Best Lyric?
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Funky12345 — 14 years ago(March 03, 2012 10:32 AM)
Great Thread!
I have a lot of lyrics I like from Dylan, but here are some of my favorites:
Girl from the North Country:
Please see for me if her hair hangs long,
if it rolls and flows all down her breast.
Please see for me that her hair hangs long,
for thats the way I remember her best.
"She Belongs To Me":
"She can take the dark out of the nighttime
and paint the daytime black."
Tombstone Blues:
"Now John the Baptist, after torturing a thief,
looks up at his hero, the Commander-in-Chief,
saying 'Tell me, great hero, but please make it brief,
is there a hole for me to get sick in?'"
"Silvio":
"When it's time1c84 to go, you got an open door."
Silvio:
When I come aknockin dont throw me no bone.
"Things Have Changed":
"Only a fool in here thinks he has anything to prove."
"Things Have Changed":
"I've been tryin' to get as far away from myself as I can."
"I got you some cigarettes - you buy yourself something pretty." -
forthesafetyofpuppies — 13 years ago(July 14, 2012 04:43 AM)
I agree with every line above me.
A couple of recent and not often quoted favourites:
"Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?"- from
Ballad In Plain D
.
As a solitary line, as beautiful as anything he's ever written. The way he plucks a great symbol of freedom, twists the phrase "free as a bird", and queries it in such a poetic way. Quintessential Dylan.
And the lost gem
Lay Down Your Weary Tune
(the entirity of
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
Struck by the sounds before the sun,
I knew the night had gone.
The morning breeze like a bugle blew
Against the drums of dawn.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
The ocean wild like an organ played
The seaweed's woven strands.
The crashin' waves like cymbals clashed
Against the rocks and sands.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
I stood unwound beneath the skies
And clouds unbound by laws.
The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang
And asked for no applause.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
The last of leaves fell from the trees
And clung to a new love's breast.
The branches bare like a banjo played
To the winds that listened best.
I gazed down in the river's mirror
And watched its winding strum.
The water smooth ran like a hymn
And like a harp did hum.
Lay down your weary tune, lay down,
Lay down the song you strum,
And rest yourself 'neath the strength of strings
No voice can hope to hum.
"People who live in glass houses have to answer the door"
- from
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Junie87 — 13 years ago(August 07, 2012 06:13 AM)
Dylan has written so many great lyrics it's really hard to know even where to start in singling out his best. Personal favourites
People tell me its a sin
to know and feel too much within
-Simple Twist of Fate
You're invisible now
you got no secrets to conceal
-Rolling Stone
Well, the sword swallower, he comes up to you
And then he kneels
He crosses himself
And then he clicks his high heels
And without further notice
He asks you how it feels
And he says, "Here is your throat back
Thanks for the loan"
-Ballad of a thin man
In the dime stores and bus stations
People talk of situations
Read books,
repeat quotations
Draw conclusions on the wall
Some speak of the future
My love she speaks softly
She knows theres no success like failure
And that failures no success at all
-Love minus zero no limit
Well, I rapped upon a house
With the US flag upon display
I said, "Could you help me out
I got some friends down the way
" The man says, "Get out of here
I'll tear you limp from limb"
I said, "You know they refused Jesus, too"
He said, "You're not Him
-115th dream
Rosemary started drinking hard and seeing her reflection in the knife
She was tired of the attention tired of playing the role of Big Jim's wife
She had done a lot of bad things even once tried suicide
Was looking to do just one good deed before she died
She was gazing to the future riding on the Jack of Hearts
-Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts -
Bravesfan82 — 13 years ago(August 30, 2012 04:09 PM)
The line I always think of is -
"Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift."
Of course, you could pick pretty much any lyric from pretty much any song, and it'd be fantastic.
I love your screen name, by the way!
"I don't want Fop! I'm a Dapper Dan man!" -
MurderInc2014 — 13 years ago(November 17, 2012 03:41 PM)
These days I'm thinking it's, "Husband?What husband? What the hell do ya mean?!?!" lol I love that one from Tin Angel. And since there's about a thousand acceptable answers to this one, I'll go with the one that is currently in my head.
