Songwriting Hall of Fame

OK, this is another idea I had. On this page we shall honor all those lyrical moments that are so amazingly amazing, you can't even believe your ears the first time you hear the song. Only the best of the best will be showcased here, lyrics that are so brilliant you can only wish you could write something so great. I'll be adding entries as I run across them in my CD collection. Feel free to send nominees to bill@juxtaposers.com, but be aware: Only those I deem worthy will be added to this esteemed list ...

The honorees, in no particular order:

 

  • "For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve." -- John Prine, "Spanish Pipedream" (nominated by Maggie Ewalt)

 

  • "Baby, I am the cub who was washed out in the flood / when U love somebody and bite your tongue all you get is a mouthful of blood." -- Fruit Bats, "When U Love Somebody"

 

  • "Someday even man's best laid plans / will lie twisted and covered in rust / we've done all that we can but it slipped through our hands / and it's ashes to ashes and dust to dust." -- Steve Earle, "Ashes to Ashes"

 

  • "He said: 'Too bad, better bite the bullet hard, son' / I didn't have no teeth so I stole his gun / and I crawled out the window / with my shadow on a spoon / dancing on the roof / shooting holes in the moon" -- Beck, "Soul Sucking Jerk"

 

  • "Now you can rock it like Sir Sisyphus / but even in its genesis / it's really quite ridiculous / 'lectric hobo, so now you know / not clock the weeble wobble hot rod gang / revelator, big bang!" -- Clutch, "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw"

 

  • "Hey, this ain't country-western! It's just soft-rock feminist crap! And I thought they'd struck bottom / back back in the days of Ronnie Milsap / now they can't stop the flood of assholes / there ain't a big enough ASCAP / sure, I like old Tim Carroll, and BR5-49 / but Nashville don't need that noise, no / Nashville'll do just fine / as long as there's a moron market / and a faggot in a hat to sign. " -- Robbie Fulks, "Fuck This Town"

 

  • "Give the finger to the rock 'n' roll singer / as he's dancing upon your paycheck / the sales climb high through the garbage-pail sky / like a giant dildo crushing the sun." -- Beck, "Pay No Mind"

 

  • "Mr. Richard Smoker, you're a velvet coker / Bruce and Geoff will pick you up at ten." -- Ween, "Mr. Richard Smoker"

 

  • "Gonna take this sack of puppies / gonna set it out to freeze / gonna climb around on all fours / 'til all the blood falls out my knees." -- Modest Mouse, "This Devil's Workday"

 

  • "Of all the Monday through Fridays we joined the crusade / of all the Saturday nights in which we were made / of all the exorcisms I've done with your ghosts / still it's Sunday morning I miss you the most." -- Ani DiFranco, "Sunday Morning"

 

  • "There were stars in the sky / there were bunkers on the hill and there were caskets to fill where he would lie / shrouded in the red, white and blue with the stripes." -- Whiskeytown, "Houses on the Hill"

 

  • "Some people drink Pepsi / some people drink Coke / the wacky morning DJ says democracy's a joke." -- Cake, "Comfort Eagle"

 

  • "You're one microscopic cog in his catastrophic plan / designed and directed by his red right hand." -- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, "Red Right Hand"

 

  • "He's got his arms around every man's dream / crumbs in his beer from the seafood special." -- Fountains of Wayne, "Leave the Biker"

 

  • "JT gets all fucked up in some karaoke bar / after two drinks he's a loser, after three drinks he's a star." -- Garbage, "Bleed Like Me"

 

  • "Lips split open, shot glass filled the pines / bar stools flew like witches through the Minnesota sky / vultures circled, lighting hit the vane / blackbirds tore the roof off and the world went up in flames." -- Great Lakes Myth Society, "Big Jim Hawkins"

 

  • "We drop lobotomy beats / evaporated meats / on high-tech street / we go solo / dance floors and talk shows / hot dogs, No Doz / hot sex in back rows." -- Beck, "Hollywood Freaks"

 

  • "The sun's coming up / she's pulled all the blankets over / curled in a ball / like she's hiding from me / and that's when I know / she's gonna be pissed when she wakes up / for terrible things I did to her in her dreams." -- Ben Folds, "Trusted"

 

  • "The Devil lives on Lewis Street I swear / the Devil lives on Lewis Street I swear / I seen him rocking in his rocking chair." -- Steve Earle , "South Nashville Blues"