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For me, the songwriter who has consistently written the best lyrics is Bruce Springsteen. And, of all the popular artists that I listen to, he is the one whom I would rank first.
I love songs that tell simple, but emotional stories that make me bond with singer. And Springsteen does that better than anyone that I've ever listened to.
Of note here, I could listen or read the words of his song "The River" over and over and over and over for their simple story and their profound impact.
Look What I Found In My Beer -lyrics by he Beautiful South
Look what I found in my beer
A couple of dancing ladies and a ticket out of here
Look what I've found in my beer
A start to being lonely and an end to my career
Look what he found in his gin
Lights' looking lively when love's looking dim
Look what he found in his gin
Souls look heavy when personality's thin
Look what I found in the drum
A lifelong beat and a replacement to the rum
Look what he found in his guitar
Another fellow thinker and a chauffeur to my heart
Look what I found in the mic
An end to screwed-up drinking and a Paul I actually like
Look what I found in my beer
A free test drive for a heart I cannot steer
Look what I found in my beer -The Beautiful South
Look what I found in my drink
A brain without a plughole and a sink without a think
Look what I found in my drink
A "love you" to the barmaid and a too-familiar wink
Look what we found in his booze
The reflection of him and his children without shoes
Look what we found in his booze
This mornings jigsaw in a hill of last nights clues
Look what I found in the drum
A lifelong beat and a replacement to the rum
Look what he found in his guitar
Another fellow thinker and a chauffeur to my heart
Look what I found in the mic
An end to screwed-up drinking and a Paul I actually like
Look what I found in my beer
A free test drive for a heart I cannot steer
Look what I found in my beer
Look what we found in the dance
Look what I've found in the song
Low expectations in a large pile of cans
It maked the drink seem weak,the friendship strong
I think these lyrics by The Beautiful South make interesting poetry, and the song's pretty good too. It describes Paul Heaton's well nown struggle with lohol.
The question is an interesting one, and may blur with more technology. In the meantime, as hs been said, poetry as been combined it music, such as Eliot's Old Possums Book of Cats, and art, for example Easter Wings.
There's no real reason why any artistic disciplne should be kpt isolated. Poetry is an effective element with music, though as JBI has pointed out, bad lyrics can't hide in a song - see the words of Maggie May, which make little sense.
I couldn't find a link for ths song on Youtube, but here's another one about - surprisingly - a table. A poetic conceit if evr there was one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNdqtcXy9vs
While I don't think the lyrics to Maggie May are fantastic, they do make perfect sense. I don't know what you find confusing about them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulclem
He was a young man who was in love with an older woman and she left him... the end. Nothing too special about it, but meh it's Rod Stewart.
Quote:
Wake up Maggie
I think I got something to say to you;
it's late September and I really should be back at school.
I know I keep you amused
but I feel I'm being used
oh
Maggie
I couldn't have tried anymore.
You lured me away from home
just to save you from being alone.
You stole my heart and that's what really hurts.
The morning sun
when it's in your face
really shows your age
but that don't worry me none
in my eyes you're ev'rything.
I laughed at all of your jokes
my love you didn't need to coax
oh
Maggie
I couldn't have tried anymore.
You lured me away from home
just to save you from being alone.
You stole my soul
that's a pain I can do without.
All I needed was a friend to lend a guiding hand
but you turned into a lover
and
Mother
what a lover !
You wore me out.
All you did was wreck my bed
and in the morning kick me in the head
oh
Maggie
I couldn't have tried anymore.
You lured me away from home
'cause you didn't want to be alone.
You stole my heart
I couldn't leave you if I tried.
I suppose I could collect my books and get back to school.
Or steal my daddy's cue and make a living out of playing pool.
Or find myselfe a rock and roll band that needs a helpin' hand.
Oh
Maggie
I wish I'd never seen your face.
You lured me away from home
just to save you from being alone.
You stole my heart and that's what really hurts.
The morning sun
when it's in your face
really shows your age
but that don't worry me none
in my eyes you're ev'rything.
I laughed at all of your jokes
my love you didn't need to coax
oh
Maggie
I couldn't have tried any face
you made a first-class fool out of me
but I'm as blind as a fool can be
you stole my heart but I love you anyway.
Maggie
I wish I'd never seen your face.
I'll get on back home one of these days.
He doesn't make any sense. Does he love her or not? I like the tune though.
