“If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can’t I paint you?” — Bread
“I want to live where soul meets body, and let the sun wrap its arms around me, and bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing, and feel, feel what its like to be new.” — Death Cab for Cutie
“So grab that last bottle full of gasoline, gasoline, gasoline, grab that last bottle full of gasoline, light a toast to yesterday, and don’t tell me there is no mystery, mystery, mystery, and don’t tell me there is no mystery, it overflows my cup.” — Bruce Cockburn
“Could’ve swept in like a tidal wave, or an ocean to ravish our hearts, you could have come through like a roaring flood, to wipe away the things we’ve scarred, but you came like a winter snow, quiet and soft and slow, falling from the sky in the night to the earth below.” — Audrey Assad
“All this pain, I wonder if I’ll ever find my way, I wonder if my life could really change at all, all this earth, could all that is lost ever be found, could a garden come up from this ground at all, you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of the dust, you make beautiful things, you make beautiful things out of us.” — Gungor
“Cast me gently, into morning, for the night has been unkind.” — Sarah McLachlan
Question: What is your favorite song lyric?
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102 responses to “My Top 5 Lines From A Song”
A little late to this party …
this comes to mind:
“what a priceless gift … undeserved life”
In my own songwriting (which I’ve recently revived!), I’ve tried to intentionally be more poetic. A couple of lyrics that have recently emerged from two different songs I’m crafting that got me excited (due to their not being the same ole’ cliche’s) are:
“glorious grace of God appeared, salvation’s light through darkness pierced”
and
“only one could e’er suffice to pay so great a price … a life for liberty … he ransomed me”.
Every single line from Sara Bareilles’ “Gravity” and Sting’s “Fields of Gold”.
Wish upon a star but
do you know what stars are?
Balls of fire, burning up the black space,
falling from the landscape,
exploding in the face of God.
Down by something corporate
@Allison, Whoa!! What a lyric!! Thanks, Allison!
Since there’s been additional conversation about this song, I feel compelled to ensure credit is given where credit is due. While the DCB is great, this song is written and originally recorded by John Mark McMillan, an incredible artist and lyricist and one of my hands-down favorites. The song actually emerges from a very dark place for him – painful but beautiful. Here’s the story – and if you don’t have his album The Medicine, I can’t recommend it highly enough. (No, I don’t work for him in any way, shape or form – ha!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NXWE6AC8ao
@Keri, Keri,
thanks for the disclosure!! You are correct!!
Oh my…where to begin!? Okay, probably not the best EVER, but the best in my Itunes line-up for tonight!
“He is a real lover, making up the past and feeling up his girl like he’s never felt her figure before.” From “Daydreamer” by Adele
“Isn’t she lovely
Isn’t she wonderful
Isn’t she precious
Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we’d be
Making one as lovely as she
But isn’t she lovely made from love” From “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder
(I must have sung this about a thousand times after my daughter was born!)
“She said,’Tell me are you a Christian, child?’ and I said, ‘Ma’am I am tonight!” from “Walkin’ in Memphis” by Marc Cohn
“Hey Mr. Curiosity
Is it true what they’ve been saying about you
Are you killing me?
You took care of the cat already” from “Mr. Curiosity” by Jason Mraz
“I’m going to die if you touch me one more time
Well I guess that I’m going to die no matter what” from “I’ve got a Match” by They Might Be Giants
@Stephanie Tanner, Awesome lyrics, Stephanie!!
Which do you dance for
Which makes you shine
Which will you choose now
If you won’t choose mine
Which will you hope for
Which can it be
Which will you take now
If you won’t take me
And tell me now
Which will you love the best
“Which Will” – Nick Drake
@Danielle, Beautiful!! Thanks, Danielle!!
And I never wanted anything from you
Except every thing you had
And what was left after that too. Oh.
– Florence and The Machine
@Danielle, I LOVE Florence and the Machine!! Thanks, Danielle!!
There are bunches and bunches of lyrics I love, so trying to pick a favourite is next to impossible. But there are some that just seem to grip me, no matter how many times I hear them.
“Just when I think I’ve got it, it’s gone.”
“Mother teach me to love with a paper thin heart”
“Scratch and scrape for significance, cut and paste, make your monuments. What a waste when it all caves in.”
“At the end of a long goodbye is an unmarked spot where illusions die. Last rites for this pack of lies I relied on.”
