GREAT SONGS WITH GREAT OPENING LYRICS
VA - Great Songs with Great Opening Lyrics (A Butterboy Compilation) CD1+CD2 REPOST
You know the old saying "You never get a second chance to make a first impression"? Well, that's just as true in music as it is in life!
The first line of a track is vital. In a few words a songwriter needs to set up a story and a mood that will keep the listener involved. Great opening lyrics can quickly engage the listener for the whole length of the song, rouse and enthuse, pull you gently in or grab you unexpectedly or sometimes just sound really cool. Very few songs really grab the listener from the first line; it's a tough commission.
When I hear those first words I will always buy in if there is interest in the way a phrase is presented or if it connects with me emotionally. It's a great feeling to have those first words grab you and together with the right musical accompaniment keep you there.
Here are 50 tracks which have memorable opening lines in song. Enjoy!
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Track list 1
01 Prince - Sign 'o' the Times 03:43 [1987]
In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name...
02 Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds Of Silence 03:09 [1966]
Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...
03 Nina Simone - Feeling Good 02:58 [1965]
Birds flying high, you know how I feel, Sun in the sky, you know how I feel...
04 Beatles - Nowhere Man 02:42 [1965]
He's a real nowhere man, Sitting in his nowhere land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody...
05 Beach Boys - God Only Knows 02:46 [1966]
I may not always love you, But as long as there are stars above you...
06 Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You 04:36 [1970]
Why do birds suddenly appear, Every time you are near?...
07 Bob Dylan - All Along the Watchtower 02:33 [1968]
There must be some way out of here, Said the joker to the thief...
08 Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues 02:50 [1955]
I hear the train a comin', It's rollin' 'round the bend,...
09 Roy Orbison - In Dreams 02:49 [1963]
A candy-colored clown they call the sandman, Tiptoes to my room every night..
10 Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times 02:48 [2007]
In the days of my youth, I was told what it was to be a man...
11 Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (Mono) 06:30 [1968]
Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...
12 Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive 04:46 [1977]
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man, no time to talk...
13 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Into My Arms 04:15 [1997]
I don't believe in an interventionist God, But I know, darling, that you do...
14 Elton John - Your Song 04:00 [1970]
It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside, I'm not one of those who can easily hide...
15 John Lennon - Imagine 03:04 [1971]
Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try...
16 David Bowie - Space Oddity 05:00 [1969]
Ground Control to Major Tom, Take your protein pills and put your helmet on...
17 Kinks - Sunny Afternoon 03:41 [1967]
The tax man's taken all my dough, And left me in my stately home...
18 Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire 03:29 [1969]
Like a bird on the wire, Like a drunk in a midnight choir...
19 Steve Miller Band - The Joker 04:25 [1973]
Some people call me the space cowboy yeah, Some call me the gangster of love,Some people call me Maurice, 'Cause I speak of the pompitous of love
20 Mamas & the Papas - California Dreaming 02:42 [1966]
All the leaves are brown, And the sky is grey, I've been for a walk, On a winter's day
21 Queen - Killer Queen 03:00 [1974]
She keeps Moet et Chandon, In her pretty cabinet...
22 Willie Nelson - Always on My Mind 03:57 [1982]
Maybe I didn't love you, Quite as often as I could have..
23 U2 - With Or Without You 04:56 [1987]
See the stone set in your eyes, See the thorn twist in your side...
24 Glen Campbell - Witchita Lineman 03:05 [1968]
I am a lineman for the county, And I drive the main road...
25 David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World 03:58 [1970]
We passed upon the stair, We spoke of was and when ...
Track list 2
26 Beck - Loser 03:57 [1993]
In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey, Butane in my veins so I'm out to cut the junkie ...
27 Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues :02:17 [1965]
Johnny's in the basement, Mixing up the medicine ...
28 Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come 03:13 [1964]
I was born by the river in a little tent, Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since...
29 Animals - House of the Rising Sun 04:25 [1964]
There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun ...
The first line of a track is vital. In a few words a songwriter needs to set up a story and a mood that will keep the listener involved. Great opening lyrics can quickly engage the listener for the whole length of the song, rouse and enthuse, pull you gently in or grab you unexpectedly or sometimes just sound really cool. Very few songs really grab the listener from the first line; it's a tough commission.
When I hear those first words I will always buy in if there is interest in the way a phrase is presented or if it connects with me emotionally. It's a great feeling to have those first words grab you and together with the right musical accompaniment keep you there.
Here are 50 tracks which have memorable opening lines in song. Enjoy!
================================================
================================================
01 Prince - Sign 'o' the Times 03:43 [1987]
In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name...
02 Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds Of Silence 03:09 [1966]
Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...
03 Nina Simone - Feeling Good 02:58 [1965]
Birds flying high, you know how I feel, Sun in the sky, you know how I feel...
04 Beatles - Nowhere Man 02:42 [1965]
He's a real nowhere man, Sitting in his nowhere land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody...
05 Beach Boys - God Only Knows 02:46 [1966]
I may not always love you, But as long as there are stars above you...
06 Carpenters - (They Long To Be) Close To You 04:36 [1970]
Why do birds suddenly appear, Every time you are near?...
07 Bob Dylan - All Along the Watchtower 02:33 [1968]
There must be some way out of here, Said the joker to the thief...