Chuck Berry, Promised Land
Charlie Daniels, Uneasy RiderQuote:
I left my home in Norfolk Virginia, California on my mind
Straddled that Greyhound and rode him into Raleigh
And on across Caroline
We stopped in Charlotte and bypassed Rock Hill
And we never was a minute late
We was ninety miles out of Atlanta by sundown
Rollin’ cross the Georgia state
Homer, The OdysseyQuote:
I was takin’ a trip out to L.A.
Toolin’ along in my Chevrolet
Tokin’ on a number and diggin’ on the radio
Just as I crossed the Mississippi line
I heard that highway start to whine
And I knew that left rear tire was about to blow
Quote:
Sing to me of the man, Oh Muse
Of the hero who traveled far and wide
Driven off course again and again
After he plundered the heights of Troy
Many cities he knew
Many customs he learned
Mightily he suffered on the open sea
Fighting for his life and to bring his brothers home
I truly don't know why this came to my mind...
Sharp and open
Leave me alone
And sleeping less every night
As the days become heavier and weighted
Waiting
In the cold light
A noise
A scream tears my clothes as the figurines tighten
With spiders inside them
And dust on the lips of a vision of hell
I laughed in the mirror for the first time in a year
A hundred other words blind me with your purity
Like an old painted doll in the throes of dance
I think about tomorrow
Please let me sleep
As I slip down the window
Freshly squashed fly
You mean nothing
You mean nothing
I can lose myself in Chinese art and American girls
All the time
Lose me in the dark
Please do it right
Run into the night
I will lose myself tomorrow
Crimson pain
My heart explodes
My memory in a fire
And someone will listen
At least for a short while
I can never say no to anyone but you
Too many secrets
Too many lies
Writhing with hatred
Too many secrets
Please make it good tonight
But the same image haunts me
In sequence
In despair of time
I will never be clean again
I touched her eyes
Pressed my stained face
I will never be clean again
Touch her eyes
Press my stained face
I will never be clean again
I will never be clean again
I will never be clean again
I will never be clean again
(The Cure, The Figurehead)
I think I like all the visual images...the painted doll, the concreteness of Chinese art and American girls. And the genius of Robert Smith :)
I think all lyrics are poetry. (except mainstream pop...) Some maybe are bad poetry, like yeah the Linkin Park one posted above is not great, it's too easy.
So, sometimes rap doesn't have the same melody, timing, etc. as the music. Are those 'words' considered lyrics or poetrey, or just a string of sounds?
The following are some lines from Ghetto Gospel, 2PAC and Elton John:
Tell me do you see that old lady ain't it sad
Living out a bag, but she's glad for the little things she has
And over there there's a lady, crack got her crazy
Guess she's given birth to a baby
I don't trip and let it fade me, from outta the frying pan
We jump into another form of slavery
Even now I get discouraged
Wonder if they take it all back while I still keep the courage
I refuse to be a role model
I set goals, take control, drink out my own bottles
I make mistakes, I learn from everyone
And when it's said and done
I bet this Brother be a better one
If I upset you, don't stress
Never forget, that God hasn't finished with me yet
I feel his hand on my brain
When I write rhymes, I go blind, and let the lord do his thang
But am I less holy
'cause I choose to puff a blunt and drink a beer with my homies
Before we find world peace
We gotta find peace and end the war on the streets
My ghetto gospel
_________________________
I don't think most of that goes with the beat, well, not very easily. Still, at school anyway, that became a very well known song.
So I suppose pumping our minds with somethong-like-poetry is a good thing.
It's an interesting question as to whether text is prose or poetry. It may just come down to the arrangement of the lines on the page, as so much of the features of poetry can appear in prose. The arrangement of the lines may just state the author's intention - poem not prose.
True.
There are many ideas of what poetry is. It doesn't have to rhyme or be phrased in any way, or even go to a set of rules.
There are more restrictions in songs, I think.
To cross the wide sea I deserted,
From the shore I did fly.
I thought it time that I travelled,
So I took to the roads of the sky.
It was late and the wind it did gently blow,
Oh the night it was calm.
I saw the flower of the ocean
And the universe did me no harm,
It said to fly on.
The sea captain he loved the ocean,
But his ship was on fire.
His hands they did stretch out before him,
For to take one of many desires,
But there was no time.
Across the wide sea he departed,
From the ship he did fly.