“Where I cannot lift my eyes, You are there
Where I cannot find my way, You are there
Where I cannot hold my tongue, You are there
Where I have no prayer, You are there”
@Carryl, Carryl,
Beautiful lines, all! wow!!
“I spent a week in Toledo one day” – Saturday Night in Toledo – John Denver
@Spence Smith, I love it!!!! Thanks, Spence!!
Ooh, I’m a total U2 fan so I love pretty much all U2 songs!
“Where you live should not decide
Whether you live or whether you die”
“Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
And make it break”
“This desperation, dislocation
Separation, condemnation
Revelation, in temptation
Isolation, desolation
Let it go and so to find away”
“It’s no secret that a conscience can sometimes be a pest.
It’s no secret ambition bites the nails of success.
Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief;
All kill their inspiration and sing about the grief.”
oh, I could go on and on forever.
@tory, Me too!!! Great lyrics, huh?!! Thanks, Tory!!
In and around the lake, mountains come out of the sky and they stand there… Yes, Roundabout
Clothed in rainbows of living color, flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder… Jennie Lee Riddle, Revelation Song
@Elizabeth Chapin, Beautiful!! Thanks so much, Elizabeth!!
“You dance over me while i am unaware….You sing all around, though i never hear the sound”
“The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time”
“Damn this traffic jam, how i hate to be late….”
@Michael Woolley, Awesome, Michael!! “You dance over me while i am unaware….You sing all around, though i never hear the sound”
“I’m prayin’ for the day
When I will pay the price and make the sacrifice
To do what’s good and right
But I’m so selfish and I’m blind
When all the world needs seeing eyes
To lead them from the darkness to the light …”
– 77’s, L’Orbis / Jack Spoiler
I swear if you ever really held me / They’d have to pry me off with the jaws of life
– Chagall Guevara, The Rub of Love
It was a beautiful let down
When I crashed and burned
When I found myself alone unknown and hurt
It was a beautiful let down
The day I knew
That all the riches this world had to offer me
Would never do
In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubt
I was trying so hard to fit in, fit in,
Until I found out
I don’t belong here
– Switchfoot, Beautiful Letdown
@Rev. Macker, Wow!!! I LOVE this!!! “I swear if you ever really held me / They’d have to pry me off with the jaws of life” Thanks! Rev. Macker!!
These are simple but they bring me to repentance every time I sing them:
heal my heart and make it clean
open up my eyes to the things unseen
show me how to love like You have loved me
break my heart for what breaks Yours
everything i am for Your kingdom’s cause
as i walk from earth into eternity
@Michael H Smith, Beautiful!! Michael. Thanks!!
I don’t know why but this passage from Rush’s “Marathon” always resonates with me:
“From first to last, the peak is never passed; something always fires the light that gets in your eyes…one moment’s high and glory rolls on by like a streak of lightning that flashes and fades in the summer sky.”
@Jason, Nice, Jason. Thanks so much!!
It seems as if all my bridges have been burned.
You say that’s exactly how this grace thing works.
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive at the restart.
Mumford & Sons – Roll Away Your Stone
@Boyd Barrett, Nice!! Lots of Mumford & Sons lines today!! Thanks, Boyd!!
Here’s one more! From David Gray (Last Boat to America):
Sing me the truth sweet bird of youth
I got some trouble trying to understand
Beneath the veils of mystery
Are these the movements of an unseen hand
@Charlie Lowell, Wow!! thanks, Charlie!
“These Bones” by Dashboard Confessional. – “Lay my bones at the feet of the ministry, I need the guilt and the company, I need the chance to be judged, and then long forgotten…. …. another scar for these bones, but I know, they’re only my second home”
whole song here: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/dashboard_confessional/these_bones.html
@Jason, Thanks, Jason. Again…wow!!
We’re made out of blood and rust
looking for someone to trust
without
a fight
I think that you came too soon
you’re the honey and the moon
that lights
up my night
-Honey And The Moon, Joseph Arthur
@Charlie Lowell, Beautiful!!!! Thanks, Charlie!!
“If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected. Decide what to be and go be it.” – Avett Brothers
@Josh Byrd, Josh, Yes!!! Thanks!
