Eagles Lyrics - Favorite One-Liners (or Two)

[Jonny Come Lately]

That article is one of the best I've seen, thanks for posting that VA. All of the choices were worthy I think, I'd agree that MOUAS is probably the first one I've take off if I was adding anything else to the list, but I really like the warmth of the lyrics which combine beautifully the vocals and the music.

It was nice to see some non-hits be included on the list and I could not agree with more The Last Resort, Doolin-Dalton and the Reprise nominations (these songs are all very high up my personal list of favourites, not least due to their stellar lyrics). With regards to Doolin-Dalton, I love vivid descriptive lyrics and those cited from the song are among a number of memorable ones they've done over the years - I think it was Glenn who once said something along the lines that it was much better to open a song with an image of an empty hotel room than to start by whining about your girlfriend leaving.

I also thought the comments on Lyin' Eyes and I Can't Tell You Why were interesting, particularly on the latter - I think its description of malaise and indifference coupled to the non-histrionic music is one of its greatest assets. It's not a dramatic breakup, just two people who love each other but also get fed up of each other.

Here are some others from the 1970s albums that I think would have been worthy of mention:

'This voice keeps whispering in my other ear, telling me I may never see you again' - Peaceful Easy Feeling

'I've been searching for the daughter of the devil himself, I've been searching for an angel in white' - One Of These Nights (this would have make my list for sure, it's spot on its description of a young guy's conflicting desires from a woman)

'Any kind of love without passion, that ain't no kind of loving at all' - After The Thrill Is Gone

'But heroes they come and they go, and leave us behind, as if we're supposed to know... why' - Pretty Maids All In A Row

''Cause all the debutants in Houston baby couldn't hold a candle to you' - The Long Run

'We would sing right out loud the things we could not say' - The Sad Café

The Dirty Laundry lyric is strong but if I was making this list then my choice of solo song would probably be The Heart Of The Matter - there's several lyrics that I could choose from in that song but 'keep carrying that anger, it'll eat you up inside' is a standout.

I suppose one possible reason why the LROOE album wasn't featured in the list was that it hasn't really been around long enough to call anything from it enduring and its songs have probably received the least exposure out of any Eagles album. The title track and especially Waiting In The Weeds are easily good enough to be worthy of inclusion, and there also strong lyrics IMO on songs like Busy Being Fabulous (I've always loved 'you think time is just a magazine').

[thelastresort]

It's odd, yesterday, before I saw this, I contemplated starting a thread ranking the band's discography by just the lyrics :lol:

As for JCL who mentioned Sad Cafe above, the line I would choose from that (and would probably be my first choice for inclusion) is 'We thought we could change this world, with words like love and freedom'. I think those two lines alone sum up the entire West Coast California country rock movement perfectly.

[thelastresort]

Jonny, I've always loved that line in The Long Run too. The whole song is great. I read with chagrin that DH told Songwriter magazine that the song "could have been better" lyrically - no it couldn't, Don!

Interesting that, we all know Don is a perfectionist and probably has a lot of power over the setlist, yet they still revived it after it didn't make the cut for the HFO tour. I'm also led to believe he doesn't care for BOML live, and as far as I know this is the first tour since the 70s where it's stayed in the setlist constantly.

[thelastresort]

DD/D Reprise and Desperado have several other lines too. :heart:

I love the 'Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the centre ring?' line in the former. So stuck in my head was it that I now sometimes use the last half of it in real life when something's daunting or difficult. :lol:

[Brooke]

I love the 'Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the centre ring?' line in the former. So stuck in my head was it that I now sometimes use the last half of it in real life when something's daunting or difficult. :lol:

I know what you mean, tlr. I love "Don't your feet get cold in the wintertime? The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine" and "It may be rainin' But there's a rainbow above you" from Desperado. "Stole your dreams and paid you with regret" from the Reprise.

Oh heck, the whole songs! :roll: Actually, they give me shivers when I hear them!

