Greatest opening lines of a song

The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch
As the radio plays
Roy Orbison singing for the lonely
Hey that's me and I want you only...

 

The above immediately sprang to mind when I saw the thread title, as did this:

I got something to say, I killed your baby today.
- The Misfits, "Last Caress"
Quite an attention-grabbing start to one of the most twisted and disturbing songs ever written.

 

"My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
Than to fade away
My my, hey hey"

 

he's a fine figure of a man and handsome too!

 

Dylan - Shelter from the Storm.

Great opening line, great opening verse, a masterful lyric from the master:

’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form
“Come in,” she said, “I’ll give you shelter from the storm”

Best Wishes,
David

 

I'll go with Gil Scott too but I prefer " A rat done bit my sister Nell".

 

I like that song that starts "One two three four..."

 

Woke up this morning
The sun was rising in the west
It's one of those mornings
There ain't no use gettin' dressed

This is from Big Shoulders - Nickel History. Good stuff from the windy city.

 

Ain’t it just like the night to play tricks when you’re tryin' to be so quiet?
We sit here stranded, though we’re all doin’ our best to deny it
And Louise holds a handful of rain, temptin’ you to defy it

Bob Dylan, Visions of Johanna

 

I'm an alligator!
I'm a mama-papa coming for you...

Bowie's Moonage Daydream

 

One of my favorite lines ever...

 

I'm a flea-bit peanut monkey
All my friends are junkies
But that's not really true

Jagger/Richard


Thank you for the days
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me

R. Davies

 

"Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me"

--that's if you don't count the count-in

 

On the day I was born
The nurses all gathered round
They gazed in wide wonder
At the joy they had found
The head nurse spoke up
Said "leave this one alone"
She could tell right away
That I was bad to the bone

George Thorogood

 

I've mentioned it before, but if Dylan or Springsteen had come up with the opening lines:

I was born in the wagon of a travellin' show, my momma had to dance for the money they'd throw
Papa would do whatever he could.
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good....

the lyrics would probably be praised, but because it was a song sung by Cher, the lyrics are probably dismissed as hack work, if they are thought about at all. Context can be important I guess.

 

There once was a note pure and easy
Playing so free like a breath rippling by

Pete Townshend - Pure and Easy

 

I searched the thread to see if my all time favourite had already been chosen, and it has. We agree.

 

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste..."

Mick Jagger "Sympathy For The Devil"
(I know it's Jagger/Richards but who really thinks that Keith came up with those lyrics?)

 

"ello!

Ian Hunter, Once Bitten Twice Shy

 

David Bowie - 'Queen Bitch'

Oh yeah!
I'm up on the eleventh floor
and I'm watching the cruisers below.
He's down on the street
and he's trying hard to pull sister Flo.


Beck - 'Nobody's Fault But My Own'

Treated you like a lusty blade,
a throw away from an open grave


Elliott Smith - 'Stupidity Tries'

Got a foot in the door
God knows what for

 

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice

 

One of my favourite songs by ANYBODY.

 

Sammy was low, just watching the show
over and over again
he knew it was time, he'd made up his mind
to leave his dead life behind

'Spread Your Wings' by Queen. Written by their secret weapon John Deacon. My favourite Queen song.

 

"I am a dull and simple lad, cannot tell water from champagne, and I have never met the queen..."

Ray Davies "David Watts"

 

Sister got bit by a copperhead snake in the woods behind the house
And nobody was home so I grabbed her foot and I sucked that poison out

Sister got better in a month or two when the swelling it went down
But I started off my teenage years with a poison in my mouth

Victoria Williams - "Summer of Drugs"