So tonight
Gotta leave that nine to five upon the shelf
An’ just enjoy yourself
Groove
Let the madness in the music get to you
Life ain’t so bad at all
If you live it off the wall
Life ain’t so bad at all
Live your life off the wall
Michael Jackson – Off the Wall (This is still my fav song)
Cause I’ll be loving you always
Until the rainbow burns the stars out in the sky
Until the ocean covers every mountain high
Until the dolphin flies and parrots live at sea
Until we dream of life and life becomes a dream
Until the day is night and night becomes the day
Until the trees and seas just up and fly away
Until the day that 8 times 8 times 8 is 4
Until the day that is the day that are no more
Stevie Wonder – As (I love the lyrics of this song)
@Laurinda, Stevie Wonder is simply amazing!!! Thanks, Laurinda!!
I forgot this one. and it’s one that i hold very dear.
“They said boy you just follow your heart
But my heart just led me into my chest
They said follow your nose
But the direction changed every time I went and turned my head
And they said boy you just follow your dreams
But my dreams were only misty notions
But the Father of hearts and the Maker of noses
And the Giver of dreams He’s the one I have chosen
And I will follow Him”
Maker of Noses-Rich Mullins
@Chuck Harris, Another Rich Mullins lyric!! beautiful!!!
“I guess I’d rather hurt, than feel nothing at all” Need You Now-Lady Antebellum
“And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time” Wichita Lineman-Jimmy Webb
“None too lost to be saved, none too broken or ashamed, all are welcome in this place” Remembrance- Matt Maher/Matt Redman
“It’s the sound of salvation come, the sound of rescued ones” O Praise Him-David Crowder
“tall buildings shake
voices escape singing sad sad songs
tuned to chords strung down your cheeks
bitter melodies turning your orbit around
voices whine
skyscrapers are scraping together
your voice is smoking
last cigarettes are all you can get
turning your orbit around”
Jesus Etc.- Wilco
@Chuck Harris, I love Wilco!!! Tweedy is awesoem!! Thanks! Chuck. and that first line. Oh.My.
“When you’re weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all
When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I’ll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.”
One of the BEST songs describing Jesus and his love, secular or not.
@Sharman, Yes, I sang this song many times in the late ’70’s and early ’80’s. What a lyric!! Thanks, Sharman!!
The chief demands you kiss his ring
All awhile he is no king
Shot for shot, you throw another one
the final days of the summer’s sun
…have just begun.
You told me you would look inside
You’re too afraid of what you’ll find
Truth is true no matter where you hide
you better learn it quick or get left behind.
I’m in love with the King’s daughter
She’s in love with a diamond ring
She’ll sell her heart for anything.
-Margolnick “The Roost”
This guy is AWESOME Randy,
you can find him here:
margolnick.bandcamp.com
@Justin Girdler, Wow!! justin. I’m so there!! Thanks!!
The Type B Anthem
I’ve got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy. ~ Paul Simon
@Kay Day, Beautiful!!! thanks, Kay. Love me some Paul Simon!!!
I was just think about the haunting beauty (at least to me) of these lyrics as I was on my walk this morning:
He had a home, the love of a girl,
but men get lost sometimes as years unfurl.
One day he crossed some line
and he was too much in this world.
But I guess it doesn’t matter any more.
“New York Minute” by the Eagles
The autumn leaves have got you thinkin’
about the first timed that you loved.
You didn’t love the boy too much.
No, no, you jest loved the boy to well, well, well, well.
So you live from day to day
and you dream about tomorrow
and the hours go by like minutes
and the shadows come to stay
so you, you take little somethin’
to make them go away.
And I could have done so many things, baby,
if i could only stop my mind from
wonderin’ what I left behind
and from worryin’ ’bout this wasted time.
The love has come and gone
and the years keep rushing on.
I remember what you told me
before you went out on your own:
Sometimes to keep it together
you’ve got to leave it alone.
So you can get on with your search, baby,
and I can get on with mine
and maybe some day we will find
that it wasn’t really wasted time.
“Wasted Time” by the Eagles
@Pat Callahan, Yes, two of my all-time favs!! Thanks, Pat!!
Don’t know if it is my “favorite” lyric (that seems to change constantly) but one that continues to resonate is a lyric written by Steven Fromholz. The song is “Texas Trilogy: Train Ride.” I heard the song on Lyle Lovett’s “Step Inside this House” disc. The song is an attempt to describe the magic of train travel through the eyes of a little boy. Anyway, the lyric is:
“And the people by the windows playing cards and reading papers. Looked as far away to us as next summer’s school vacation.”
Great topic, Randy. Thanks so much.
@Derek, Beautiful and thought provoking. Thanks, Derek!!
3 By U2:
“Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.”
