when bad lyricists get it right

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i don't particularly think ian brown is too convincing lyrically, but there's something to be said for an opening line like "i don't have to sell my soul he's already in me"

scott weiland hits some sort of stride on 'still remains'

robert plant is quite tender on 'that's the way', but positively hamfisted on tracks like 'heartbreaker'.

others like arthur lee seem to narrowly miss the mark with their lyrics. there' s a level of sincerity and insight in his songs, but a lot that's too cryptic, twee or unpalatable

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:28 (eighteen years ago)

http://images.quizilla.com/C/chubbywubby/1051289173_Cbernard.jpg

― bad hair day house (fandango), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:33 (eighteen years ago)

hahah.

i was obsessed with 'true faith' till i paid close attention to the lyrics. sort of killed the strange romantic nostalgia the song always provoked in me

― Charlie Howard (the sphinx), Monday, 4 September 2006 12:35 (eighteen years ago)

You mean like that Blonde on Blonde record?

― Adam S S (Zephery), Monday, 4 September 2006 17:06 (eighteen years ago)

Dear Charlie

Your best bet is to listen to the whiney emotive noise rather than the clunky misshapen words.

Love

Bernard

― I Supersize Disaster (noodle vague), Monday, 4 September 2006 17:15 (eighteen years ago)

What's hamfisted about "Heartbreaker"?

― Sundar (sundar), Monday, 4 September 2006 18:11 (eighteen years ago)

it's literally about fisting ham

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 4 September 2006 18:14 (eighteen years ago)

"Eleanor Rigby"

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 4 September 2006 18:31 (eighteen years ago)

latebloomer, you just made me shoot Dr. Pepper out my nose and onto my work keyboard.

Dammit all.

― Hoosteen (Hoosteen), Monday, 4 September 2006 23:04 (eighteen years ago)

I thought KC and The Sunshine Band did "that's the way"... Didn't recognize ol' Bobby in the white suit, I guess... uhhuh uhhuh

― Bass-man (bassguy), Monday, 4 September 2006 23:52 (eighteen years ago)

bad hair day house OTM.

― scriblerus (mike lynch), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 03:18 (eighteen years ago)

Doug Kershaw (Cajun country artist I started a thread about recently) wrote some wretched lyrics (I'm sorry, but words to songs just sound better when they RHYME), but even he struck gold with "You can take my love and throw it in the river/Feed it to the fish with the love I give ya." Don't know how this looks to you on the puter screen, but on record it'sn one of the greatest kiss-off choruses ever ("Feed It To The Fish," from his Warners album THE CAJUN WAY).

― Rev. Hoodoo (Rev. Hoodoo), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 03:42 (eighteen years ago)

Arthur Lee and Ian Brown's line are both great mentions. Both had the bad habit of having typical hard rock lyrical nonsense but then one or two great lines in most of their songs.

― Cunga (Cunga), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 07:31 (eighteen years ago)

"Eleanor Rigby"
-- Geir Hongro (geirhon...) (webmail), Yesterday 7:31 PM. (later) (link)

Jaw Drops: Geir outs P Mac ass a bad lyricist!

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 07:32 (eighteen years ago)

Damn. As a bad. As a bad.

Too late.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 07:32 (eighteen years ago)

"It's 1987 all I wanna do is get stoned
All I want for you to do is take my body home"

yes.

but other spiritualized/spacemen 3 lyrics are SO bad that i actually get the sensastion "embarassment" when listening to them on headphones alone in my room. in fact, the rest of "come down easy" sounds like lenny kravitz wrote it..

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 08:10 (eighteen years ago)

"I Think I'm In Love" != bad lyrics

― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 08:13 (eighteen years ago)

Probably not listening.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 08:41 (eighteen years ago)

Jaw Drops: Geir outs P Mac ass a bad lyricist!

He is. But he is the greatest melody composer of the 20th century. Which is a lot more important in music.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 09:21 (eighteen years ago)

No it isn't.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 09:39 (eighteen years ago)

FITE! (again)

― Obvious Ninja (Haberdager), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 10:04 (eighteen years ago)

this isn't gonna fit exactly:

half japanese - 1,000,000 kisses.
it's not they are bad lyrcists (though one could argue easily that post david fair, they are); but they are often just too wittily simplistic and the songs lack a true sense of ernestness. but 1,000,000 kisses... the vocal stylings and music come together to leave you believing david really means it and the text is ace.

― Dan Gr (certain), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 19:07 (eighteen years ago)

Btw. add "Give Ireland Back To The Irish" to "Eleanor Rigby" (or replace it, as in fact, it is mainly as a soloist that McCartney has generally sucked as a lyricist)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 5 September 2006 20:48 (eighteen years ago)

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