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Looking for music with unusual lyrics

 
  • Looking for music with unusual lyrics

    Ok, in order to make this more than just a simple request, here's what I'm going to do: As people recommend songs, I'll add them to the sorted list at the end of this post.

    What am I looking for? Songs that you (or somebody you know) don't mind listening to which are good because of their lyrics, rather than just their sound.

    However, in order to keep this list as focused as possible, I will not add songs that fit the following descriptions unless their lyrics are very notable: (The scope within which "notable" will be decided may sometimes be narrowed to accommodate special cases)
    - Songs about love, sex, drugs, or becoming a star
    - Songs about ordinary teenage life (good or bad)
    - Parodies (I don't want this to turn into a Weird Al discography)
    - Metal (Especially epic/power metal. It would need a thread of it's own)
    - Stuff in languages other than english (Unless it's the intro/ending theme for a subtitled anime, I'd never remember the lyrics anyway)

    Notably absent from all the lists in this post is stuff by folk singers I'll decide whether it's too much work to list interesting folk songs later.

    And now, without further delay, here are all of the songs I know, and my opinion of how unusual, creative, or just plain good the lyrics are.

    Songs about war, peace, and goodwill towards others:
    - One Tin Soldier (Verdict: Good. Good message, creative presentation.)
    - Lives in the Balance (Verdict: Fair. Somewhat ordinary presentation but the details earn it a place here.)
    - O Siem (Verdict: Good. Good message, creative presentation. The choice of imagery is what earns this one a place here.)
    - Give Up The Grudge (Verdict: Good. In this one case, I'll judge the music video because it improves the presentation so well.)
    - Forever Young (Verdict: Fair. Beautiful sentiment, somewhat ordinary presentation.)
    - I'm A Stranger Here (Verdict: Good. An interesting "clashing viewpoints" look at Earth's problems with an alien coming to visit.)
    - Turn! Turn! Turn! (Verdict: Good. This is one of those rare songs where making the presentation almost hide the message really worked well.)
    - The War of 1812 (Verdict: Excellent. A hilarious comedic account of the war of 1812 from a Canadian perspective.)

    Sci-fi Songs (space travel, far future, etc.):
    - '39 (Verdict: Excellent. The only song I've ever seen that bases it's lyrics around a little-known scientific phenomenon. (Time dilation))
    - The Noah Plan (Verdict: Good. Gives that rare "pulp sci-fi" feel.)
    - In The Year 2525 (Verdict: Good. Makes me think "Ray Bradbury".)

    Relationship/Love songs:
    - What Makes You Different (Verdict: Excellent. The message is beautiful.)
    - Moonlight Shadow (Verdict: Good. This is one where the message is important because of how it's presented.)
    - Moorlough Shore (Verdict: Good. It may be a love song, but it's "giving context and character" to the love by focusing almost exclusively on the environment (which isn't urban) and doing an excellent job)
    - Where the Wild Roses Grow (Verdict: Good. Don't listen to this for the first time when you're tired. It'll leave you feeling weird for hours.)
    - Perhaps Love (Verdict: Excellent. If you're going to write a song about love and nothing else, this is how you do it. I especially love the version with Placido Domingo.)
    - A Summer Song (Verdict: Good. Another example of how much beauty you can get from love songs which don't shove the message in your face.)

    Miscellaneous/Unsure:
    - Scat Man (Verdict: Excellent. A motivational message targeted at those who stutter.)
    - The Stars of Sparta (Verdict: Good. I couldn't find a lyrics page, but from what I do understand, it's either a creative love song, or a song about nostalgia.)
    - Just Like Ali (Verdict: Good. Another one where I couldn't find a lyrics page. For those who don't know, the song is a tribute to his father and Mohammed Ali who both have Parkinson's disease)
    - Only Time and May It Be (Verdict: Fair. The messages don't have any specific qualities that jump out at you, but they do stick in your mind.)
    - Y'all Want A Single (Verdict: Excellent. I'm going to make one more exception and judge the music video. The irony of the medium-message combination is probably unbeatable.)
    - Lily the Pink (Verdict: Excellent. This is one of the funniest non-parody songs I've ever heard.)
    - Piano Man (Verdict: Good. A fun little bit of imagery.)

    Personally, my top favorite is '39. Partly because I have such trouble finding "sci-fi music" but mostly because of the content. The closest song I can think of elsewhere in my collection is The Noah Plan but "earth is doomed" is much less creative than "hybrid 3rd-/1st-person account of time dilation".