“I’m not broke but you can see the cracks.”
“Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot.”
@Tom Eggebrecht, Wow!! i’ve heard it sung a million times, it seems, but it never sunk in until just now…”“I’m not broke but you can see the cracks.”
Thanks, Tom!!
The one that sticks out to me lately has been from Awake My Soul by Mumford and Sons…
In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die
Where you invest your love, you invest your life
And one of my favorite lyrics from one of my favorite songs has always been DC*B’s O Praise Him..
How infinite and sweet
This love so rescuing
And my quirky…find it hilarious lyric is from Cee Lo’s Forget You..
I guess he’s an Xbox and I’m more Atari
Sorry could not help but share my quirky side. ;)
Great post Randy…enjoying all the comments too!
@Christy, Love it, Christy! Hmmmm….am I an Xbox or an Atari?? I’m not sure…
More recently, I love “Our shame was deeper than the sea, your grace is deeper still” by Matt Redman “You Alone Can Rescue”
@David Santistevan, Beautiful, David!! Thanks!
Sunny days
Where have you gone?
I get the strangest feeling you belong
Why does it always rain on me?
Is it because I lied when I was seventeen?
Why does it always rain on me?
Even when the sun is shining
I can’t avoid the lightning
Oh, where did the blue skies go?
And why is it raining so?
It’s so cold
I can’t sleep tonight
Everybody’s saying everything’s all right
Still I can’t close my eyes
I’m seeing a tunnel at the end of the lights
– TRAVIS “The Man Who…”
@Rory Mac, Thanks, Rory! i love Travis! Great lyric!
Among so many others…
“I wish I had a river I could skate away on.” – River, by Joni Mitchell.
“There is a design, an alignment, a cry for my heart to see the beauty of love as it was made to be.” – “sigh no more,” by Mumford and Sons
“I’m up in the woods; I’m down on my mind. I’m building a still to slow down the time.” Up In The Woods, by Bon Iver.
@Audrey, Oh! i love those, Audrey! Especially “There is a design, an alignment, a cry for my heart to see the beauty of love as it was made to be.” and “I’m up in the woods; I’m down on my mind. I’m building a still to slow down the time.”
Thanks for your lyric “Winter Snow” in the post. It has been alignment for my heart to see the beauty of love!
“Long Lost Brother” by over the rhine (my favorite band EVER)
http://vodpod.com/watch/958737-over-the-rhine-long-lost-brother
So tell me your troubles
Let your pain rain down
I know my job I’ve been around
I invest in the mess
I’m a low cost dumping ground
Trouble is I’m so exhausted
The plot, you see, I think I’ve lost it
I need the grace to find what can’t be found
@whitney carlstone, Beautiful lines! Thanks, Whitney!
It’s a hand that rocks the cradle,
It’s a motion that swings the sky.
-Out of the Cradle by RUSH
@Amanda Sims, Gotta love Rush for more reasons than one!!! Thanks, Amanda!!
“You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie”
“Angel” by Sarah McLachlan
@Fletch Wiley, One of my favorites!! Thanks, Fletch!!
“And up on the hillside its quiet
Where the shepherd is tending his sheep
And over the mountains and the valleys
The countryside is so green
Standing on the highest hill with a sense of wonder
You can see everything is made in God
Head back down the roadside and give thanks for it all.”
– Van Morrison “When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God?”
“They laid a highway a few years back
Next town over by the railroad track
Some nights, I’m glad it passed us by
Some nights, I sit and watch my hometown die.”
– Tift Merritt “Laid a Highway”
We could fill the comments section with Rich Mullins’ lyrics, but my all time favorite has to be “Peace” specifically the juxtaposition between the verses:
verse 1:
“Though we’re strangers, still I love you
I love you more than your mask
And you know you have to trust this to be true
And I know that’s much to ask.
verse 2:
“Though I love you, still we’re strangers
Prisoners in these lonely hearts
And though our blindness separates us
Still His light shines in the dark.”
@mike raburn, Mike, Oh my goodness!! That lyric to peace in unbelievable!!!
Thanks so much!!
My day just got richer!!
Here’s a few more:
Switchfoot:
Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself, to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Isaac Watts:
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Graham Kendrick
Hands that flung stars into space, to cruel nails surrendered
Slipknot(!)
I won’t be the inconsequential
I won’t be the wasted potential
@Ian Finch, Awesome, Ian!! I love, love, love that Switchfoot lyric…and the others are wonderful as well!!