He thought it time that he travelled
And I saw him as he passed by,
I prefer it as it is now with free verse acceptable, and form, in the best poetry, chosen to fit the purpose. It seems more democratic in that it doesn't need follow such stringent forms. Thats not to say I don't like older poetry.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heathcliff
Anyway, to get back to the thread. I really like these two Pink Floyd songs. I think as poetry they are only ok, whereas the mournful tunes really add on the atmosphere.
Comfortably Numb lyrics
Songwriters: Gilmour, David Jon; Waters, Roger;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkJNyQfAprY
Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anyone at home?
Come on, now
I hear you're feeling down
Well I can ease your pain
Get you on your feet again
Relax
I'll need some information first
Just the basic facts
Can you show me where it hurts?
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are the only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am
I have become comfortably numb
I have become comfortably numb
Okay
Just a little pinprick
There'll be no more
But you may feel a little sick
Can you stand up?
I do believe it's working good
That'll keep you going through the show
Come on it's time to go
There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship's smoke on the horizon
You are the only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
I turned to look but it was gone
I cannot put my finger on it now
The child is grown the dream is gone
I have become comfortably numb
Breathe lyrics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx6iIp-PvnY
Breathe, breathe in the air
Don't be afraid to care
Leave but don't leave me
Look around and chose your own ground
For long you live and high you fly
And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be
Run, run rabbit run
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one
For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race toward an early grave.
I don't know if it can stand alone as poetry, but nobody can doubt the poignancy of the words in this recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU
Teachers - Leonard Cohen
I met a woman long ago
her hair the black that black can go,
Are you a teacher of the heart?
Soft she answered no.
I met a girl across the sea,
her hair the gold that gold can be,
Are you a teacher of the heart?
Yes, but not for thee.
I met a man who lost his mind
in some lost place I had to find,
follow me the wise man said,
but he walked behind.
I walked into a hospital
where none was sick and none was well,
when at night the nurses left
I could not walk at all.
Morning came and then came noon,
dinner time a scalpel blade
lay beside my silver spoon.
Some girls wander by mistake
into the mess that scalpels make.
Are you the teachers of my heart?
We teach old hearts to break.
One morning I woke up alone,
the hospital and the nurses gone.
Have I carved enough my Lord?
Child, you are a bone.
I ate and ate and ate,
no I did not miss a plate, well
How much do these suppers cost?
We'll take it out in hate.
I spent my hatred everyplace,
on every work on every face,
someone gave me wishes
and I wished for an embrace.
Several girls embraced me, then
I was embraced by men,
Is my passion perfect?
No, do it once again.
I was handsome I was strong,
I knew the words of every song.
Did my singing please you?
No, the words you sang were wrong.
Who is it whom I address,
who takes down what I confess?
Are you the teachers of my heart?
We teach old hearts to rest.
Oh teachers are my lessons done?
I cannot do another one.
They laughed and laughed and said, Well child,
are your lessons done?
are your lessons done?
are your lessons done?
I like the Breathe ones, the type of poem that my English teacher would like, anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulclem
Free verse bothers me in poems and songs, I think it is a lot harder to write.
I think it also depends on what comes first, the lyrics or the words.
I wonder what others think. I think free verse is easier to write, as the discipline of using a poetic form effectively limits your options for word order, meaning etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heathcliff
Kurt Cobain wrote really good lyrics
Underneath the bridge
The tarp has sprung a leak
The animals I've trapped
Have all become my pets
I'm living off of grass
And the drippings from the ceiling
It's okay to eat fish
'Cause they don't have any feelings
I suppose everyone is different. I don't like free verse because having to rhyme gives me boundaries and I have to stretch my vocabulary to meet them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulclem
I know what you mean. I do like the discipline it imposes, and crafting something into a form is satisfying. Not much time though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heathcliff
Then again, if it is a poem and not a song, you can have these massive, long lines, then some short ones. Only hard part is that it has to flow somehow, so at least some of them must be to a corresponding length.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulclem
If this kind of repugnant twaddle is to be enjoyed as poetry then we're all immediately made redundant:
"Whoa-ohh-oh
Whoa-ohhh-oh-oh
Ooooh
Oh baby, I've been flyin'
Nooo-yeah
Oh mama there
Ain't no denyin'
Oh!
Ooooh-yes
I've been flyin'
Ma-ma-ma
Ain't no denyin'
No denyin'-uh
Oh!"
- extract from 'Kashmir'.
I think I hear coffin doors opening in Pere Lachaise!
Westminster Abbey is groaning!
The Greek Island of Ios is freezing over!
I'm sure you may all be thinking that there's some sort of poetic famine on, but come out of the dark and back into the light before it's too late!
