Best opening line to a song?

Gertie · Post by **Gertie** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:52 pm

Worthy4England wrote:
Gertie wrote:Mental but good: (not Take That)

near a tree by a river
there's a hole in the ground
where an old man of aran
goes around and around
and his mind is a beacon
in the veil of the night
for a strange kind of fashion
there's a wrong and a right
but he'll never, never fight over you
No, no, no - little dorf with a snood - couldn't even spell Nick right.....

Ooooh Nooooooooo!!!!!!but sooo cute and mental... The only man I could ever see eye-to-eye with... come on the shorties.

What's wrong with boys in snoods anyhows???

BWFC_Insane · Post by **BWFC_Insane** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:57 pm

There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief,
Theres too much confusion, I cant get no relief.

Again Brilliant.

Worthy4England · Post by **Worthy4England** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:59 pm

Gertie wrote:
Worthy4England wrote:
Gertie wrote:Mental but good: (not Take That)

near a tree by a river
there's a hole in the ground
where an old man of aran
goes around and around
and his mind is a beacon
in the veil of the night
for a strange kind of fashion
there's a wrong and a right
but he'll never, never fight over you
No, no, no - little dorf with a snood - couldn't even spell Nick right.....
Ooooh Nooooooooo!!!!!!but sooo cute and mental... The only man I could ever see eye-to-eye with... come on the shorties.

What's wrong with boys in snoods anyhows???

Last time I wore one down the Rugby Club in Bongs, some people were sniggering - I swear it....

superjohnmcginlay · Post by **superjohnmcginlay** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 1:10 pm

No contest, its gotta be Primus.

"Wynona's got herself a big brown beaver and she shows it off to all her friends."

InsaneApache · Post by **InsaneApache** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:06 pm

"Well I'm about to get sick
From watchin' my TV
Been checkin' out the news
Until my eyeballs fail to see
I mean to say that every day
Is just another rotten mess
And when it's gonna change, my friend
Is anybody's guess"

Classic.

superjohnmcginlay · Post by **superjohnmcginlay** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:22 pm

Whether long range weapon or suicide bomber
Wicked mind is a weapon of mass destruction
Whether your soar away sun or BBC 1
Disinformation is a weapon of mass destruction
You could a Caucasian or a poor Asian
Racism is a weapon of mass destruction
Whether inflation or globalization
Fear is a weapon of mass destruction

Bruce Rioja · Post by **Bruce Rioja** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 3:07 pm

Well she wore big knickers and she worked ont' sewage farm.

Dave Sutton's barnet · Post by **Dave Sutton's barnet** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:02 pm

"The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin', that's what I said
The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand, or so I have read
My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo
I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo"
Big Bottoms, Spinal Tap

Alright it's more than the first line but WHAT a couplet at the end there!

Little Green Man · Post by **Little Green Man** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:33 pm

With a nod to DSB, the opening lines to Costello's Tokyo Storm Warning ain't half bad.

The sky fell over cheap Korean monster-movie scenery
And spilled into the mezzanine of the crushed capsule hotel
Between the Disney abattoir and the chemical refinery
And I knew I was in trouble but I thought I was in hell

Talking of storms, I like the opening to The Pixies' Stormy Weather too. Almost as good as the closing line.

Dave Sutton's barnet · Post by **Dave Sutton's barnet** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:37 pm

Little Green Man wrote:With a nod to DSB, the opening lines to Costello's Tokyo Storm Warning ain't half bad.

The sky fell over cheap Korean monster-movie scenery
And spilled into the mezzanine of the crushed capsule hotel
Between the Disney abattoir and the chemical refinery
And I knew I was in trouble but I thought I was in hell
Talking of storms, I like the opening to The Pixies' Stormy Weather too. Almost as good as the closing line.

The first post I read after changing my autosig!

Here's another which has been on my mind this last month:
"Treated you like a rusty blade, a throwaway from an open grave"
Nobody's Fault But My Own, Beck

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:40 pm

You might wake up one morning, to the sound of something flutter past your window in the wind. (Bright elusive butterfly of love)

Bruce Rioja · Post by **Bruce Rioja** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 5:07 pm

I had as my sig for a while, the opening line of Lost Horizons by Gin Blossoms (the band taking their name from WC Fields' description of the alcohol induced growths on his nose) "The last horizons I can see, are filled with bars and factories, and in them all we'll fight to stay awake".

