lyricist, part I

i've been attempting to compile a list of my all-time favorite lyrics. lyrics that make me wish i was a songwriter. lyrics that, to this day, even if they are 20 years old, still tug at my heartstrings. i've always been a lyrics-slut. lyrics, to me, can change an entire song from something i hated at first listen, to a song i've loved forever. so, presented with very little comment, here are some of my all-time favorite lyrics EVER. in no particular order.

"now i write when i'm away letters that you'll never read / you said go explore those other women the geography of their bodies / but there's just one map you'll need / you're a boomerang you'll see / you will return to me."
- Bright Eyes, You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.

"separate the ones who know you / from the ones who couldn't bother to see you for all that you are"
- Tilly and the Wall, I Always Knew
i could quote this entire song, but i'll save you that. suffice to say it's perfection.

"'cos maybe / you're gonna be the one that saves me / and after all / you're my wonderwall" - Oasis, Wonderwall

"i'd do it if i could / i hope you know i would"
- Buffalo Tom, Late at Night
okay, does everyone remember the My So-Called Life episode where Rayanne and Angela go to the Buffalo Tom concert? this song is playing in the background when Angela is desperately trying to talk to Jordan. i searched for it for Y.E.A.R.S. because i didn't want to buy a whole goddamn album. this. this song. still sums up my life.

"time cast a spell on you but you wont forget me / i know i could've loved you but you would not let me / i'll follow you down 'til the sound of my voice will haunt you / you'll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you"
- Fleetwood Mac, Silver Springs

"and it's easier in nighttime / when you've had too much whisky maybe too much wine / and you wake up in the morning / and you have to look at him / so you stare at your spoon / your upside-down reflection"
- Tilly and the Wall, Hidden Track after The Ice Storm, Big Gust, and You

"polly ann only has herself to please / she has no use for your ring or your keys / just a pocket knife / and a hole in her heart / painter's brush / an astral chart / and a music box that was broken from the start."
- Reigning Sound, Polly Ann

"she said she'd never seen someone so lost / i said i'd never felt so found"
- The Good Life, Album of the Year
it was hard for me to pick a lyric out of this song. but i think this one adequately sums up the song. though, it does have the best opening line ever with "the first time that i met her i was throwin' up in the ladies room stall."

"cos i don't want to get over love / i could listen to my therapist / pretend you don't exist / and not have to dream of what i dream of"
- The Magnetic Fields, I Don't Want to Get Over You