels like an ur-text in this regard.

I heard it through the grapevine, another one that is good not bad

yeah i shall be released is an incredible song, didn't mean to say it was lazy, just that it was basically the perfect example of how to use this trope

Stiff Little Fingers "Alternative Ulster" another classic awesome use of this

Very obvious, Bowie - Jump They Say

I saw the title of this thread and immediately got "You're Still the One" by Shania Twin stuck in my head:

they said "I'll bet they'll never make it" / but just look at us going strong

Even though I think, as a lyric, this one's defensible

Yeah, that one's along the lines of the "Let's give 'em something to talk about" lyric trope.

(With the added irony of the fact that "they" ended up being right in Shania's case -- at least to the extent that the subject of the song is taken to be "Mutt" Lange....)

I Got You, Babe

Bruce Springsteen - Valentine's Day

Beatles, "Birthday".

I get a feeling when I look at you wherever you go now I want to be there too
They say we're crazy but I just don't care
And if they keep on talking
Still they get nowhere
So I don't mind if they don't understand
When I look at you and you hold my hand
'Cause they don't know about us
And they've never heard of love

More Prince ("Automatic"): "They say nothing's perfect, but they don't know you"

they may say i'm a dreamer...

Some may say
I'm wishing my days away
No way

(The Police, "Walking on the Moon")

I feel like this thread might be undermining its own premise, since the phrase seems to actually be connoting something in most of these lyrics.
What I think this really underlines is that a lot of song lyrics - some more consciously than others - are occupied with the gulf between popular consensus and personal experience.

Of course it’s also possible that the wave of laziness just hasn’t washed over the thread yet.

I agree -- or even the consensus of specific "others," in the context of an "us-against-the-world" relationship, etc. And in the broader sense, the "me [or us] against society" theme is a time-honored one.

(All of this notwithstanding "They say it's your birthday," of course.)

I guess that's why they say every rose has it's thorn

OK that's def. a lazy one

That's a really good line, though

'They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway'

Chuck, they're saying we're too black, man
Yo, I don't understand what they're saying
But little do they know they can get a smack for that, man

(a very specific instance of the "us vs. society" theme)

Gangstarr - Moment of Truth: 'They say it’s lonely at the top and whatever you do
You always gotta watch MFs around you'

Not the same wording, but this reminded me of my favorite Spinal Tap couplet:

The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'
That's what I said
The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand
Or, so I've read.

Some examples of this are really shit, while others form the backbone of an entire culture, wouldn't have made for a good read title.

Here's a shit one:

Richard Ashcroft - "They Don't Own Me"

Is it true what they say?
Nothing in life is free
Are you looking this way
Surely this can't be

*thread title

U2 - The Fly

They say the sun is sometimes eclipsed by a moon
You know I don't see you when she walks in the room

kinda rude

he's also wearing those dark glasses

"They say that nobody changes
but I'm living proof that they do"

-Andrew W.K. "Ever Again"

Some might say that sunshine follows thunder
Go and tell it to the man who cannot shine
Some might say that we should never ponder
On our thoughts today cos they hold sway over time
Some might say we will find a brighter day
Some might say we will find a brighter day
'Cause I've been standing at the station
In need of education in the rain
You made no preparation for my reputation once again
The sink is full of fishes
She's got dirty dishes on the brain
It was overflowing gently but it's all elementary my friend
Some might say they don't believe in heaven
Go and tell it to the man who lives in hell
Some might say you get what you've been given
If you don't get yours I won't get mine as well
Some might say we will find a brighter day
Some might say we will find a brighter day
'Cause I've been standing at the station
In need of education in the rain
You made no preparation for my reputation once again
The sink is full of fishes
Cos she's got dirty dishes on the brain
And my dog's been itchin'
Itchin' in the kitchen once again
Some might say Some might say
Some might say Some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say
You know what some might say

they may say i'm a dreamer...

Children behave: that's what they say when we're together

You won't have a name when you ride the big airplane
All they will call you will be: "deportees"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l6ifBA4iUc