[Ive always been a dreamer]

After the discussion in another thread inspired by a recent concert writeup, there were some suggestions that we start a thread about some of our favorite lines in Eagles' songs. So - I did that and also moved some of the relevant posts over here. You can contribute to this thread however you like by listing as many or a few lyrics as you want. I have a lot of lines that I want to talk about, but I'm going to start off with one of my favorite lines in just about any song ... from New Kid In Town -

"They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along".

[VAisForEagleLovers]

This is the article that Johnny Come Lately referenced above, '13 enduring lyrics'.

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/entertainment/music/2015/06/03/eagles-enduring-lyrics/28382873/

[AlreadyGone95]

The line that's a part of my signature. It's probably my favorite.

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains And we never even know we have the key

I'll have to think of more... too tired at the moment.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

I'll start with one I quote a lot every time I have the misfortune of watching daytime TV or reading most magazines.

You bitch about the present and blame it on the past
I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass!

I don't think I need to explain why I think this is a great line!

[Freypower]

After the discussion in another thread inspired by a recent concert writeup, there were some suggestions that we start a thread about some of our favorite lines in Eagles' songs. So - I did that and also moved some of the relevant posts over here. You can contribute to this thread however you like by listing as many or a few lyrics as you want. I have a lot of lines that I want to talk about, but I'm going to start off with one of my favorite lines in just about any song ... from New Kid In Town -

"They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along".

This is my favourite line in any Eagles song, ever.

The next was also in the article:

We've been up & down that highway
Havent seen a goddamn thing

The Caesar verse in LROOE isn't a one-liner but that comes next for me.

[Tori]

My goodness, I have way too many favorites to count, because these guys are just too good at what they do. A couple off the top of my head that I love for some reason or another... Sorry for the wall of text in advance!

-"It may be raining / but there's a rainbow above you" is so strangely hopeful to me.
-The whole call-and-response bit in the Desperado/DD reprise - especially "You sealed your fate up a long time ago / now there's no time left to borrow"
-"Beauty in the devil's disguise" and "All this gratification and sick conversation / someone get me outta town" from Good Day In Hell
-I've always love, love, loved "You know I've always been a dreamer, spent my life runnin' round / And it's so hard to change, can't seem to settle down" from TITTL.
-Every lyric in HC is pure genius, let's be real. Favorites include "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget" and the steely knives line because I am a sucker for references. I love how the lyrics have literally painted the same mental picture of "The Hotel California" and its inherent debauchery for me since childhood.
-"We've been up and down this highway, haven't seen a goddamn thing" from LITFL. Along with a couple of the lines central to the meaning of the song that 7 year old me did NOT get the meanings of until much later, like "Lines on the mirror, lines on her face".
-Wasted Time is a goldmine of favorite lyrics for me, but one that's always stuck with me has been "The autumn leaves have got you thinking about the first time that you fell / you didn't love the boy too much, no no you just loved the boy too well".
-"Tell all your girlfriends, your been around the world friends, that talk is for losers and fools" is a great one from my fav Eagles song of all time, Victim Of Love.
-"Hi there, how are ya, been a long time / seems like we've come a long way" is one from PMAIAR that I always seem to remember at Eagles shows... ;) Kinda reminds me that even if I go a while without listening to the boys, they're always there to bring me right back to a state of happiness, like old friends!
-The Last Resort. So, so many in this one. "Where the old world shadows hang heavy in the air" is a favorite because of the stellar imagery it provides for me. The last verses after the key change (one of my favorite key changes ever) are all some of my favorite examples of amazing songwriting from this band, not to mention Don's delivery of those lyrics give me chills every time.
-"I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free" is a GREAT one from Sad Cafe.
-So many great lyrics in Get Over It. But my favorites are "Don't wanna work, you wanna live like a king, but the big bad world doesn't owe you a thing" and "I'd like to find your inner child and kick its little ass". Basically all the lyrics, actually. GOI is my "screw you, world" song. :hilarious:
-From Learn To Be Still, "one more starry-eyed messiah meets a violent farewell". I also kind of want just the phrase "learn to be still" as a tattoo eventually somewhere because I love that phrase/song so much.
-From Hole In The World, "They say that anger is just love disappointed / they say that love is just a state of mind". (Random side note... could that be a throwback to Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac? "Dreams unwind, love's a state of mind" from the very end of Rhiannon... Hmmmm..... Am I the only one who's noticed that??)
-"If finding love is just a dance, proximity and chance / you will excuse me if I skip the masquerade" from WITW
-Really, really love the "And we pray to our lord, who we know is American" verses from Frail Grasp. So delightfully, sardonically, politically Henley.
-And lastly, there are SO many in LROOE. But I especially love "Captains of the old order clinging to the reins, assuring us these aches inside are only growing pains" and the last line "All the knowledge in the world is of no use to fools, and it's a long road out of Eden."

