a song lyric that looks like a great poem

[Coraline]

Sometimes you may find several interesting song lyric that's potential to be a great poem. This one is my favourite:

CLIMBING UP THE WALLS Lyrics
Artist(Band):Radiohead

I am the key to the lock in your house
That keeps your toys in the basement
And if you get too far inside
You'll only see my reflection

It's always best when the covers up
I am the pick in the ice
Do not cry out or hit the alarm
You know we're friends till we die

And either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there
Climbing up the walls

It's always best when the light is off
It's always better on the outside
Fifteen blows to the back of your head
Fifteen blows to your mind

So lock the kids up safe tonight
Shut the eyes in the cupboard
I've got the smell of a local man
Who's got the loneliest fear

That either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there

Climbing up the walls

[spring]

Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And Im crazy for love but Im not coming on
Im just paying my rent every day
Oh in the tower of song

I said to hank williams: how lonely does it get?
Hank williams hasnt answered yet
But I hear him coughing all night long
A hundred floors above me
In the tower of song

I was born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the great beyond
They tied me to this table right here
In the tower of song

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll
Im very sorry, baby, doesnt look like me at all
Im standing by the window where the light is strong
Ah they dont let a woman kill you
Not in the tower of song

Now you can say that Ive grown bitter but of this you may be sure
The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor
And theres a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong
You see, you hear these funny voices
In the tower of song

I see you standing on the other side
I dont know how the river got so wide
I loved you baby, way back when
And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed
But I feel so close to everything that we lost
Well never have to lose it again

Now I bid you farewell, I dont know when Ill be back
There moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track
But youll be hearing from me baby, long after Im gone
Ill be speaking to you sweetly
From a window in the tower of song
Yeah my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And Im crazy for love but Im not coming on
Im just paying my rent every day
In the tower of song

Leonard Cohen / Tower of song

[Scott]

Here's two parts of a verse from probably my favorite song, Thieves in the Night, by Mos Def and Talib Kweli:

Yo, I'm sure that everbody out listenin agree
That everything you see ain't really how it be
A lot of jokers out runnin in place, chasin the style
Be a lot goin on beneath the empty smile
Most cats in my area be lovin the hysteria
Synthesized surface conceals the interior
America, land of opportunity, mirages and camoflauges
More than usually -- speakin loudly, sayin nothin
You confusin me, you losin me
Your game is twisted, want me enlisted -- in your usary
Foolishly, most men join the ranks cluelessly
Buffoonishly accept the deception, believe the perception
Reflection rarely seen across the surface of the lookin glass
Walkin the street, wonderin who they be lookin past
Lookin gassed with them imported designer shades on
Stars shine bright, but the light -- rarely stays on
Same song, just remixed, different arrangement
Put you on a yacht but they won't call it a slaveship
Strangeness, you don't control this, you barely hold this
Screamin brand new, when they just sanitized the old sh*t
Suppose it's, just another clever Jedi mind trick
That they been runnin across stars through all the time with
I find it's distressin, there's never no in-between

This life is temporary but the soul is eternal
Separate the real from the lie, let me learn you
Not strong, only aggressive, cause the power ain't directed
That's why, we are subjected to the will of the oppressive
Not free, we only licensed
Not live, we just excitin
Cause the captors.. own the masters.. to what we writin
Not compassionate, only polite, we well trained
Our sincerity's rehearsed in stage, it's just a game
Not good, but well behaved cause the ca-me-ra survey
most of the things that we think, do, or say
We chasin after death just to call ourselves brave
But everyday, next man meet with the grave
I give a damn if any fan recall my legacy
I'm tryin to live life in the sight of God's memory
Like that y'all

[whybark]

Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles

[gabgobblr]

"Get it together" by India Arie

[Tony Vella]

If I may be allowed to mention lyrics that were not originally written in English (probably a faux-pas on this forum) then I would like to mention two poems that strongly affected me the very first time I heard them: 'Le Métèque' by Georges Moustaki, and 'Signorinella pallida' by Libero Bovio. I remember night after night when I was reading English and Modern Languages sitting in my little room trying to write the definitive (in my young mind) translation of Signorinella. Incidentally, George Dalaras had a go at writing a Greek lyric for Le métèque (Ο μέτοικος) but, imho he never came close to the original.

From Le métèque:
Avec mes yeux tout délavés
Qui me donnent l'air de rêver
Moi qui ne rêve plus souvent

From Signorinella pallida:
Negli occhi tuoi passavano
una speranza, un sogno, una carezza ....
avevi un nome che non si dimentica,
un nome lungo e breve: giovinezza!