Now that's an opening line.

enfieldwhite · Post by **enfieldwhite** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:46 pm

''It was one of those nights when you turn out the light, and ev'rything comes into view'' AC/DC Touch too Much

Bon Scott RIP

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:52 pm

Not a first line but an immortal bit from a classic evergreen:

"If we'd thought a bit of the end of it when we started painting the town."

Bruce Rioja · Post by **Bruce Rioja** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:58 pm

enfieldwhite wrote:''It was one of those nights when you turn out the light, and ev'rything comes into view'' AC/DC Touch too Much

Bon Scott RIP

See. That's hardly a 'great' opening line is it, enfieldwhite? It's just the opening line to one of your favourite songs.

Likewise, many have decided to type out the opening verse of their favourite songs. "Best opening line" seems quite simple to me. I can't understand why there are so many that are finding difficulty with such a simple concept

enfieldwhite · Post by **enfieldwhite** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:40 pm

Bruce Rioja wrote:
enfieldwhite wrote:''It was one of those nights when you turn out the light, and ev'rything comes into view'' AC/DC Touch too Much

Bon Scott RIP
See. That's hardly a 'great' opening line is it, enfieldwhite? It's just the opening line to one of your favourite songs. Likewise, many have decided to type out the opening verse of their favourite songs. "Best opening line" seems quite simple to me. I can't understand why there are so many that are finding difficulty with such a simple concept

I understood the title of the thread and I do actually think this is a good line. It draws the listener/ reader into a voyeuristic anticipation of what's to come next. Subsequently, ''She was taking her time, I was losing my mind, there was nothing that she wouldn't do'' teased a pubescent enfieldwhite to try and imagine what it was she wouldn't do.

Problem is, Brucie, not many opening lines ARE all that great. Touch too much is a great track and the lyric as a whole evokes so many good memories of the time and the band.

My autosig is from a Deep Purple track called Fireball (from the album of the same name). It's a great line, and one of a great many that the self proclaimed 'cunning linguist' Ian Gillan penned.

Thing is good posts, like good opening lines, are few and far between. Good posts, in my view, evolve and expand to allow anyone to participate. Threads, like conversations, evolve. Don't let's spoil it.

Batman · Post by **Batman** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:47 pm

Bruce Rioja wrote:
enfieldwhite wrote:''It was one of those nights when you turn out the light, and ev'rything comes into view'' AC/DC Touch too Much

Bon Scott RIP
See. That's hardly a 'great' opening line is it, enfieldwhite? It's just the opening line to one of your favourite songs. Likewise, many have decided to type out the opening verse of their favourite songs. "Best opening line" seems quite simple to me. I can't understand why there are so many that are finding difficulty with such a simple concept

My my, in a foul mood tonight eh cocker!

Montreal Wanderer · Post by **Montreal Wanderer** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 9:54 pm

David Lee's Hair wrote:I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's
Going to get a big dish of beef chow mein

I was glad to see Warren Zevon making someone's list. My kids always loved the first line of his Sweet Home Alabama -

Grandpa's pissed his pants again, he don't give a damn,
Brother Billy has both guns drawn, he ain't been right since Vietnam.

Naturally I preferred some of his more mature songs. I just can't remember the first lines any more

Someone also had Dylan - he had a lot of good ones like "They're selling postcards of the hanging..."

Dave Sutton's barnet · Post by **Dave Sutton's barnet** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:13 pm

I suppose what you want in a first line is a jaw-dropping image or something which intrigues you to find out more... I'm sure Loudon Wainwright must have some crackers but none currently leap to mind bar

"Bein' a dad isn't so bad - except that you gotta feed 'em..."
"I wish I was a lesbian and not a hetero: I wouldn't have to mess with men and all their come and go..."
"Dump the dog and feed the garbage, mow the floor and sweep the lawn..."
"I had not taken acid for 12 years, but one night last summer I did..."
"Suddenly it's Christmas right after Hallowe'en, forget about Thanksgiving - it's just a buffet in between..."

TANGODANCER · Post by **TANGODANCER** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:16 pm

Montreal Wanderer wrote: :
Someone also had Dylan - he had a lot of good ones like "They're selling postcards of the hanging..."

Dylan was doing wacky stuff from way back, like:

I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more,
Well he puts his cigar out in your face just for kicks
His bedroom window, it is made out of bricks
The National Guard stands around his door.

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