Best Opening Line Of A Song Continued

[rstaight]

I close my eyes and picture the emerald of the sea;
From the fishing boats at Dingle, to the shores of Dunadee.
I miss the River Shannon and the folks at Skipparee;
The moor lands and the meadows,
With their forty shades of green.


Johnny Cash
40 Shades of Green
released 1971

[Earl49]

"Been driving all night, my hands wet on the wheel.....". One brief line paints a vivid picture and sets a mood.

[hairpuller]

I was having visions of sugar pastry
Cooked up in clarified butter
I tried to turn my visions into prayers
But I built my castle way high up in the air

the mountain goats ~ Jaipur

[Walterc]

"I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm
Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm"
Leonard Cohen, 'Hey, that's no way to say goodbye'

"The redtail hawk writes songs across the sky"
Kate Wolf, The redtail hawk.

"Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free"
L. Cohen, Like a bird on the wire.

[dwasifar]

I'll have to think about opening lines, there are so many good ones. But one of my favorite lyrical twists of all time is Elvis Costello, "The Long Honeymoon," where a nervous woman frets about why her husband has not come home:

All the movies and the papers feature the murders of lonely women.
If he isn't in by ten, she'll call up her best friend.
Why doesn't he come home? Why does her friend's phone keep on ringing?
[one line unsung, while the listener comes to the same awful realization as the woman]
Maybe she should just pretend.

It's just a brilliant moment as he leads us to something unsaid.

[dwasifar]

Okay. Opening lines that immediately set the tone for the song:

Last night I broke the seal on a Jim Beam decanter that looks like Elvis. - George Jones, "The King is Gone (So Are You)"

I see a bad moon rising. - Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Bad Moon Rising"

Still, by the windowpane. Pain, like the rain that's falling. She waits in the air. - King Crimson, "Matte Kudasai"

Do you hear voices? You do, so you are possessed. - Brian Eno and David Byrne, "The Jezebel Spirit"

[jaymarsch]

These are the kind of zombie threads that I am always happy to see re-appear.

Here's a few that I have always liked:

I've got skin like birch bark
You can peel me off and lose me to the wind
I guess it's too late to protect myself from this
Driving North - Chris Pureka

Noises in my head
And endless should-haves rain
On me like a storm
Like a hurricane
Losses piled up like
Wood stacked stories high
Feels like I've been framed
I have no alibi
Sometimes Just the Sky - Mary Chapin Carpenter

Dancing in our rooms, you knew all the moves
Thinking of Mom in saddle shoes, it was amazing
Laughing family, long Monopoly
Sunday night TV, Adam and Hop Sing
Blessed - Cheryl Wheeler

There are the ones you call friends
There are the ones you call late at night
There are the ones who sweep away your past
With one wave of the hand
The Long Road - Richie Havens & Cliff Eberhardt

Best,
Jayne

[jaymarsch]

Originally Posted by Walterc

"I loved you in the morning, our kisses deep and warm
Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm"
Leonard Cohen, 'Hey, that's no way to say goodbye'

"The redtail hawk writes songs across the sky"
Kate Wolf, The redtail hawk.

"Like a bird on the wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free"
L. Cohen, Like a bird on the wire.

Yes, three great examples and three of my longtime faves.

Best,
Jayne

[Kerbie]

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