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sadeyedladyy — 13 years ago(November 17, 2012 04:46 PM)
It's hard to pick best lyrics but besides all great ones that you've mentioned I also like:
And Ill tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then Ill stand on the ocean until I start sinkin,
But Ill know my song well before I start singin
(A Hard Rains A-Gonna Fall)
Ah, but I was so much older then
Im younger than that now.
(My back pages)
Well, I try my best
To be just like I am,
But everybody wants you
To be just like them.
They say "sing while you slave," and I just get bored.
I aint gonna work on Maggies farm no more.
(Maggie's farm)
She knows theres no success like failure
And that failures no success at all
(Love minus zero)
The carpet, too, is moving under you
And its all over now, Baby Blue.
But, sooner or later, one of us must know
You just did what youre supposed to do
Sooner or later, one of us must know
That I really did try to get close to you
(One of us must know)
Evrybody knows
That Babys got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
(Just like a woman)
And the locusts sang, well, it give me a chill,
Yeah, the locusts sang such a sweet melody.
And the locusts sang with a high whinin trill
Yeah, the locusts sang and they was singing for me
(Day of locusts)
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
(Forever young)
Our conversation was short and sweet
It nearly swept me off-a my feet.
And Im back in the rain, oh
And you are on dry land,
You made it there somehow
Youre a big girl now.
From Idiot wind (probably my favourite):
Even you, yesterday you had to ask me where it was at,
I couldnt believe after all these years, you didnt know me any better than that
I can't help it if I'm lucky
Youll never know the hurt I suffered nor the pain I rise above,
And Ill never know the same about you, your holiness or your kind of love,
And it makes me feel so sorry.
Idiot wind, blowing through the buttons of our coats,
Blowing through the letters that we wrote.
Idiot wind, blowing through the dust upon our shelves,
Were idiots, babe.
Its a wonder we can even feed ourselves.
Ive seen love go by my door
Its never been this close before
Never been so easy or so slow.
Been shooting in the dark too long
When somethins not right its wrong
Youre gonna make me lonesome when you go.
Dragon clouds so high above
Ive only known careless love
(Youre gonna make me lonesome when you go)
I was burned out from exhaustion, buried in the hail,
Poisoned in the bushes an blown out on the trail,
Hunted like a crocodile, ravaged in the corn.
"Come in," she said, "Ill give you shelter from the storm."
(Youre gonna make me lonesome when you go)
I seen her on the stairs and I couldnt help but follow,
(Changing of the guards)
Seor, s5b4eor, can you tell me where were headin?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
Seems like I been down this way before.
Is there any truth in that, seor?
(Senor)
You got some big dreams, baby, but in order to dream you gotta still be asleep.
(When you gonna wake up)
I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, theres someone there, other times its only me.
(Every grain of sand)
There are no mistakes in life some people say
It is true sometimes you can see it that way
But people dont live or die people just float
She went with the man in the long black coat.
(Man in the long black coat)
Well, I run right down n bought a ticket
To this thing called the Bear Mountain Picnic.
little did I realize
I was in for a pleasant funny surprise.
It had nothing to do with picnics
didnt come close to a mountain.
And I hate bears.
(Always makes me laugh)
I will not go down under the ground
"Cause somebody tells me that deaths comin round
An I will not carry myself down to die
When I go to my grave my head will be high,
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the ground.
The evenin dust was rollin,
I was walking down the track.
There was a one-way wind a-blowin
it was blowin at my back.
(Paths of victory)
Im si2000ck of love
I hear the clock tick
this kind of love
Im lovesick
From Mississippi:
Some people will offer you their hand and some wont
Last night I knew you, tonight I dont
I need something strong to distract my mind
Im gonna look at you til my eyes go blind
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long.
You can always come back, but you cant come back all the way -
ortegatwins — 12 years ago(August 11, 2013 01:07 PM)
Here are a couple of my favorite Bob Dylan lyrics:
Mr. Tambourine Man
"Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow."
Tombstone Blues
"The Commander-in-Chief answers him while chasing a fly
Saying, Death to all those who would whimper and cry
And dropping a barbell he points to the sky
Saying, The suns not yellow its chicken." -
remembervhs — 11 years ago(November 16, 2014 06:14 PM)
I like most of Dylan's early music and plenty of his more recent music. I find that he's best lyrically when he stays away from politics. I don't hate "the times they are a-changin" but I think it's incredibly hollow compared to many of his other lyrics.