Great Lyrics - Post Them Here...

[stickmangrit]

not to break from the distinct anti-religious slant goin on here(w00t), but this has always been one of my favorites(lyrics edited to conform to the version i'm familliar with from the I'm Your Fan tribute album).

Bird on the Wire
Leonard Cohen

Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like a worm on a hook,
Like a knight from some old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If i, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If i, if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you.

Like a baby, stillborn,
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
He said to me, you must not ask for much.
And a woman leaning in her darkened door,
She cried to me, hey, why not ask for more?

Oh like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.

[stickmangrit]

and a little Tom Waits for you:

Well, jesus Gonna be here
Be here soon
Hes gonna cover us up with leaves
With a blanket from the moon
With a promise and a vow
And a lullaby for my brow
Jesus gonna be here
Be here soon

Well Im just gonna wait here
I dont have to shout
I have no reason and
I have no doubt
Im gonna get myself
Unfurled from this mortal coiled up world
Because jesus gonna be here
Be here soon

I got to keep my eyes open
So I can see my lord
Im gonna watch the horizon
For a brand new ford

I can hear him rolling on down the lane
I said hollywood be thy name
Jesus gonna be
Gonna be here soon

Well Ive been faithful
And Ive been so good
Except for drinking
But he new that I would
Im gonna leave this place better
Than the way I found it was
And jesus gonna be here
Be here soon

see it played live by mr. waits himself here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gC0GWKh26jU

[NH Baritone]

Jill Sobule has written and sung the new theme song for the DVD of Julia Sweeney's one-woman show, Letting Go of God. If you know the show, the lyrics make even more sense, but they're good either way.

Letting Go of God
by Jill Sobule
(refer to http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/jill_sobule_lyrics....)

At first I was a Catholic girl
Loved the mass; I watched the swirl
Of smoke from candles burning
While Mary looked up, yearning
I got confirmed and I confessed
I really felt that I was blessed
Plus, I loved my uniform
So did the boy who lived next door

But something changed
When I became of age
And all those things I thought were true
Someday I'd break the big taboo of

Letting go of God
Letting go of God

Then I turned my mind to the East
The Himalayas calling me
Sitting under the Bodhi Tree
Trying to feel something
I came back home, I wouldn't let go
So much more for me to know
I read the Tao of Physics
And all those quantum mystics

But something didn't feel right
The arguments weren't all that tight
And all those things I thought were true
Someday I'd break the big taboo of

Letting go of God
Letting go of God
(etc.)

First it was hard and a little bit dark
Then I relied on my brain and my heart
I think we could try and change our faith
And love life and celebrate

Letting go of God
Letting go of God
Letting go of God
(etc.)

[NH Baritone]

Here are the lyrics to "Ain't it the Truth," written by atheist lyricist E.Y. ("Yip") Harburg and composer Harold Arlen, the songwriting team for the movie, The Wizard of Oz.

"Ain't it the Truth"

Life is short, short brother!
Ain't it de truth?
And there is no other,
Ain't it de truth?
You gotta grab that rainbow
While you still got your youth,
Oh! ain't it de solid truth?

Was a man called Adam,
Ain't it the truth?
Said, “Now look here, Madam,
Ain't it the truth?
You gotta bite that apple
while you still got that tooth,
Oh! Ain't it the mellow truth?”

Long as there's wine and gin
to drown your troubles in
What's all this talk of sin,
Rise and shine
And fall in line!

Get that new religion,
Ain't it the truth?
'Fore you is dead pigeon,
Ain't it the truth?
Cause when you're laid horizontal
In that telephone booth,
There'll be no breathing spell
That's only natural
Ain't it de gospel truth?

Life is short, short brother!
Ain't it de truth!
And there is no other,
Ain't it de truth?
So if you don't love living'
You is slightly uncouth,
Oh! ain't it de dignified truth!

[darkumbra]

this one is ringing in my head today....

That's my story.
Oh, that's my story.
Well, I ain't got a witness, and I can't prove it,
but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it."

[NH Baritone]

Vatican Rag
by Tom Lehrer

First you get down on your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!

Do whatever steps you want, if
You have cleared them with the Pontiff.
Everybody say his own
Kyrie eleison,
Doin' the Vatican Rag.

Get in line in that processional,
Step into that small confessional,
There, the guy who's got religion'll
Tell you if your sin's original.
If it is, try playin' it safer,
Drink the wine and chew the wafer,
Two, four, six, eight,
Time to transubstantiate!