08 Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues 02:50 [1955]
I hear the train a comin', It's rollin' 'round the bend,...
09 Roy Orbison - In Dreams 02:49 [1963]
A candy-colored clown they call the sandman, Tiptoes to my room every night..
10 Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times 02:48 [2007]
In the days of my youth, I was told what it was to be a man...
11 Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil (Mono) 06:30 [1968]
Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste...
12 Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive 04:46 [1977]
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm a woman's man, no time to talk...
13 Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Into My Arms 04:15 [1997]
I don't believe in an interventionist God, But I know, darling, that you do...
14 Elton John - Your Song 04:00 [1970]
It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside, I'm not one of those who can easily hide...
15 John Lennon - Imagine 03:04 [1971]
Imagine there's no heaven, It's easy if you try...
16 David Bowie - Space Oddity 05:00 [1969]
Ground Control to Major Tom, Take your protein pills and put your helmet on...
17 Kinks - Sunny Afternoon 03:41 [1967]
The tax man's taken all my dough, And left me in my stately home...
18 Leonard Cohen - Bird on the Wire 03:29 [1969]
Like a bird on the wire, Like a drunk in a midnight choir...
19 Steve Miller Band - The Joker 04:25 [1973]
Some people call me the space cowboy yeah, Some call me the gangster of love,Some people call me Maurice, 'Cause I speak of the pompitous of love
20 Mamas & the Papas - California Dreaming 02:42 [1966]
All the leaves are brown, And the sky is grey, I've been for a walk, On a winter's day
21 Queen - Killer Queen 03:00 [1974]
She keeps Moet et Chandon, In her pretty cabinet...
22 Willie Nelson - Always on My Mind 03:57 [1982]
Maybe I didn't love you, Quite as often as I could have..
23 U2 - With Or Without You 04:56 [1987]
See the stone set in your eyes, See the thorn twist in your side...
24 Glen Campbell - Witchita Lineman 03:05 [1968]
I am a lineman for the county, And I drive the main road...
25 David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World 03:58 [1970]
We passed upon the stair, We spoke of was and when ...
Track list 2
26 Beck - Loser 03:57 [1993]
In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey, Butane in my veins so I'm out to cut the junkie ...
27 Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues :02:17 [1965]
Johnny's in the basement, Mixing up the medicine ...
28 Sam Cooke - A Change is Gonna Come 03:13 [1964]
I was born by the river in a little tent, Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since...
29 Animals - House of the Rising Sun 04:25 [1964]
There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun ...
30 Beatles - Across the Universe 03:49 [1969]
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup ...
31 Bruce Springsteen - Tunnel of Love 05:13 [1987]
Fat man sitting on a little stool, Takes the money from my hand while his eyes take a walk all over you ...
32 Van Morrison - Into the Mystic 03:28 [1970]
We were born before the wind, Also younger than the sun ..
33 Cat Stevens - The First Cut is the Deepest 03:48 [2003]
I would have given you all of my heart, But there's someone who's torn it apart...
34 Who - My Generation (Stereo) 03:22 [1965]
People try to put us d-down, Just because we get around ...
35 Bryan Adams - Summer of '69 03:33 [1984]
I got my first real six-string, Bought it at the five-and-dime ...
36 ACDC - For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) 05:42 [1981]
We roll tonight, To the guitar bite ...
37 Kinks - Waterloo Sunset 03:18 [1967]
Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, rolling into the night ...
38 Tom Waits - Tom Trauberts Blues 06:25 [1976]
Wasted and wounded, it ain't what the moon did, Got what I paid for now ...
39 Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale 04:07 [1967]
We skipped the light fandango, Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor ...
40 Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody 05:51 [1975]
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? ...
41 Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive 03:17 [1978]
At first I was afraid, I was petrified ...
42 Bob Dylan - Blowin’ in the Wind 02:48 [1963]
How many roads must a man walk down, Before you call him a man? ...
43 Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild 03:30 [1968]
Get your motor runnin', Head out on the highway ...
44 Eagles - Take it Easy 03:31 [1972]
Well, I'm running down the road tryin' to loosen my load I've got seven women on my mind...
45 Human League - Don't You Want Me 03:58 [1981]
You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar ...
46 Tal Bachman - She's So High 03:45 [1999]
She's blood, flesh and bones, No tucks or silicone ...
47 Oasis - Supersonic 04:44 [1994]
I need to be myself, I can't be no one else ...
48 Roxy Music - Do the Strand 04:00 [1973]
There's a new sensation, A fabulous creation ...
49 Neil Young - Old Man 03:25 [1972]
Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were. ...
50 Doors - The End 0:11:42 [1967]
This is the end, Beautiful friend, This is the end, My only friend, The end ...
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Very cool idea. Loved them. A few mistakes in the opening lines - Human Leagues, Bohemian Rhapsody, Take It Easy but these are really cool. Thank you
ReplyDeleteThanks John,
DeleteFixed.
Cheers.
Thanks BB. Nice idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks, lemonflag.
DeleteCheers.
Great idea, but The House of the Rising Sun actually opens with "There is a house in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun". The jeans line is in the second verse iirc. An adventurous compilation as always, though -- tanks for the effort!
ReplyDeleteHi Iron Toad,
DeleteI get a little too far ahead of myself at times. Should check more closely before posts. Seems to come with age.
Lyric fixed.
Cheers.