Top 5 Song Verses

In trying to decide what to include in this list, I noticed that I always came back to some of my favorite songs by some of my favorite artists. I thought to myself, you know, all of these tunes are fantastic musically, melodically, and those are a couple of the reasons I like them as much as I do, but is there something on a subconscious level that cements them as top songs in my mind? I wondered if I enjoyed the songs that much more because they were so fantastic lyrically. So, after some long hours listening to a lot of music last night (sometimes, blog research ain’t too bad), I decided that there was indeed a strong pull from each of these songs, something outside of the beat, the strum of the guitar, and the rhythm of voice and instrument. These lyrics spoke to me and invoked a plethora of emotional response. And I thought, that’s what music is all about…

I urge you all to add you favorite(s).

5. Bob Seger - Against The Wind

And I guess I lost my way
There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or even how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searchin’
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind

Bob Seger is one of the great songwriters of our time. His musical dissertations combine love, life, and music into an amalgamation of what classic American Rock n’ Roll strives to be. Against The Wind is one such song as it details various phases of one’s life, and the feelings of struggle throughout each epoch. Young love, finding oneself, and finally, acceptance of mainstream societal life drive this song, and I think any one of us can relate to the words behind the tune.


4. U2 - Running To Stand Still

Sweet the sin, bitter the taste in my mouth
I see seven towers, but I only see one way out
You gotta cry without weeping,
talk without speaking
Scream without raising your voice
You know I took the poison, from the poison stream
Then I floated out of here, singing
Ah la la la de day
Ah la la la de day

You know, I never thought Bono a particularly great songwriter, especially in the early years of U2. But something about this particular song from the masterpiece of music that is The Joshua Tree, echoes a sentiment of melancholy and sorrow. The imagery is particularly contemplative and at times, a contradicting sense of both hope and hopelessness. The lyrics themselves might suggest how one deals with addiction, but the fantastic thing about figurative expression in song is that it is always open to personal interpretation.


3. Jimmy Buffet – Fruitcakes

Religion! Religion! Oh, there's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Here we go now. Alright, alter boys.
Mea Culpa Mea Culpa Mea Maxima Culpa
Mea Culpa Mea Culpa Mea Maxima Culpa
Where's the church, who took the steeple
Religion is in the hands of some crazy-ass people
Television preachers with bad hair and dimples
The god's honest truth is it's not that simple
It's the Buddhist in you, it's the Pagan in me
It's the Muslim in him, she's Catholic ain't she?
It's the born again, look its the WASP and the Jew
Tell me what's goin on, I ain't gotta clue

Meet Mr. Buffet, lyrical genius. How classic a line is, there's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning? I guess this song just resonates with me because of the completely fucked up state the world is in with regard to religion. Now, I’m not going to go off into some theological diatribe, but just wanted to note how poignant the lyrics to this song can be. Outside of that, anything by Buffet just makes me want to kick back on the beach with a Corona. Hmm…when’s the next flight to St. Martin?


2. Led Zeppelin – Ten Years Gone

Then as it was, then again it will be
An' though the course may change sometimes
Rivers always reach the sea
Blind stars of fortune, each have several rays
On the wings of maybe, down in birds of prey
Kind of makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to grow
But as the eagle leaves the nest, it's got so far to go

I probably could’ve picked umpteen different Zeppelin songs. Page and Plant, in their alcohol, marijuana, LSD, and peyote induced states, wrote some kick-fucking-ass lyrics. Unfortunately, sometimes you have to be in one of those states yourself to completely understand what they were trying to tell you. Ten Years Gone is probably my favorite Led Zeppelin tune. Its an absolutely magnificent dynamic of melody, rhythm, and verse. Lyrically, its chock full of imagery and evocative metaphor. Um. Plus, it just rocks my nuts. Dude, pass the bong.


1. Jackson Browne - The Pretender

I'm going to find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams
And then we'll put out dark glasses on
And we'll make love until our strength is gone
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again Get it up again

The allegory pulled from one line in this song is what compelled me to put it number one. And we'll fill in the missing colors, in each other's paint-by-number dreams. There may not be a more beautiful verse in all of song, and in fact can be likened to some great lines in classic poetry. I’m not a huge Jackson Browne fan, but this song is one of my absolute favorites, especially lyrically. I think each and every one of us could associate a time, place, feeling, or memory with a portion of this song. And boys and girls, that makes for one helluva song. God bless the Pretender, because he’s gonna get up and do it again. Amen.