Best lyricist

quote:

Originally posted by GUNNAR JANSSON:
Also some of Iggy Pops lyrics are superb IMHO.

Spot on Gunnar, maybe not the "deepest" bloke but good fun. Ramones and Zappa also make me laugh.

One more to add to the list. Singer/songwriter
Harry Chapin, tragically killed in a car crash in 1981.

Some of my faves and their finest examples

Shane MacGowan (Rum Sodomy.., If I Should Fall From Grace..., Crock Of Gold)
Jarvis Cocker (Separations, Different Class)
Ian Dury (Do It Yourself, New Boots And Panties)
Will Oldham (I See A Darkness, Ease Down The Road)
Morrissey (The Smiths, The Queen Is Dead)
Nigel Blackwell (Trouble Over Bridgewater, Cammell Laird Social Club)
Paul Heaton (Miaow, 0898 Beautiful South)

Somebody has to suggest Paddy McAloon, so I will.

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by bjorne:

quote:

Originally posted by GUNNAR JANSSON:
Also some of Iggy Pops lyrics are superb IMHO.

Spot on Gunnar, maybe not the "deepest" bloke but good fun. Ramones and Zappa also make me laugh.

Yes it´s important for me too.
zappas often very entertaining. I´m not that sure that I even get it all the time. Same with Ramones.

On the subject on Iggy. I very much like the directness of the early stooges and lot of his lyrics of later date. In some sense it must be true poetry. But what do I know. I jus like it.
I wanna be your dog as an example. It must have been groundbreaking at the time.
And who´s gonna write a song about eating dog food?

Leonard Cohen, yes. Listen to 'the Partisan', and consider Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq.

Van Morrison; a poet who knows what he's yearning for.

Totally agree with nearly all the artists in this list, amongst my own faves are Dylan,Lou Reed,Townsend,Waters,Ray Davies,Paul Simon and Shane McGowan.

Another lyricist i like is Shel Silverstein who wrote a lot of the early Dr Hook stuff.On one hand he can make me laugh--`I got stoned and missed it',Roland the roadie,The millionaire etc and on the other hand, thought provoking,--- `Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Carry me Carrie etc.

Regards Mike.

I think one of the past generation that was totally missed was Cole Porter. Very witty and sophisticated, he not only wrote his serious stuff, he also wrote spoofs of it for lively parties. Turned out dozens of versions all to laugh at himself or a special occaision. Our generation has almost forgotten him. Go watch the movie that cme out about him two years ago Delovely.

Currently I like Lyle Lovett, Thughtful. sensitive and often humorous at teh turn of a dime.
glenn

There are lots, but here are some my favourites: Smokey Robinson, Becker & Fagin, Springsteen, Nick Lowe, Lennon & McCartney, XTC, Chuck Berry, Holland Dozier Holland, Baccarach & David, Warren Zevon, Bowie and Ray Davies. I cannot get on with Dylan (nobody really knows what he is on/on about anyway) and Costello (too overladen with Metaphors) but, hey, it's a broad church.

Lots of good taste on offer here (at the risk of sounding like a mutual back patting convention)!!

I thought that the blue nile (at their best) deserve a mention also.

Totally agree with the David Byrne nomination. Worth it for this alone:

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) -

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - burn with a weak heart
(So I) guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing

Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
Never for money
Always for love
Cover up + say goodnight . . . say goodnight

Home - is where I want to be
But I guess I'm already there
I come home - -she lifted up her wings
Guess that this must be the place
I can't tell one from another
Did I find you, or you find me?
There was a time Before we were born
If someone asks, this where I'll be . . . where I'll be

Hi yo We drift in and out
Hi yo sing into my mouth
Out of all tose kinds of people
You got a face with a view
I'm just an animal looking for a home
Share the same space for a minute or two
And you love me till my heart stops
Love me till I'm dead
Eyes that light up, eyes look through you
Cover up the blank spots
Hit me on the head Ah ooh

Everbody seems to coming up with great lyricists, but I still maintain Nigel Blackwell is the best around and he did write a song about my home town

Unemployment's rising in the Chigley end of town,
And it's spreading like pneumonia doesn't look like going down.
There's trouble at the fire station someone's had the sack,
The lads are gonna launch a scheme to get rid of Captain Flak.

Tell PC McGarry to get himself a mate,
And arm themselves with CS gas - they're gonna be out late.
We've had Cant conformism since 1966,
And now subversions in the air in the shape of flying bricks.