[morganinga]

any song by the avett brothers seems like poetry to me. They are definite poets

[jhollan2]

I will hang on the hook of your splendor
As the night rolls us up in its arms
And the square of your thumbs and your fingers
Is the blanket of sky that's so warm

I know it's late but I can't help but thinking
That the day hasn't shown all its cards
Now it's out to the stars or the ocean
Let's not retrace our steps to the car

Picking out all the stars that we like
Between finger and thumb
You laugh as you pass me the night
As if it's too fragile to hold

And I hold it so close to my chest
With your hands in my hands
You say this is just how we'll rest
Until land turns to sand

Now your eyelids they faint and they shiver
Like the wings of the last bird to leave
For the south, for the heat, for no reason
I watch as they fly for sheer joy

The wind shakes the branches above us
And the cars shake the ground at our backs
But the dark roman wine in our bloodstreams
Makes the cold just a word, just a sound

Dark Roman Wine, by Snow Patrol

I really like both Snow Patrol and Mumford and Sons because they seem to me like auditory poetry.

[Genaaa]

In that moment
When they hit the lights in looked golden
But it didn't feel right he was frozen
With the worst frostbite was he chosen
Like an Israelite, pick the quotient
That you can't divide like two oceans
Stranded on the other side his devotions
On the other side his emotions

One of my favorite lines from a song by the name of Tie My Laces.

[Kellic Quentes]

I can't see past my own nose, I'm seeing everything in slo-mo
Look out below crashing down to the ground just like a vertical locomotive
That's a train. Am I painting the picture that's in my brain?
A train from the sky, locomotive, my motives are insane
My flow's not great, OK, I conversate with people
Who know if I flow on a song I'll get no radio play
While you're doing fine, there's some people and I
Who have a really tough time getting through this life
So excuse us while we sing to the sky.
(2nd verse of screen by twenty one pilots)

[III_Jasmine_III]

"You're hearing rumors about me
You saw some pictures online
Saying they got you so angry
Making you wish you were blind"

?? And like...THIS DID HAPPEN.

[Kelebogile Mbangi]

I am a child born of love
So let Love remain in my heart and my mind
Let love and joy be my friend
Give me peace with no end
Let me live with no fear and no shame

Let me begin to see Love
come alive in my life
Let me feel how it feels to be me

A longing and pounding in my heart
led me to want so much more out of life
led me to forgive every hurt
to let go of the past
and allow myself to heal every pain
Now I am free
Yes I hold my head up high
The burden on my shoulder is no longer with me
Now I can breathe
Yes I feel so much at ease
My soul is alright with me
My soul is alright with me

Soul in Mind by Lira

[R-Myra]

They Don't Know About Us - One Direction

People say we shouldn’t be together
We're too young to know about forever
But I say they don’t know what they talk, talk, talkin’ about (Talk, talk, talkin’ about)
'Cause this love is only getting stronger
So I don’t wanna wait any longer
I just wanna tell the world that you're mine girl
Oh
They don’t know about the things we do
They don’t know about the "I love yous"
But I bet you if they only knew
They would just be jealous of us,
They don’t know about the up all nights
They don’t know I've waited all my life
Just to find a love that feels this right
Baby they don’t know about
They don’t know about us (They don’t know about us)
Just one touch and I was a believer
Every kiss it gets a little sweeter
It’s getting better
Keeps getting better all the time girl
They don’t know about the things we do
They don’t know about the "I love yous"
But I bet you if they only knew
They would just be jealous of us,
They don’t know about the up all nights
They don’t know I've waited all my life
Just to find a love that feels this right
Baby, they don’t know about (They don’t know about us)
They don’t know how special you are
They don’t know what you’ve done to my heart
They can say anything they want 'cause they don’t know about us
They don’t know what we do best, that’s between me and you, our little secret
But I wanna tell 'em
I wanna tell the world that you're mine girl
They don’t know about the things we do
They don’t know about the "I love yous"
But I bet you if they only knew
They would just be jealous of us,
They don’t know about the up all nights
They don’t know I've waited all my life
Just to find a love that feels this right
Baby they don’t know about
They don’t know about the things we do
They don’t know about the "I love yous"
But I bet you if they only knew
They would just be jealous of us,
They don’t know about the up all nights
They don’t know I've waited all my life
Just to find a love that feels this right
Baby they don’t know about
They don’t know about us
They don’t know about us