Thread: Favorite lyricists?

Shame on me, I had almost forgotten Brian Ferry:

Until tonight and you pass by
Hand in hand with another guy
You're dressed to kill and guess who's dying?

Jello Biaffra:

Jane Fonda's on the screen today,

Convincing the liberals "It's O.K.!"

So let's get dressed and dance away the night....

While they Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill the poor (refrain)

They don't write 'em like that anymore.

I say it every time this comes up: Iron & Wine (aka. Sam Beam)

May you know how the fire was started
and want as much from the snake as the garden;
wear them both like a glove that you can't wave.

We're the smoke on the burned horizon
We're the boat on the tide that's rising
Both the post and the pig you're untying
The butcher gone for the blade.
Someday we may all be happy.
Someday I'll make a face worth slapping
Someday we may be shocked to be laughing at the way we behave.

Know that peace is the shape of a circle
'Cause round and round you'll go, biting your tail.

Jesse Lacey- Brand New

I think one of the greatest lyricists and poets of our age is Eminem. No one I've seen makes lyrics that sound better or have more meaning, are more sincere. He's also got a diverse palette, sometimes funny, sometimes severely critical of society and things he sees wrong in the world.

Gordon Lightfoot
pure 60s Canadian folk!

I'll throw in enthusiastic votes for both Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. Hell, Cohen's song lyrics are a thousand times better than his actual poetry. And Tom Waits... I am without words. He is awesome beyond my capacity to describe.

Others...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Nick Cave yet. Pretty much everything on The Boatman's Call is pure poetry. And somehow, he managed to be both black as pitch and utterly hilarious on Murder Ballads.

PJ Harvey is probably my favorite female lyricist; Bjork has some good ones too. Also, I think Patti Smith's work on Horses should be given a mention, particularly "Land."

Someone mentioned Nick Drake. I ADORE Nick Drake, but I find his lyrics to be highly overrated, with the exception being his work on Pink Moon.

Bachelorette, my wife could have written your last post. That is exactly what she would have said. Except I don't know if she knows who Nick Drake is.

I would agree with you on Tom Waits. I also like all of the other artists you named but Waits would be on a level all by himself with the other ones sharing #2.

Originally Posted by obi_have

Bachelorette, my wife could have written your last post. That is exactly what she would have said.

Heh, that's pretty funny. Your wife has good taste.

EDIT: Oh, and apparently you do also!

Originally Posted by Bachelorette

...Also, I think Patti Smith's work on Horses should be given a mention, particularly "Land."
...

Then you do the watusi, yeah do the watusi...

In terms of recent stuff I really like Sharon Van Etten

But I also like the lyrics of Bob Dylan and John Lennon

I almost repeated myself...