So get down upon your knees,
Fiddle with your rosaries,
Bow your head with great respect,
And genuflect, genuflect, genuflect!

Make a cross on your abdomen,
When in Rome do like a Roman,
Ave Maria,
Gee it's good to see ya,
Gettin' ecstatic an'
Sorta dramatic an'
Doin' the Vatican Rag!

[whoosanightowl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f72CTDe4-0
You can listen to it here!

[stickmangrit]

Well I ain't sure, but I been told
He's baking cakes inside our souls
Stayed awake, took a nap
Got myself my bottles back
I'm breakin' them out on the street
Walkin' around in my bare feet
I do not need you to tell me that I am not a cat

I caught a ride, we caught some air
He's never gonna cut his hair
It takes more time to make a fake
We night swam down in the lake
Washed the dirt off our intentions
Prattle on 'bout bad inventions

I came as ice, I came as a whore
I came as advice that came too short
I came as gold, I came as crap
I came clean and I came as a Rat
It takes a long time, but God dies too
But not before he'll stick it to you

Well I don't know, but I been told
You never die and you never grow old

I came as a call, I came as flat
I came too soon so I came back
I came as flowers, I came as nice
I came as dirt and I came as its price
It takes a long time, but God dies too
But not before he'll stick it to you

I don't know, but I been told
You never die and you never grow old

[darkumbra]

we will rock you
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/5074/rock_you/

[stickmangrit]

quite possibly one of the best love songs ever written:
Into My Arms by Nick Cave

I don't believe in an interventionist God
But I know, darling, that you do
But if I did I would kneel down and ask Him
Not to intervene when it came to you
Not to touch a hair on your head
To leave you as you are
And if He felt He had to direct you
Then direct you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

And I don't believe in the existence of angels
But looking at you I wonder if that's true
But if I did I would summon them together
And ask them to watch over you
To each burn a candle for you
To make bright and clear your path
And to walk, like Christ, in grace and love
And guide you into my arms

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

And I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
So keep your candlew burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore

Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms, O Lord
Into my arms

[StillSearching]

Some Jane's Addiction...


Ain't No Right

I am skin and bones, I am pointy nose;
But it motherfuckin' makes me try.
Makes me try, and that ain't no wrong.
I'll tell you why...
There ain't no right!

Ain't no wrong now, ain't no right.
Ain't no wrong now, ain't no right.
Only pleasure and pain.

Motherfuckin' bad wind came, blew down my home.
And now the green grass grows.
Bad wind came, blew down my home.
Goddamn goodness knows!
Where the green grass grows there can't be wrong.
And goodness knows, there ain't no right!

Ain't no wrong now, ain't no right.
Ain't no wrong now, ain't no right.
Only pleasure and pain.

Bumped my head, I'm a battering ram.
Goddamn took the pain.
Cut myself, said So what?
Motherfuckin' took the pain.
Said So what? I can't be wrong.
I thought so but there ain't no right!

Ain't no wrong now, ain't no right.
Ain't no wrong now, ain't no right.
Only pleasure and pain.

[StillSearching]

Rush - Freewill

There are those who think that life has nothing left to chance
A host of holy horrors to direct our aimless dance

A planet of play things
We dance on the strings
Of powers we cannot perceive
The stars aren't aligned
Or the gods are maligned
Blame is better to give than receive

[Chorus:]
You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose a path that's clear
I will choose freewill

There are those who think
That they were dealt a losing hand
The cards were stacked against them
They weren't born in lotus land

All preordained
A prisoner in chains
A victim of venomous fate
Kicked in the face
You can't pray for a place
In heaven's unearthly estate

[Chorus]

Each of us
A cell of awareness
Imperfect and incomplete
Genetic blends
With uncertain ends
On a fortune hunt that's far too fleet

[Chorus]

[StillSearching]

Tool - Lateralus

Black, then white, are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be. Reaching out to me. Lets me see.

As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over-thinking, over-analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

Black, then white, are all I see in my infancy.
Red and yellow then came to be. Reaching out to me.
Lets me see there is so much more that beckons me
to look through to these infinite possibilities.
As below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over-thinking, over-analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving all these opportunities behind.

Feed my will to feel this moment. Urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow,
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I lose myself
between the sounds and open wide to suck it in.
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out.
I'm reaching for the random or whatever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind, we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Spiral out. Keep going, going...