Whatever made you think that they were songs?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jermac
I think there's more use of internal rhymes etc. I agree that there has to be a flow. I suppose there's more options for mimicking real speech, the conscious flow of thoughts or significant pausing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Heathcliff
There would have to be. I'm still stuck on my theory that lymrics are already songs. Also, I think Nursery Rhymes can be considered both. 'Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep', have you heard that one? I've never heard that without chords and pitch changes; music. I suppose it is still a Nursery 'Rhyme'.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulclem
I suppose I throw in the towel. Half of the words aren't words.Quote:
Originally Posted by wlz
I like this poem by Tatamkula Africa. It's free verse, but the stumbling rythmn mimics the effort needed to walk over the wasteland. One of the trngths of fr ersei thatit gives you options.
Nothing’s changed
Small round hard stones click
under my heels,
seeding grasses thrust
bearded seeds
into trouser cuffs, cans,
trodden on, crunch
in tall, purple-flowering,
amiable weeds.
http://southafrica.poetryinternation...hp?obj_id=5497
All the fear has left me now
I'm not frightened anymore
It's my heart that pounds beneath my flesh
It's my mouth that pushes out this breath
And if I shed a tear I won't cage it
I won't fear love
And if I feel a rage a won't deny it
I won't fear love
Companion to our demons
They will dance, and we will play
With chairs, candles and cloth
Making darkness in the day
It will be easy to look in or out
Upstream or down without a thought
Peace in the struggle
To find peace
Comfort on the way
To comfort
(Fumbling Towards Ecstasy - Sarah McLachlan)
the horrors - Scarlett fields, their lyrics are very underrated
As the summer fades away
you'll lead me to the garden
passing the lovers
swooning in the autumn
see yourself, your image in the eyes of someone else
see yourself, your fears as they appear to someone else
when the sun sets
on dark silhouettes
collapse into dream
as summer fades away
laugh at my reflection
passed to a lover
seeking your affection
though i know you won't be here for long
ok here are a couple.
All Along by Tin Tree Factory ( the lyrics are nowhere to be found so heres the youtube link )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc2Ft2990R0
and
saftey pin stuck in my heart - Patrik Fitzgerald ( the punk rock poet )
I don't love you for your graveyard eyes
I don't love you for your shaven thighs
I just love you for that
Beat-beat-beat-beat-beating
I don't love you for your tattered tie
I don't love you, and I don't know why
I just love you for that
Beat-beat-beat-beat-beating
I've got a safety pin stuck in my heart
For you, for you
I don't love you for your professed hate
I don't love you for your cards of fate
I just love you for that
Beat-beat-beat-beat-beating
I don't love you for your painted shoes
I don't love you for your friends you never choose
I just love you for that
Beat-beat-beat-beat-beating
I've got a safety pin stuck in my heart
For you, for you
I don't love you for your many reasons
Propagandas, doctrines, treasons
All I know's that
Beat-beat-beat-beat-beating
I've got an ear inflamed on my dog chain
Painted faces, painted names -
My shirt - it's all that
Beat-beat-beat-beat-beating
I've got a safety pin stuck in my heart
For you, for you
Empty is the sky before the sun wakes up.
Empty is the eyes of animals in cages.
Empty, faces of women mourning
When everything's been taken from them.
Me, don't ask me about empty.
Empty is a string of dirty days
Held together by some rain.
And the cold winds drumming at the trees again.
Empty is the color of the fear
Long about September when the days
Go marching in a line toward November.
Empty is the hour before sleep chills you every night
And pushes you to take me away from every kind of light.
Empty is me.
Empty is me.
-Frank Sinatra, "Empty is"
I'm sorry to say that I think this thread simply reinforces a fairly well known truth. Song lyrics, to an overwhelming extent, make for awful poetry.
Dunno if it's been posted before, but here are two of my faves:
And:Quote:
"Shadow Of The Day"
I close both locks below the window
I close both blinds and turn away
Sometimes solutions aren't so simple
Sometimes good bye's the only way
[Chorus]
And the sun will set for you
The sun will set for you
And the shadow of the day
Will embrace the world in grey
And the sun will set for you
[End Chorus]
In cards and flowers on your window
Your friends all plead for you to stay
Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple
Sometimes good bye's the only way
[Chorus]
And the sun will set for you
The sun will set for you
And the shadow of the day
Will embrace the world in grey
And the sun will set for you
And the shadow of the day
Will embrace the world in grey
And the sun will set for you
And the shadow of the day
Will embrace the world in grey
And the sun will set for you
[End Chorus]
For the clueless, the two songs are Linkin Park's Shadow of the Day and Aerosmith's Dream On.Quote:
Every time I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It goes by, like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay
Yeah, I know nobody knows
where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win
Half my life
is in books' written pages
Lived and learned from fools and
from sages
You know it's true
All the things come back to you
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good lord will take you away
Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream until your dream comes through
Dream On Dream On Dream On
Dream On Dream On
Dream On Dream On
Sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Sing with me, sing for the year
sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me, if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away......