This is just a partial list, since EVERY Eagles song has a line or two I really like above all the others. But these are the ones I especially love.

[faded to blue]

I always thought that Desperado was the album that Glenn and Don really begin establish themselves as songwriters, with the help/knowledge of J.D. and Jackson. It's my favourite album and most of favourite Eagles lyrics are from Desperado. Some of them include:

Someone show me how to tell the dancer
From the dance (Saturday Night)

Oh, my, don't the sky look spacious
With the stars all shinin' down (Out of Control)

And all my love's in danger,
'Cause I steal hearts and souls (Outlaw Man)

Well, the towns lay out across the dusty plains
Like graveyards filled with tombstones, waitin' for the names (Doolin-Dalton)

It wasn't for the money, at least it didn't start that way
It wasn't for the runnin', but now he's runnin' everyday (Certain Kind Of Fool)

Sooner or later, that's a stone-cold fact,
Four men ride out and only three ride back (Doolin-Dalton/Desperado Reprise)

And of course the entirety of Hotel California lol. :thumbsup:

[Brooke]

There are so many lyrics I love, but a couple more:

Another from Already Gone

When you look up in the sky
You can see the stars and still not see the light

Best of My Love

Wastin’ our time on cheap talk and wine
Left us so little to give

After The Thrill Is Gone

What can you do when your dreams come true
And it's not quite like you planned?

[VAisForEagleLovers]

Tori, your reference to The Sad Cafe is one of my favorite lines and another I quote often. I wonder why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free.

Brooke, there's a lot of lines from After The Thrill is Gone that are priceless. Favorites of mine are You don't care about winning but you don't want to lose and Same dances in the same old shoes, you get too careful with the steps you choose. Both of them explain how we're NOT to live our lives. Don't take the safe path with no highs and lows. Live life with all it's ups and downs. Take the risk and aim to win instead of just plodding along a half step better than the person beside you.

[L101]

So many of my favourite lyrics have been posted above so these are just a few extra:

You never cry like a lover:
I thought I saw somebody I loved
Sleeping deep inside you
If I could catch you in an unguarded moment
I'd stay right here beside you (Just the thought of someone (Don ?? :grin:) loving you so much that they are trying their best to find something to hold on to as they don't want to let you go !!)

The best of my love:
Every night I'm lyin' in bed
Holdin' you close in my dreams (Says it all really !!)

Waiting in the weeds:
And though I heard some wise man say
That every dog will have his day
He never mentioned that these dog days get so long (Sometimes you just feel that every day is a permanent dog day ....:))
Basically all of Waiting in the weeds - such a song!!

My Man:
Tell me the truth, how do you feel?
Like you're rollin' so fast that you're spinnin' your wheels? (Could be a day in my life sometimes - my favourite saying when you are so busy and get nothing done is that you don't know your a**e from your elbow !!)

All of After the thrill is gone - love that song!

[AlreadyGone95]

Ok, now that I can think straight, here's some for me:

Take it Easy: ( i love this whole verse)
-Don't let the sound of your own wheels
drive you crazy
-Lighten up while you still can
don't even try to understand
-Just find a place to make your stand
and take it easy


Outlaw Man, I love the whole song, but my favorite lines are the last lines:
- When you got no life to lose
Then there's nothin' left to gain
Outlaw man
Outlaw man


Desperado:
-These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

Already Gone (besides the line in my signature )
- Just remember this, my girl, when you look up in the sky
You can see the stars and still not see the light

- Already Gone... Alright, nighty night

James Dean:
-You were the lowdown rebel if there ever was
Even if you had no cause

- You were too fast to live, too young to die, bye-bye

One of these Nights:
- You got your demons
You got desires
Well, I got a few of my own


In the City:
- I know there must be somethin' better
but there's nowhere else in sight


I've got more, but I'll save them for another post later.