Someone get a message through to Captain Snort
That they better start assembling the boys from the fort.
And keep Mrs. Honeyman right out of sight,
'Cos there's gonna be riot down in Trumpton Tonight.

ROTF

This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) -

Love this track Simon, how about burning down the house also

John

Sicey

Great track! 'Nothing but flowers' always brings a smile as well.

I like Talking Heads but not overly impressed with the lyrics; someone once mentioned that they basically state the obvious and repeat it until it becomes profound!

You can't possibly have a musical "best" anything but, if pushed, I'd have to plump for Dylan. I will also attempt to justify it.

First, his more literal story-telling lyrics were tremendous examples of narrative songwriting e.g. The Lonesome Ballad of Hattie Carroll.

Secondly, he was one of the first to really build a store of "meta" songs i.e. songs about songs, songs about inspiration, songs about songwriting. In doing so, one may frequently not know what he's on about but then he effectively invented an entire genre. Effectively, he freed songwriters from the tradition of having to write narrative and opened the door to existential writing and simply using words as things of beauty in themselves. Much abused by many but so much would not have existed without him doing this.

As someone once wrote, plenty of people operated on the margins, Dylan though, was the margin.

Thirdly, Mr. Tambourine Man. His key transitional song in many respects. A beautiful melody allied to a lyric that used a specific person and incident to weave a plea to his muse to inspire him as he was going through a fallow period. Ironically, pleading to his muse in itself produces the inspiration he needed.

Mike

PS: Phew, I don't know where that all came from but...

quote:

his more literal story-telling lyrics were tremendous examples of narrative songwriting

Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts is another that springs to mind.

Interesting post about Dylan, but should we really be thanking him for song about songs or moreover songs about nothing? I like a nice pithy lyric where not a syllable is wasted. Chuck Berry and Nick Lowe are both excellent at this even though they are from wildly different eras and backgrounds. 'Smoking I once quit, now I've got one lit, I just fell back into it' from Nick Lowe is one of the neatest and yet descriptive lyrics you will hear. It tells you what you need to know and little else - perfect. Listen to Chuck Berry on 'You never can tell' for a great example of how a narrative is told with the minimum of fuss for the maximum effect.

This needn't be an either/or. I'm fond of Nick Lowe, love Chuck Berry but for me, and many thousands of others, Zimmie stands head and shoulders above all other popular songwriters. I agree with Mike Hughes's comments, and whilst I would stop short of making claims regarding the poetic qualities of his lyrics (as compared to Shelley, for example)the rich and haunting imagery in songs such as 'All along the watchtower', Gates of Eden' and 'Desolation Row' have meant these songs have lodged deep in my psyche since I was a teenager and still reveal something new and exciting to me over twenty years later. Zimmie himself was a huge admirer of Chuck Berry, his influence on 'Subterranean homesick blues' is unmistakeable.

Chuck Berry
Roger Waters
Dylan
Mark E Smith
Ian Curtis
Nick Cave
Smokey Robinson

Probably the greatest of all, though, is Cole Porter.

The worst? It's gotta be Pete Sinfield or Jon Anderson.

Kevin

Kevin - Pete Sinfield as worst lyricist - I cannot agree as confusion will be my epitaph. Still I can't argue with your list as obviously yours is no disgrace. If you think Jon Anderson is bad then you can thank your lucky stars that nobody voted for Dean Friedman. Surprised that nobody voted for Joe Dolce then?

I'm still sticking with Nigel Blackwell, but Noel Coward and W.S.Gilbert were rather good too.

Rotf

Off the top of my head I'd add Ian Brown's solo material in particular (I'm rather a fan as my username on here suggests) - also Ian Mccullough - both produce imaginative if somewhat weird and thought provoking lyrics.

Roy Harper - has been called (amongst other things) the British Bob Dylan

Originally posted by Cookiemonster:
Roy Harper - has been called (amongst other things) the British Bob Dylan
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I'm sure Roy would reject the British Zimmie comparison but, no doubt, he is a very fine writer indeed. I particularly love 'McGoohan's Blues' from 'Folkjokeopus' "the village tv hooks its victims on givaway cash, the addicts are numbers who serve to perpetuate trash" always brings the national lottery to mind. 'One of those days in England' is a moving account of British society's transition from WW2 to the sixties.

What about Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips???? Some awesome lyrics! However still think Mozza is the king......

quote:

Originally posted by Cookiemonster:
Roy Harper - has been called (amongst other things) the British Bob Dylan

I thought Bod Dylan was called the American Roy Harper.