10
   

Who's the best lyricist ever?

 
 
Dorothy Parker
 
  1  
Reply Sat 16 Sep, 2006 06:14 am
Speaking of Queen, why wont Brian May change his hair style??

and is it true that he wears cloggs?
0 Replies
 
Three P
 
  2  
Reply Mon 18 Sep, 2006 03:56 pm
Don't know, and don't know.

Best lyricist? - - Got to be Bob Dylan.
0 Replies
 
Dorothy Parker
 
  1  
Reply Wed 20 Sep, 2006 06:15 pm
No I don't think so

x
0 Replies
 
Bawb
 
  1  
Reply Sat 30 Sep, 2006 01:51 pm
Russell Allen, definately.
0 Replies
 
ethiomind
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Dec, 2008 12:39 pm
best Lyricist ever/..../
of course :
Tupac - - an all time best
KRS-ONE
Rakim
Nas

to name the least
0 Replies
 
Bi-Polar Bear
 
  2  
Reply Mon 8 Dec, 2008 12:54 pm
Solomon
Merry Andrew
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Dec, 2008 01:13 pm
@Bi-Polar Bear,
Quote:
Solomon


Yeh, I agree. Too bad the music's been lost.
Bi-Polar Bear
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Dec, 2008 02:19 pm
@Merry Andrew,
Maybe I could do a metal concept album with the lyrics....it's not like he could sue for plagiarism Wink
Merry Andrew
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Dec, 2008 04:26 pm
@Bi-Polar Bear,
Thy navel is like a round goblet
which wanteth not liquor.
Thy belly is like a heap of wheat
set about with lillies.
Thy two breasts are
Like two young roes that are twins.
Thy neck is a tower of ivory.


Eat your heart out Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, John Lennon...
0 Replies
 
kickycan
 
  1  
Reply Mon 8 Dec, 2008 05:39 pm
It's Burt Bacharach, hands down! How the hell is it that Burt Bacharach doesn't get any respect from you people? He is so underrated!
0 Replies
 
hingehead
 
  1  
Reply Mon 15 Dec, 2008 10:59 pm
Brian Eno

'You'll have to make the choice between the paw-paw negro blowtorch and meeeeeheeeee....'
0 Replies
 
ebrown p
 
  2  
Reply Tue 16 Dec, 2008 07:46 am
Without a doubt, Tom Lehrer... one of the only (if not the only) lyricist who could deal with love and passion with complete honesty.

Quote:
Since I still appreciate you
Let's find love while we may
Because I know I'll hate you
When you are old and gray

So say you love me here and now
I'll make the most of that
Say you love and trust me
For I know you'll disgust me
When you're old and getting fat

An awful debility, a lessened utility
A loss of mobility is a strong possibility
In all probability I'll lose my virility
And you your fertility and desirability
And this liability of total sterility
Will lead to hostility and a sense of futility
So let's act with agility while we still have facility
For we'll soon reach senility and lose the ability

Your teeth will start to go, dear
Your waist will start to spread
In twenty years or so, dear
I'll wish that you were dead

I'll never love you then at all
The way I do today
So please remember
When I leave in December
I told you so in May
0 Replies
 
aidan
 
  1  
Reply Tue 16 Dec, 2008 10:40 am
@Dartagnan,
I agree - John Prine is really good at the clever, funny ones - here's one of his whose lyrics I love:

We Are The Lonely (John Prine)
Down the hall upstairs from me
There's a girl I swear I never see
I hear the ringing of her phone
She must live up there all alone
She hangs her clothes out on the line
They're hanging there right next to mine
And if the wind should blow just right
She could be in my arms tonight

Chorus:
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

The cashier at the pump & pay
Knows everything's gonna be okay
The all night all right rent-a-cop
Is across the street at the donut shop
The waitress waits with whiskey sour
At the single mingle happy hour
The one man band begins to sing
Accompanied by a drum machine

We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

White divorced swinging male
Seeks company to no avail
Worthless ruthless toothless man
Wants wealthy woman with a plan
SWF with a PhD
Seeks TLC at the A&P
GWM nice and trim
Seeks s-e-x at the g-y-m
Ugly man treats girls like dirt
Wants buttons sewn upon his shirt
DUI at the b-a-r
Seeks m-a-n with c-a-r

We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

Toothy gal with breasts so large
Takes Visa Amex Master Charge
Dial 1-900 girls for fun
You lonely little hot dog bun

candide
 
  1  
Reply Tue 16 Dec, 2008 10:42 am
@agrote,
Morrissey! I was just thinking that. Very few people know or would say that.
0 Replies
 
aidan
 
  1  
Reply Tue 16 Dec, 2008 10:53 am
@aidan,
I also really like John Hiatt as a lyricist and love alot of his melodies too

paper thin:
I was gonna get up off that bar stool
Just as soon as I could figure it out
Why I was overlooked at the car pool
Stood up at the dance with no twist and shout

When you're burnin' with your last desire
And every memory haunts you
You write it down in alcohol fire
'Cause that's the only flame that wants you

[Chorus:]
When you're paper thin
Yeah, read all about it
When you were out of luck, well, luck was doin' alright
Now you're paper thin
Yeah, they can see right through ya
You just cut you're little finger on the edge of the night

Now do I really have to be responsible
For what I did between those tavern walls
I was just mixing up some chemicals
You could've heard a pin drop, could have heard time crawl

And every once in a while
You could hear you're own heart pound
Maybe some paper doll with a pasted on smile
Would let you write her number down


and another favorite by him -
It'll come to you

That girl you were seein' back in '72
Somethin' 'bout a hotel room and bath water in your shoes
Were you into your Catholic thing then or some other stew
Were you both holed up in that hotel room practicing voodoo

CHORUS:
It'll come to you
Don't look back, it'll come to you
In the middle of the night, with you covers pulled up tight
It'll come to you

And that business partner you took for every red cent
You can't even remember where all of that money went
Some on liquor and women, maybe a little rent
But as far as paying it back, Buddy, you ain't made a dent

CHORUS

Yes they'll all be standin' 'round you in your sleep
Askin' for a promise you couldn't keep
'Cause back when you were hollow inside
You were tryin' to puff yourself up with your own foolish pride

Now you're happily married with a wife and kids of you're own
But sometimes in the closet at night you
can hear them rattlin' bones
Takin' bets on your future and your current postal zone
It's a spooky equation, but check out
yourself, Jack, you're the great unknown

0 Replies
 
McGentrix
 
  1  
Reply Tue 16 Dec, 2008 01:50 pm
Derek Dick (AKA Fish)
Peter Gabriel
0 Replies
 
crystalpalace123
 
  1  
Reply Fri 8 May, 2009 02:04 pm
So many Greats but somethat spring to mind are Dylan, Ian Curtis (joy division lead singer), joe strummer, Pink Floyd and SOME ofLennon/ Mccartney
0 Replies
 
hingehead
 
  1  
Reply Mon 11 May, 2009 04:18 pm
I wanted to plug Ira Gershwin, for his approach to lyric writing - which heavily involved working with singers and composers, even today singers get much joy from his lyrics and the mechanics of the way they work with both their mouths and the musical accompaniment.

It's not what I'd listen to every day but I admire the craft - he wasn't called 'The Jeweler' for nothing.
0 Replies
 
 

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