[thelastresort]

Waiting in the weeds:
And though I heard some wise man say
That every dog will have his day
He never mentioned that these dog days get so long ...

Always disliked the repetition of the word 'dog' here, otherwise I'd agree with you that most of WITW is worthy of this thread.

[VAisForEagleLovers]

If we could slip into solo mode for a moment...not that I have a line of lyrics that I'm going to post about... The entire song of Dirty Laundry. Talk about a song with lyrics that mean something and probably mean more now than when it was written. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be People love it when you lose.

[AlreadyGone95]

If we could slip into solo mode for a moment...not that I have a line of lyrics that I'm going to post about... The entire song of Dirty Laundry. Talk about a song with lyrics that mean something and probably mean more now than when it was written. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be People love it when you lose.

I agree that all of the lyrics to that song are great My favorite is probably "You know the boys in the newsroom
Got a running bet
Get the widow on the set
We need dirty laundry"

My overall favorite two liner from Don Henley's solo career is fromy Boys of Summer:
"Out on the road today, I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.
A little voice inside my head said don't look back. You can never look back".

Perhaps we should create threads in each of the band members' forums for our favorite one liners from their solo careers?

[Freypower]

From Wasted Time:

I could have done so many things baby
If I could only stop my mind
From wondering what I left behind
And from worrying 'bout that wasted time

Sadly I think this applies to me occasionally. It didn't take long to get away from it being one liners!

[Tori]

If we could slip into solo mode for a moment...not that I have a line of lyrics that I'm going to post about... The entire song of Dirty Laundry. Talk about a song with lyrics that mean something and probably mean more now than when it was written. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be People love it when you lose.
I love the entirety of Dirty Laundry too. Always loved the message about the media and I've been known to quote it when I hear things about people that they may not necessarily want me to know, lol. Just leave well enough alone, I suppose! :hilarious:

[secondchances]

I really love this thread because there are so many lyrics that make their songs incredible. My all-time favorite is from Wasted Time:

She didn't love the boy too much
no, no
She just loved the boy too well.

If that doesn't speak to you then you have (fortunately for you, I suppose) never been in that situation. I sure have:)

[DJ]

Few come to mind quickly:

1.Don't Let The Sound Of Your Own Wheels Drive You Crazy

2.The Devil Prays On Runaways, He's Never Far Behind

3.You Can Check Out Anytime You Like, But You Can Never Leave

4. Move in, can't you see she wants you
She has you deep in her eyes
You been wonderin' why she haunts you
Beauty in the devil's disguise

5. In That Big Book Of Names I Wanna Go Down In Flames!

6. She’s cool water
Her mama taught her


7. When you're out there on your own
Where your memories can't find you


8. Tell me, scarlet sun
What will time allow?
We have brought our children here
Who can save them now?

9. Then I said, "Who's that
Underneath that Stetson hat?
Where did she come from?

Okay I'm Done. :soda: Whoops more than one or two lines. Sorry

[Jonny Come Lately]

Just thought about it and I was shocked when I realised that there was one absolutely classic two-liner from Take It Easy which no one has mentioned:

Well I'm standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona and it's such a fine sight to see
It's a girl my lord in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me

Five more favourites of mine (which haven't been mentioned already):
- We're gonna hit the road one last time, we're gonna walk right in and steal 'em blind (Bitter Creek)
- You see it your way, I see it mine, but we both see it slipping away (BOML)
- He had a nasty reputation as a cruel dude, they said he was ruthless, they said he was crude (LITFL)
- Well he sits up there on his leatherette, looks through pictures of the ones that he hasn't had yet (King Of Hollywood) (I know the tawdry nature of the lyrics put some people off but I think this is a great opening image which instantly shows what a greasy sleaze ball the 'King' really is)
- All your romantic liaisons don't deal with eternal questions like, 'Who left the cap on the freaking toothpaste?', 'Whose turn to take the garbage out' (Frail Grasp On The Big Picture)

