One of my habits when teaching music courses is to ask participants to uncover terse lyrical phrases that strike them as worthy of remembering. While recently delivering an updated version of my course called Tunesmiths, I was caught totally off guard by the line above from a 2007 Sara Bareilles tune entitled Many the Miles. Given there were no songs by Bareilles included in my original iteration of Tunesmiths and, I'd never before closely examined the lyric to Many the Miles, imagine my delight discovering that gem at the exact time I was asking participants to identify words for the ages from any song featured in my class. What a blast!
Bareilles's succinct phrase from her first-rate song meshes perfectly with criteria established when I initiated this blog series over eight years ago: 1.) It's brief enough to be easily recalled; 2.) It stands alone i.e., needs no rhymes before or after to complete the thought; 3.) It contains a truth difficult to refute. Except for the hard-hearted, who would argue that being able to cry when feeling things deeply makes us more human?
I'm always curious to hear which lyrical phrases you've unearthed fitting the criteria above. Maybe another Sara Bareilles lyric? Maybe something by a favorite lyricist of yours, musical genre aside? One of the clear benefits I've derived since launching this series has been the amount of focused attention I now routinely give to lyrics. Of course, that has helped me with my own lyrics. Further, and more importantly, my listening skills in general have improved. How cool is that? Try it. Then come back and tell me what you notice.
From Joe Walsh
ReplyDelete“Started in the middle of nowhere
I didn't have far to fall
And the times I thought were the end of the world
Didn't turn out so bad after all”
Bob; Sharp lyric from a great guitar player although not someone who is on my musical radar often as a songwriter/lyricist; my bad. So, thanks for the comment and bringing this quatrain to my attention. What is the song title? "Middle of Nowhere"?
DeleteThe song is “I’m just lucky that way”. The entire album is excellent.
DeleteI've got a line that might fit your criteria:
ReplyDelete"You are what you love, not who loves you" - Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy.
Chris; Forced to predict who would eventually come through with a lyric that fit my (admittedly arbitrary) criteria for this series, it would have been you. Look for this lyric in my next iteration of Words for the Ages (January 2026 or thereabouts) along with a shoutout to you, my old and dear friend. Without a doubt, you are the most musically geeky non-musician I'm sure I'll ever know. Side note to attentive readers keeping track: Because it will be sometime in 2026 when this lyric gets used, I will have waited for NINE YEARS since the inception of this series for any reader to unearth a lyric that snugly fits those admittedly arbitrary, albeit flawlessly created, criteria. I'm a patient man.
DeletePat, Here is a link to an interesting article on lyrics: https://www.andreastolpe.com/articles/do-lyrics-matter. Her site offers interesting views and assistance to songwriters.
DeleteHey Pat. These are a few that have meaning for me:
ReplyDelete1:"I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone" - Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
2. "What have I become? / My sweetest friend / Everyone I know goes away / In the end" - Hurt by Johnny Cash
3:"But time makes you bolder / Even children get older / And I'm getting older too"
- Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
4:"I don't love you like I loved you yesterday" - I Don't Love You - My Chemical Romance
5:"I really don't know clouds at all" - Both Sides Now - Gotta have at least one from Joni
Be well.
Bob
Bob; Over the past few years and your comments on other iterations of "Words for the Ages", you've given me food for thought. Thanks for that. Of the five lyrical phrases you cited above, my favorite is "Everyone I know goes away in the end" from "Hurt". Sad but powerful. If that ends up in a future iteration of this series, I'll give you a shout-out, just as I will be for the lyric Chris cited (above) from that song by Fallout Boy. I plan to use that if I publish an installment from "Words for the Ages" anytime in January.
Delete