    NOTE: More To Come. (I haven't finished looking through my collection)

    Edited by ssokolow on 10 Dec 2006, 08:02
  • I'd recommend you Current 93, but given what you've just listed, it would probably completely blow your mind.

    Current 93 - The Carnival is Dead and Gone

    Dear Sir, Dear Lady
    This carnival is dead and gone
    And never, anyway-alas, this party never yet began
    The chairs and tables dust of dust
    Yes verydust of veryrust of verymust and farewelltrust
    (I thought I saw You in the crowd, dearheart
    You turned away from me and dissolved into light)
    The broken lights and faded buntings
    Call to us all: The Inmost Light
    And don't glarewide Your eyes in wonder
    They will flick back inside Your mind
    And on the bonescreen of Your skull
    They watch no musichall salutes
    (So thoroughly modern now we are)
    But the last reel of all time
    The Inmost Night
    (Its frames are glared and slow and out of focus
    Valentino, Vallee, Moss-all dead!
    The Inmost Night)
    And the little bells go tinkle
    And Your eyes begin to twinkle
    And the joints and sinews crack
    It's the expansion of Your mind Death
    Death
    Death
    Death
    (The Inmost Night)
    The cat's face glares from shiny card
    The deadcat from my past
    You tumble, You froth and fun forever:
    An orchestra from another time
    Another world all dead
    (The churchbells silent; the rainstainedglass of GOD is smashed)
    And You take Your choice,You sup with the devil,
    You choke on Your pride for ever and ever)
    My memory of my Inmost Light
    It tumbles, froth and fun forever
    Vulvaicmemories imagined of my wouldbelife
    Well that won't be
    And that won't be
    And that won't be
    And for my troubles and my pain
    And for the losses and the Wains
    I get a picture in my mind
    The slyly smily smiling kiss
    Of Your sweet Heart and Face
    And Your legs in some final benediction
    Your inmostwarmheart says ta-ra
    The Inmost Light
    And I wished to die inside of You
    And push up into Your heart so violently that
    Facetoface with matrix creatrix am
    The Inmost Light
    The Inmost Night


    Official Anti-Isreali Venom Dog and General Wacko!
    AntiOxymoron/LonerRD: "Free speech is not acceptable"
  • is this a journal post?

    Dead fish go with the flow... but I'm not dead yet.
    • Boonjam said...
    • User
    • 22 Nov 2006, 19:48
    yeah gotta be said that current 93 have some of the worst lyrics known to man

    • [Deleted user] said...
    • User
    • 22 Nov 2006, 23:10
    Like Murder
    Stoned I awoke in your temple
    To blackness above you
    And death beside me
    Where kitchen knives conspire
    Razor blades make bloodless love
    Like Murder
    The ghost of a pale girl is solemnly following me
    Pale will she follow me
    Into the sea
    I feel the flowers screaming
    To consume you
    Like Murder
    Earth and sky your cradle
    Earth and sky entomb you
    And death beside me
    I burrow through the dust
    In your skull
    But I cannot seem to find your soul
    Bloodless and numb
    We orbit the sun
    Hungry will this pale thing
    Follow me into the sea
    On the cold side of her face
    The reptiles awake
    Locust swarm from open mouths
    That sing thy kingdom come
    While blackness hums
    Nothing is true
    and I'm tired of your sad today
    You're screaming because
    There's nothing left for you to say
    Bloodless and numb
    We orbit the sun
    Hungry will this pale thing
    Follow me into the sea
    Stoned I awoke in your temple
    To blackness above you
    And death beside me
    Where kitchen knives conspire
    Razor blades make bloodless love
    Like Murder

  • My favorite war song is I'll Meet You in Poland Baby; the lyrics are a dialog between Hitler and Stalin.

    "Just like I knew what I was doing" -- Foe
    • Boonjam said...
    • User
    • 23 Nov 2006, 03:52
    i think that counts for unusual lyrics

    • [Deleted user] said...
    • User
    • 23 Nov 2006, 04:25
    uh

    well

    animal collective

  • All of Deloused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta. I think it's perfect for what you're looking for.

  • Destroyer lyrics are really something. Good luck to trying to work out what they mean, though. As an example, here's the lyrics to Rubies

    Dueling cyclones jackknife.
    They got eyes for your wife and the blood that lives in her heart.

