whats your all time favorite classic lyrics??

[Chi_townPhilly]

If these lyrics are "classical", somebody has a different definition than I do.

Well, since this thread was in the 'General Rock' forum, I thought I correctly surmised the original poster's intent was to ask about "Classic-Rock lyrics."

For all-time Classical lyrics, I'd probably put in a word for Walter's Prize Song from Wagner's Die Meistersinger, or maybe the Abschied from Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, but I think they'd be a little off-topic here...

[White Knight]

Could somebody please define "classic"; in what context is this term being used?

[Soubasse]

I go with Chi-townPhilly's post: "Classic-Rock lyrics"

Not really "rock" per se but from a classic album: The Grave from Don McLean's American Pie album.

The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He’s gone.

When the wars of our nation did beckon,
A man barely twenty did answer the calling.
Proud of the trust that he placed in our nation,
He’s gone,
But eternity knows him, and it knows what we’ve done.

And the rain fell like pearls on the leaves of the flowers
Leaving brown, muddy clay where the earth had been dry.
And deep in the trench he waited for hours,
As he held to his rifle and prayed not to die.

But the silence of night was shattered by fire
As guns and grenades blasted sharp through the air.
And one after another his comrades were slaughtered.
In a morgue of marines, alone standing there.

He crouched ever lower, ever lower with fear.
"they can’t let me die! the can’t let me die here!
I’ll cover myself with the mud and the earth.
I’ll cover myself! I know I’m not brave!
The earth!
The earth!
The earth is my grave."

The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered from the hillsides in bright summer colors,
And the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone.
He’s gone.

Simple lyrics and an excellent song to listen to, the instrumental arrangement is superbly well done the way it builds into the penultimate verse's "I'll cover myself. I know I'm not brave!". I first heard this when I was quite a young boy and it really scared me, making me realise that war was not the "big adventure" that some movies at the time made it out to be. This song drove home the terror and futility of war. I still think it works well by today's standards, and for my ears, McLean penned a mini-masterpiece here, poetically and musically.

[White Knight]

Again, I am not quite certain what the original poster was aiming for when she used the term "classical lyrics". I, for one, would be much more comfortable with the term "classic lyrics" to denote those lyrics which are enduring and meaningful no matter which generation of listeners is hearing them.
In this more constricted definition then, I would nominate--for their political commentaries inherent in the songs--"Sympathy For The Devil" by the Rolling Stones, "Fortunate Son" by CCR, "I Ain't Marching Anymore" by Phil Ochs, "Children of Darkness" by Joan Baez and "Find The Cost Of Freedom" by CSNY.

[Chi_townPhilly]

"Find The Cost Of Freedom" by CSNY.

Funny. I was going to mention this one by CSN (sans 'Y,' at least at the time of its release on the "Daylight Again" album) as bearing similarities to the McLean lyrics cited above. If you're into that sentiment progged up and sprinkled with a little irony, I guess there's "Lucky Man" by ELP, too.

Can't say I ever saw political commentary woven into "Sympathy for the Devil," but then again, I'm not a 'Stones' enthusiast and might be well-advised to defer to those who are with regard to such matters.

For anthemic agit-Rock, there aren't many who did that better than "The Alarm." Example- 'Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke." Excerpt:

After all time building up comes inevitable knocking down
Comes receivers, liars, gamblers- pickpocket entourage
Selling out is a Cardinal sin- sinning with a safety net
They say that all things come in threes...
well here comes the third degree:
Where were you hiding when the storm broke
When the rains began to fall
Where the thunder and the lightning struck
And the rain- and the four winds did howl

[John Watt]

This is an easy one for me, because if I think of all the singing I do, by far,
singing "ooo, baby baby" is my favorite lyric for sure.
Singing "ooo, love to love you baby", is second.
"I love you", always seems to creep in there.

[Corno Dolce]

Bridge over troubled water, Piano Man by Billy Joel........

[John Watt]

Yeah, "like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down", creeps into my head from time to time.
If I'm thinking songs, "Jesus Loves Me" has to top the list. It has to. The Bible told me so.
"I'm just a soul who's out searching for good, oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood",
an old "The Animals" lyric, pops into my head a lot more.

[teddy]

I believe the Animals beat the record with their 4m 30sec version of House of the Rising Sun, only for Dylan to come along with his 6 minute plus Like a Rolling Stone. Love the lyrics on both of them

teddy

[John Watt]

"And God said to Abraham, give me your son, so Abraham took him down to Highway 51".

If that's correct, and I'm never sure, that comes to me all the time.

However, "Any day now, any day now, I shall be released", is a modern hymn.

[White Knight]

John, Absolutely spot on with that Dylan joint. Nice going and a great song from a great album as well!

[John Watt]

I still wonder about Bob Dylan.
It's hard to believe he toured arenas for over two years with white paint on his face,
singing in a completely unintelligible way.
By the way, I've never been spot on before.
My life has turned on a dime, however.

Thinking about modern classic lyrics, Jimi Hendrix is mostly thought to have sung:
"Purple haze is in my brain, lately things they don't seem the same,
kind of funny, and I don't know why, 'scuse me while I kiss the sky"

But he didn't.
When I saw him live he walked over to Noel Redding, his bassist, put his arm around him,
and sang "scuse me while I kiss this guy". Listen close to the album. That's it.

[teddy]

I qlways thought it was - kiss this guy - John

I never though I''d live to be a hundred......... echos through my brain

teddy

[John Watt]

yeah, like living "past the age of old".

As far as arguing about classic lyrics, I can top that a little.
What kind of lyrics are these? Just the third verse.

"There once was a girl, whose heart was frown,
'cause she was crippled for life, and couldn't speak a sound.
Until one day, she took her wheelchair to the edge of the shore,
and to her legs she smiled you won't hurt me no more.
But suddenly a sight she had never seen before made her jump up and say,
look, a golden winged ship is coming my way,
and it didn't even have to stop, it just kept on going,
and so castles made of sand slip into the sea, eventually."

[John Watt]

I'm thinking today about a previous post that mentioned Don McClean and a war song.
His "Vincent" is a great song.
Writing about Vincent Van Gogh and sounding fatherly is quite the stretch,
but he pulls that off as much as he's pushing his strings.