And I divvied up my anger into thirty separate parts Keep the bad shit in my liver and the rest around my heart I’m still angry at my parents for what their parents did to them But it’s a start
name ten things you wanna do before you die and then go do them.
name ten places you really wanna be before you die and then go to them
name ten books you wanna read before you die and then go read them
name ten songs you wanna hear again before you die, get all of your friends together and scream them
because right now all you have is time time time yeah,
but someday that time will run out.
that’s the only thing you can be absolutely certain about.
Hero of war by rise against. -this is about the regrets of a soldier
When I’m gone by Phil Ochs -like this one a lot.
The globalist by muse -this one is about how an oppressed minority becomes the leading majority and nukes the whole world or something
Landslide by Fleetwood mac (I listen to the smashing pumpkins version)
“Oh, mirror in the sky What is love? Can the child within my heart rise above? Can I sail through the changin’ ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life?”
I find one line particularly powerful, and it’s been used in a couple famous songs.
Jenny Lou Carson (1944), made popular by Willie Nelson (1966)
I’d trade all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday For what good is life without the one you love I’d trade all of my tomorrows, they’re worthless anyway If my arms can’t hold the one I am dreaming of
Just an empty world is all I have before me I’d give anything if you were with me now I’d trade all of my tomorrows for just one yesterday I don’t want to live without you anyhow
Kris Kristofferson Me and Bobby McGee (1969)
And I’d trade all of my tomorrows For one single yesterday Holdin’ Bobby’s body next to mine Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose Nothin’ left is all that Bobby left me.
Yeah, I agree. That phrase was the more memorable one for me for many years until I noticed the “tomorrow” phrase that precedes it. Both of them together in one verse makes it the strongest verse of any song I know of.
Wake up, son of mine Momma got something to tell you Changes come Life will have it’s way With your pride, son Take it like a man
Hang on, son of mine A storm is blowing up your horizon
Changes come Keep your dignity Take the high road Take it like a man
Listen up, son of mine Momma got something to tell you All about growing pains Life will pound away Where the light don’t shine, son Take it like a man
Suck it up, son of mine Thunder blowing up your horizon
Changes come (Changes come) Keep your dignity (Keep your dignity) Take the high road (Take the high road) Take it like a man (Take it like a man)
Momma said like the rain (This, too, shall pass) Like a kidney stone (This, too, shall pass) It’s just a broken heart, son This pain will pass away
You can’t fill your cup until you empty all it has You can’t understand what lays ahead If you don’t understand the past You’ll never learn to fly now 'Til you’re standing at the cliff And you can’t truly love until you’ve given up on it
It has an sort of “revolutionary politics” vibe as well in some other verses. That’s kind of Rise Against’s whole MO though, but I particularly like the lyrics from this one
Another one of theirs that comes to mind is “Audience of One”. An excerpt from the middle verse and chorus:
Identities assume us. As 9 and 5 add up. Synchronizing watches to the seconds that we lost. I looked up and saw you, and I know that you saw me. We froze but for a moment… in empathy. I brought down the sky for you and all you did was shrug. You gave my emptiness a name.
Then you ran away. Now all my friends are gone. Maybe we’ve outgrown all the things that we once loved. Run away, but what are we running from? A show of hands from those in this audience of one. Where have they gone?
Melt-Banana - A Shield for Your Eyes, a Beast in the Well on Your Hand
Liquid eye, sticky eye Tricky eye, flashy eye How to fake? How to make 50 times more eyes to get cracked? Your heart’s got plastic
Catch the mean beast in the well on your hand, on your left Wake up, you’ve got no fist! Look up, no peace will be seen! In your hand, in the shade of your mind Watch out, you’ve got no right! Your pure cell can’t spark
I am good, I am evil, I am solace, I am chaos, I am human, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be.
This is the motto for the whole duality album. This tells the listener to not hide who you are. Be comfortable in your own skin be you, let the song show you how to accept yourself.
I like The Christians And The Pagans by Dar Williams. It’s a simple song about a multi faith extended family being able to just enjoy and celebrate Solstice/Christmas with understanding and openness and without drama. Like, we really all could get along if everyone chilled.
Pretty much any RVIVR song, imo. I was going to include the best set of lyrics, but I can’t decide.
I’m partial to “goodbyes”, “cut the cord”, and “shaggy” from a lyrics+music standpoint, but find it difficult to separate the best lyrics without the music.
Ah, well, as they say, “we’re all adults here, we can choose”
Those lines in wrong way/one way: I touch the ground/send my roots deep down/try to stick around.
And these from big lie: Everything’s changing / there’s beauty between the lies
I’m massively indebted to the friend who introduced me to RVIVR. I think I love all of their music.
I once was able to participate in a live stream thing Erica did on Instagram; she asked for requests, and then played mine! I was on cloud nine for months after and still get giddy thinking about it. To be fair, I think she played all the requests, but still…
In my opinion, most Mountain Goats songs. John Darnielle is an amazing songwriter, and he tackles very difficult subjects, especially in his earlier stuff. The Sunset Tree album is all about growing up with an abusive step-father, Tallahassee about a couple who fall apart, Full Force Galesburg about a small town you can disappear in, etc. Some of my favorites include “The Mess Inside” about two people that can’t find the love they lost, “No Children” about a couple that hate each other, and “Jeff Davis County Blues” about a sort of meditative experience after a breakup. I’d give it all a listen. To go even deeper, the albums All Hail West Texas and In League With Dragons have sort of companion podcast seasons (I Only Listen To The Mountain Goats) where Darnielle and Joseph Fink of Welcome to Nightvale go through each song, the inspiration, the meaning, stuff like that.
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