    Cast myself towards infinity.
    Trust me, I had my reasons.
    Had a dress for every season, it was worth it.
    Pulled into town relatively free of hassle.
    Secured a room at the castle, it paid for itself.
    Checked out my surroundings, headed down to Thornton Park.
    Find your way.
    Discover that things are dark.
    Shadowy figures babbling on about typical rural shit.
    I wave bye to them in a modern way and increase my stay at the
    dock of the bay.

    Quiet, Ruby, someone's coming.
    Approach with stealth.
    Oh, it's just your precious American Underground
    and it is born of wealth.
    With not a writer in the lot.
    Sapphires vie for your attention
    Cheap dancers, they mean well in their way.
    But Priest says - "Please, I can't stand my knees
    And I can't bear her raven tresses caught up in a breeze like that!"

    Blessed doctor, do your worst.
    Cut me open, remove this thirst.
    Hidden, but near.
    A series of visions, I won't repeat them here.
    I won't repeat them here.

    Typical me, typical me.
    I gave my cargo to the sea.
    I gave the water what it always wanted to be.

    Look to the West!
    "Ah look it's no contest," - Proud Mary said as she lit the fuse.
    "I wanted you, I wanted your blues."
    Your Blues.

    "All good things must come to an end.
    The bad ones just go on forever."
    Isn't that what I just said?
    It is Now and it is Never.
    It is Now and it is Never.
    It is Now and it is Never.
    It is Now and it is Never.

    Don't worry about her.
    She's been known to appreciate the elegance of an empty room.
    Look, I made you this broom.
    A predicate warning to the sun -
    "This Night advances on..."

    The sketchy crowd shows me drawings, they're alright.
    An alternately dim and frightful waste.
    Now come on honey let's go outside.
    You disrupt the world's disorder just by virtue of your grace, you know...
    I didn't want to go, but leave I must...
    As gratifying as this dust was.

    Please don't wake me from this - my golden slumber -
    I am proud to be a part of this number!


    There's this fan-made Wiki with in-depth analysis of all the references to both the band's own work and that of other artists. It's an inspired sort of plagarism, I guess.

  • Boonjam said:
    yeah gotta be said that current 93 have some of the worst lyrics known to man





    THE HARD WAY

    Mannnnn.....
    There's a whale outta water
    Whoaaaa.....
    There's a bone on a string
    Doing everything the hard way x2

    Stilllll.....
    There's ? for the wicked
    ??? (weak-kneed and ...?)
    Go to pale the hard way x2

    Sort it out in the animal sea
    The factor of the human pride
    The place where I was born
    The place where my father died

    Past the police there's an army
    Marching like stone guards from Hell
    Into the wishing well the hard way
    Wishing well the hard way

    Doing everything the hard way x7
    We're doing everything the hard way.


    Official Anti-Isreali Venom Dog and General Wacko!
    AntiOxymoron/LonerRD: "Free speech is not acceptable"
    • Boonjam said...
    • User
    • 23 Nov 2006, 16:12
    yeah i said some of

    • [Deleted user] said...
    • User
    • 23 Nov 2006, 18:05
    Lots of lyrics by 22-Pistepirkko are pretty unusual. For instance:

    BLUE BALLOON

    Labour day, big crowd
    Market square, feelin' down
    Just want to say what I'm really thinking
    I don't like your music and I hate your style
    Somebody said "Sorry man, but you're talking to
    a blue Gary Moore -balloon"

    Shame, shame, shame
    this is not my day
    better change the name and the place

    Another day, another place
    I met that girl, just my style
    175 20 and 55
    I told her: "You're cute"
    "Come with me and I'll make you happy"
    "Sorry, man I'm occupied and I'm a man"

    Shame, shame...

    So I had to find the end to this story
    and the end to my boring glory
    So i was standing at kissing bridge
    Looking down to muddy water, feelin' so blue
    Knowing what to do
    Goodbye you, cruel, cruel world

    Shame


    Also:

    GIMME SOME WATER

    I said hey
    hey dude
    I've been seen, I gotta go
    I heard a flow, I heard a flow
    so: hey ho, hey ho
    I've been seen, I heard a scream
    I feel the sea, a wild thing
    hey silly, I got a fork
    I feel love, I feel alone
    Gimme some water
    Gimme some water
    Gimme some water
    Gimme some water
    I've been praised on the phone
    Isee love, I hear a hole
    I hear a tone, I gotta go
    yes I know, yes I know
    Gimme some water

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