Agreed.Quote:
Originally Posted by sixsmith
There are one or two that aren't so bad, but it just isn't the same.
Lateralus by TOOL is one of the single most beautifully written things I've ever read.
Quote:
With my feet upon the ground
I move 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,
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...
[QUOTE=Vautrin;821511]There are countless songs we consider poetic or, at least, poetic sounding. However, most of these songs, when stripped of their instrumentals, may not hold up so well as serious poetry. /QUOTE]
I'm sorry to say that I think this thread simply reinforces a fairly well known truth. Song lyrics, to an overwhelming extent, make for awful poetry. Sixsmith
The thread began with that premise, but Vautrin was asking for possible exceptions.
"The thread began with that premise, but Vautrin was asking for possible exceptions."
Well in that case...
Diamonds and Rust Lyrics
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)
I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall
As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust
Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed
Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there
Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid
The above is far from being poetry but I love these lyrics, (and the song).
I like them. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by wlz
It almost is a poem. I wouldn't have thought it a song.Quote:
Originally Posted by wlz
This is by The Verve - Sonnet, though they're not. Great song and a few good lines.
Sonnet lyrics
My friend and me
Looking through her red box of memories
Faded I'm sure
But love seems to stick in her veins you know
Yes, there's love if you want it
Don't sound like no sonnet, my lord
Yes, there's love if you want it
Don't sound like no sonnet, my lord
My lord
Why can't you see
That nature has its way of warning me
Eyes open wide
Looking at the heavens with a tear in my eye
Yes, there's love if you want it
Don't sound like no sonnet, my lord
Yes, there's love if you want it
Don't sound like no sonnet, my lord
My lord
Sinking fast within a boat without a hull
My lord
Dreaming about the day when I can see you there
My side
By my side
Here we go again and my head is gone, my lord
I stop to say hello
'Cause I think you should know by now
By now
By now
By now
By now
By now
Oh, by now
Oh, by now
Oh, by now
Oh, by now
That would make a wonderful poem. Maybe not, the last few lines, but there are some fine quality phrases in that.
Fall for You - Secondhand Serenade
Best thing about tonight's that we’re not fighting
Could it be that we have been this way before
I know you don’t think that I am trying......
I know you’re wearing thin down to the core..
But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that i will fall for you
Over again
Don’t make me change my mind
Or I won’t live to see another day
I swear its true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You’re impossible to find
This is not what I intended
I always swore to you I'd never fall apart
You always thought that I was stronger
I may have failed
But I have loved you from the start
Oh, But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don’t make me change my mind
Or I won’t live to see another day
I swear it’s true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
It’s impossible
________________________
Well, that is most of it.
My favourite song for a while.
Not bad.
Lateralus by TOOL is one of the single most beautifully written things I've ever read.
You need to read more.:D
I'm sorry to say that I think this thread simply reinforces a fairly well known truth. Song lyrics, to an overwhelming extent, make for awful poetry.
I don't love you for your graveyard eyes
I don't love you for your shaven thighs...
Yep... they just get worse and worse.
My favoritest band ever is U2. I love their songs. I hardly ever listen to music Willingly unless it is one of their albums.
However, do their lyrics make good poetry?
One of my favorite songs by them is Yaweh from their album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb".
YAWEH
Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean (clean)
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn
Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don't make a fist (no)
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn
Still waiting for the dawn... sun is coming up
Sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now
Why the dark before the dawn?
Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break
Is it deep? Yes. Does it make me sing along in my off-tune, unmelodious voice? Yes. Does it make me cry sometimes when I listen closely to the words and the passion and uncertainty behind Bono's voice? Yes.
Are the lyrics on their own good poetry? Nope, though since I love the song I want to say yes.
But, does it mean that there will never be a song whose lyrics can stand alone as good poetry?
Not by a long shot. I'd just say we're waiting for a poet to become a rock star.