Plus two which need to be put together from Desperado and the DD/D (Reprise):
- Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds boy, she'll beat you if she's able
- The Queen Of Diamonds let you down, she was just an empty fable

Writing these down just reminds me of all of the other great lyrics in these two songs (the first one that sprung to mind was 'now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table, but you only want the ones that you can't get'). I have to say I relate very strongly to a lot of the lyrics from Desperado, I guess I feel a bit like the desperado in the song at times in my life although I want to avoid his mistakes and draw the Queen of Hearts.

If I was to rank the Eagles albums in order of the quality of the lyrics, I think the order would be like this:

1. Hotel California
2. Desperado
3. Long Road Out Of Eden
4. On The Border
5. One Of These Nights
6. The Long Run
7. Eagles

Hotel California and Desperado are definitely the top two for lyrics I think, just about all of the songs on these two albums have strong lyrics, HC edges it because I think all of its songs have great lyrics whereas Twenty One and Out Of Control have some strong lines but can't quite match the others lyrically (also, the four songs on side one of the HC album have so many classic lines that this cann LROOE deserves third place I think, it's got two of their top ten lyric songs overall (the outstanding WITW and the title track) and several others I rate highly, with How Long, BBF and Frail Grasp being personal favourites in this regard. I must say I also really like the lyrics to LGITT (I seem to be one of the few here who loves this song, although I don't wish to go off topic too much).

It was close between On The Border and One Of These Nights but I think the latter is slightly stronger overall where most of the songs are lyrically strong with a few standouts (IMO these are Already Gone, My Man, GDIH and perhaps controversially YNCLAL), whereas One Of These Nights has a mix of great lyrics (Lyin' Eyes, TITTL and ATTIG are all very strong, Too Many Hands and Hollywood Waltz are decent too) and some of their weakest (IWYP is just weak by Eagles standards, and I don't care for the Visions lyrics at all).

The debut album definitely feels like the weakest set of lyrics to me where Tryin' and Earlybird (save for the odd line) are nothing special lyrically and Chug All Night is, well, Chug All Night. Having said this the big three singles all have strong lyrics, with MOUAS also having a few memorable lyrics. The rest are decent rather than outstanding.

The Long Run is a bit of a curate's egg for lyrics, with The Sad Café being among Don's very best IMO, with the title track, ICTYW, ITC and King Of Hollywood also being quite strong. However, it contains Greeks and Teenage Jail which are both amongst their worst lyrics (I say this even as one of TJ's biggest fans) and TDS is very average - the 'Rome is burning' line is inspired and the rest is meh, but lyrics are the least of that song's issues... The lyrics of HT and Those Shoes are okay, but I can take or leave them. In my mind those songs are more about the music so I don't think about their lyrics much.

I think it reflects well on the Eagles' growth as songwriters that I consider the lyrics from their first album to be the weakest with LROOE being the third strongest - I can think of certain artists that never really improved or if anything got weaker (Oasis and Coldplay are two modern bands whose lack of growth as songwriters beyond their second albums has prevented them from ascending the pantheon IMO, they each wrote plenty of hits but I don't think they really progressed significantly from their early songs. Of the Eagles' peers I would say America were limited by their lyrics - I like A Horse With No Name but no Eagles hit has lyrics like 'the heat was hot'), and they managed for the most part to maintain the high standard set by the Desperado album.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

This is a fun thread. I think I could have picked a better name for it though because I didn't really intend this to necessarily be limited to one or two lines. Hey, we're talking Eagles songs here - in some cases a whole verse may be worthy of inclusion. :thumbsup:

In reading everyone's comments, I was thinking that I could probably find a really good lyric in just about everyone of their songs, so I'm going to start at the beginning and post a few at a time that may not have already been mentioned ...