[TheTrueScotsman]

I just came upon this thread and i can't believe no one added Frank Zappa. One of my favourites is "Jesus Thinks You're a Jerk", a great satire on Televangelists, especialy Jim and Tammy Bakker and Pat Robertson (it was written in the 80's when Robertson was trying to run for president and Jim Bakker had been caught up in a sex scandal). You can catch it on Youtube

Theres an ugly little wasel bout three-foot nine
Face puffed up from cryin n lyin
cause her sweet little hubby's
Suckin prong part time
(in the name of the lord)

Get a clue, little shrew
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Jesus thinks youre a jerk

Did he really choose Tammy to do his work?
Robertson says that hes the one
Oh he sure is,
If armageddon
Is your idea of family fun,
An hes got some planned for you!
(now, tell me that aint true)

Now, what if Jimbos slightly gay,
Will Pat let Jimbo get away?
Everything weve heard him say
Indicated that Jim must pay,
(and it just might hurt a bit)
But keep that money rollin in,
cause Pat and naughty Jimbo
Cant get enough of it

Perhaps its their idea
Of an affirmative action plan
To give white trash a special break;
Well, they took those jeezo-bucks and ran
To the bank! to the bank! to the bank! to the bank!
And every night we can hear them thank
Their buddy, up above
For sending down his love
(while you all smell the glove)

Jim and Pat should take a pole
(right up each saintly glory-hole),
With tar and feathers too --
Just like they'd love to do to you

(cause they think you are bad --
And they are very mad)

Cause some folks dont want prayer in school!

(we'd need an ark to survive the drool
Of micro-publicans, raised on hate,
And Jimbo-Jimbo when they graduate)

Conviced they are the chosen ones --
And all their parents carry guns,
And hold them cards in the N.R.A.
(with their fingers on the triggers
When they kneel and pray)

With a ku-klux muu-muu
In the back of the truck,
If you aint born again,
They wanna mess you up, screamin:
no abortion, no-siree!
lifes too precious, cant you see!
(whats that hangin from the neighbors tree?
Why, it looks like colored folks to me --
Would they do that...seriously? )

Imagine if you will
A multi-millionaire television evangelist,
Saved from Korean combat duty by his father, a u.s. senator

Studied law --
But is not qualified to practice it

Father of a love child
Who, in adulthood, hosts the remnants
Of papas religious propaganda program

Claims not to be a faith healer,
But has, in the past,
Dealt stearnly with everything from hemorrhoids to hurricanes

Involved with funding for a secret war in central america
Claiming Ronald Reagan and Oliver North as close friends

Involved in suspicous tax-avoidance schemes,
(under investigation for 16 months by the i.r.s.)

Claims to be a man of god;
Currenty seeking the United States presidency,
Hoping we will all follow him into --
The twilight zone

What if pat gets in the white house,
And suddenly --
The rights of certain people disappear
Mysteriously?

Now, wouldnt that sort of qualify
As an american tragedy?
(especially if he covers it up, sayin
jesus told it to me!)

I hope we never see that day,
In the land of the free --
Or someday will we?
Will we?

And if you dont know by now,
The truth of what Im tellin you,
Then, surely I have failed somehow --

And jesus will think Im a jerk, just like you --
If you let those tv preachers
Make a monkey out of you!

I said:
jesus will think youre a jerk
And it would be true!

Theres an old rugged cross
In the land of cutton --
Its still burnin on somebodys lawn
And it still smells rotten

Jim and tammy!
Oh, baby!
You gotta go!
You really got to go!

[StillSearching]

Absolutely awesome! I must confess that I'm not a big fan of Zappa's music, but his insight and sick sense of humor are worthy of admiration. Good post!


EDIT: Who can forget St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast?

Yes indeed, here we are!
At Saint Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
Where I stole the mar-juh-reen
An' widdled on the Bingo Cards in lieu of the latrine
I saw a handsome parish lady
Make her entrance like a queen
Why she was totally chenille
And her old man was a Marine
As she abused a sausage pattie
And said why don't you treat me mean?
(Hurt me, hurt me, hurt me, oooooh!)
At Saint Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast
(Hah! Good God! Get off the bus!)
Where I stole the mar-juh-reen . . .

Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Saint Alfonzo
Ooo-ooo-WAH . . .