greatest composer/ lyricist ever.

Hey there Child. I have trouble with the 'the greatest (anything) of all time' stuff. And this category is a really hard, relativistic one. Often the greatest musician/lyricist is a combination of folks (Lennon/McCartney.... Gilbert and Sullivan... Rogers and Hart... John/Taupin...) You will find some rare instances of someone just amazing at both things (Cole Porter comes immediately to mind)... but over all, this is too subjective to have much meaning, in my opinion.

Just the opinion of one man.

Elton John

Now Elton is a wonderful singer, piano player and performer. But what I find really interesting in his case is how wonderfully he sings Bernie Taupin's lyrics. They seem like two guys sharing the same mind to me.

Paul Simon

Yes. I say Elton John too!

Like beedle, I think it is entirely too subjective a question.

edgarbythe... I like the cummings quote there. Crepuscular violists among the skyscrapers...

Do people still read him enough these days? And if not why not?

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Another simply amazing songwriter would have to be Tom Waits. Better I think than Dylan and Simon combined, both in lyrical depth and the elusive human element.

Check out the lyrics to his recent tune Alice. Who but the most observant might ever guess that it's a song about Charlers Dodgeson and his guilty liddel infatuation? Always amazing content in his verses.

Yeh, I could list many worthy names here, but, I don't know how to compare Stephen Foster to Tom Waits to Chuck Willis, for example. It all depends what you're looking for.

Edgar all I'm asking is who do you like, you might like the music writing skills of say: Tom Waits, Beethoven, Lennon, it dont matter who, just say who you like.

Actually, how is this different from favorite movie threads? We've listed those to death.
Motown lyricists. Smoky Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Norman Whitfield, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Pure poetry.

Who I like:
Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Chuck Willis, Loerner and Lowe, Gilbert and Sullivan, Otis Blackwell, Leiber and Stoller, Stephen Foster, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Donovan Leitch, Chuck Berry, Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, and quite a few more.

My favorites: Billy Corgan (from the smashing pumpkins, zwan, solo), Björk (only with music though, her lyrics don't go well without them), Chico Buarque, Lirinha (from Cordel do Fogo Encantado)

Brian Eno, and J.S. Bach would probably be my picks for best composer. As for best lyricist, I'm leaning towards Thom Yorke or Ben Folds.

Renato Russo?

I don't like Legião Urbana or Renato Russo much. Some people keeping saying how great his lyrics are, but I just don't see it. Here are some lyrics by Lirinha... I consider them much better than anything Renato Russo has ever written:

A bença Manoel Chudu
O meu cordel estradeiro
Vem lhe pedir permissão
Para se tornar verdadeiro

Para se tornar mensageiro
Da força do seu trovão
E as asas da tanajura
Fazer voar o sertão

Meu moxotó coroado
De xiquexique e facheiro
Onde a cascavel cochila
Na boca do cangaceiro

Eu também sou cangaceiro
E o meu cordel estradeiro
É cascavel poderosa
É chuva que cai maneira
Aguando a terra quente
Eguendo um véu de poeira
Deixando a tarde cheirosa

É planta que cobre o chão
Na primeira trovoada
A noite que desce fria
Depois da tarde molhada

É seca desesperada
Rasgando o bucho do chão

É inverno e é verão

É canção de lavadeira
Peixeira de Lampião
As luzes do vaga-lume
Alpendre de casarão
A cuia do velho cego
Terreiro de amarração
O ramo da rezadeira
O banzo de fim de feira
Janela de caminhão

Vocês que estão no palácio
Venham ouvir meu pobre pinho
Não tem o cheiro do vinho
Das frutas frescas do Lácio
Mas tem a cor de Inácio
Da serra da Catingueira
Um cantador de primeira
Que nunca foi numa escola

Pois meu verso é feito a foice
Do cassaco cortar cana
Sendo de cima pra baixo
Tanto corta como espana
Sendo de baixo para cima
Voa do cabo e se dana