This one keeps going in my head, by Jesus Culture.
“On and one and on and on it goes It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never ever have to be afraid…
One thing remains”
Never have to be afraid…..thank you, Lord!
@bluegoose, Love it!!! Thanks, Bluegoose!!!
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us…
John Mark Mcmillan
@Tyler, This lyric is a big one in these comments!! see above. Thanks, Tyler!!
“I love you in a place where there’s no space or time
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you”
(Donny Hathaway)
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac (the whole thing is amazing)
“There’s a bridge to cross the great divide
There’s a cross to bridge the great divide”
(Point Of Grace)
@Marcel, Wow! I love Donny Hathaway!! Thanks, Marcel!!
If I should call you up, invest a dime – The Turtles
If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice – Rush
Pump your fist and stamp your footsie, if you can’t dance just wiggle your tootsie – Coldcut
Hear me now oh though bleak and unbearable world, thou art based and debauched as can be. And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled now hurls down his gauntlet to thee – Man of La Mancha
Then sings my soul my savior God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art
@Curtis Fletcher, Love them!! Curtis!! Thanks!!
“Did they get you to trade your heros for ghosts
hot ashes for trees
hot air for a cool breeze
cold comfort for change
did you exchange a walk on part in a war for a lead roll in a cage?” – Pink Floyd, wish you were here
“Let me feel you, carry you higher.
Watch your words spread hope like fire.
Secret crowds rise up and gather.
Hear your voices sing back louder.” Angels and Airwaves, secret crowds
“Hey brother Christian with you high and mighty errand
your actions speak so loud I can’t hear a word you’re saying” – Bad Religion, i want to conquer the world
@Vince, Thanks, Vince. Awesome lines!!!!
“If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.” – John Mark McMillan
“I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name” – U2
“Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun. ” – Pink Floyd
And my favorite quirky lyric:
“I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s, his hair was perfect!” – Warren Zevon
@Jay Caruso, Yes, i just put your first lyric in a comment above…
All great!!
Thanks, Jay. I especially love the Pink Floyd lyric!!
@Jay Caruso, I was gonna suggest one of the dsingle best uses of alliteration ever, also from Werewolves: “Little old lady got mutilated late last night”
“Even if I made my bed in hell, still there you would find me.” – Rich Mullins writes in the song “Nothing is Beyond You”.
“In my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom…let it be”
@Greg Ferrara, Wow!!! That Rich Mullins lyric is amazing!!! “Even if I made my bed in hell, still there you would find me.”
Oh.My.Goodness!!!
Thanks, Greg!!
Off the top of my head:
“I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” ~ John Newton
“There is hope for me yet because God won’t forget all the plans He’s made for me, I have to wait and see; He’s not finished with me yet…” ~ Brandon Heath
“I got you, Babe” ~ Sonny and Cher
Another fun post. Thanks, Randy!
@Margaret, Love it!! Thanks, Margaret!!
“I don’t have time to maintain these regrets, when I think about, the way that He loves us.” David Crowder Band – How He Loves
@Nicole, Yes, I also love the three lines preceding your line from that song… “If grace is an ocean we’re all sinking, So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss, And my heart burns violently inside of my chest.”
Thanks, Nicole!
@Randy Elrod, Yes, love those lines too! I think How He Loves is one of the best songs ever written.
@Nicole, Since there’s been additional conversation about this song, I feel compelled to ensure credit is given where credit is due. While the DCB is great, this song is written and originally recorded by John Mark McMillan, an incredible artist and lyricist and one of my hands-down favorites. The song actually emerges from a very dark place for him – painful but beautiful. Here’s the story – and if you don’t have his album The Medicine, I can’t recommend it highly enough. (No, I don’t work for him in any way, shape or form – ha!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NXWE6AC8ao
*dang. i posted this below by accident. sorry.
It’s funny how a city can put on a different face, when it holds the one you care for it becomes a different place–Harry Chapin
@Trisha, Wow!! Great line!! Thanks, Trisha!
@Randy Elrod, I thought so to when I heard it a few months ago… it’s funny to me how as things in your life change the lyrics you have heard for years take on new meanings
I want to write like that. Like all of that.
@mandythompson, Me, too, Mandy.
“The first thing you hear after somethings gone wrong is the sound of your life moving on”
– Lucas Reynolds
@The Music Gardener, Wow!! What a line! Thanks, Lucas!