Take It Easy - Heck, this song has so many great lines that we could probably post the entire song, but a few others that stand out to me are the oft quoted "Lighten up while you still can", as well as one of the great double entendres "We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again, so open up I'm climbin' in".

Witchy Woman - I love the imagery of "A restless spirit on an endless flight", as well as, "She drove herself to madness with a silver spoon", although I had no idea what this one meant for the longest time.

Chug All Night - I think there a few really good lines in this one. My favorite is probably "I'm wired for sound. Are you wired for light?" - very clever.

[AlreadyGone95]

You Are Not Alone

I only discovered the song a few weeks ago, but I love it, especially the lyrics. I've been through alot in my relatively short life(death of my father as a kid,abuse, mom's unpleasant boyfriends and her preferring them over me, not getting along with my mom), so I can easily relate to this song. My teenage years were a complete hell. Looking back, I'm shocked that I came out of them alive, much less whole and not in trouble with the law. Music was my savior, my constant companion. I'm still dealing with the aftermath of my teen years(nearly positive that I have ptsd). My mom(actually most of my family) don't care, so to hear something positive like that song really helps. I'm glad that I discovered it. I wish that I had known about it 3 years ago. It would've been on repeat more than it is now.

ETA : forgot to post the lyrics
Say goodbye to all your pain and sorrow
Say goodbye to all those lonely nights
Say goodbye to all your blue tomorrows
Now you're standing in the light

I know sometimes you feel so helpless
Sometimes you feel like you can't win
Sometimes you feel so isolated
You'll never have to feel that way again

You are not alone
You're not alone

Never thought I'd find the road to freedom
Never thought I'd see you smile again
Never thought I'd have the chance to tell you
That I will always be your friend

You are not alone
You're not alone

[MaryCalifornia]

"Oh my God, I can't believe, it's happening again..."

"They will never forget you til somebody new comes along..."

"Aren't we the same two people who lived through years in the dark..."

In so many Eagles songs it is not only the lyrics, but the delivery. The slow phrasing, with pauses in between words, is what makes these so effective. They're not rushed, they allow the line to find it's own pace. It's not just ICTYW that "has a lot of air in it." It's the way the songs are sung AND the VOICE. I don't think these lines would have had the same effect with somebody else delivering them.

And yes, agree with prior posts - there is SOMETHING about "Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?" that just brings chills every time. But it's not the lyrics, it's the delivery.

[GlennLover]

And yes, agree with prior posts - there is SOMETHING about "Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?" that just brings chills every time. But it's not the lyrics, it's the delivery.

I agree MC. Love that line!

[bluefeather]

I feel for you AG and all my best wishes for the rest of your life, like somebody said earlier you really are the coolest twenty year old:hug:

back on topic: the whole of You Are Not Alone is lyrically very beautiful and touching, one of my absolute favorites

favorite one-( or two)liners:
- "it's a girl my lord, in a flat-bed ford" the most hilariously memorable line in their catalog that never ceases to amuse me
-"don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy" this speaks to me deeply because I have constant issues with over-thinking everything
-"your pain and your hunger are driving you home" the sad and desperate situation of the person Don if singing about/to is very touching especially when delivered with Don's voice
-"we may win and we may lose but we will never be here again" this is empowering as an encouragement to jump on a chance without fearing failure because life just moves on if you fail and you don't have to go back to the situation/place
-"night after night you're willing to hold her, just hold her, tears on your shoulder" I like how this rhymes and I love Glenn's delivery, the sad romantic feeling is beautiful

[sodascouts]

I love to listen to lyrics and there are many ones that I adore (some of which have already been mentioned). Their fantastic lyrics are one of the reasons I love them so much. Here are a few with my thoughts in italics:

Take It Easy:
"Take it easy; don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy"
"We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again"
Both of these are good things to remember when living one's life

Most of Us Are Sad:
"Tell me, scarlet sun, what will time allow?"
"I will sing you far away"
Love the metaphor in the first, the concept about the power of music in the second

Tequila Sunrise:
"Take Another shot of courage - wonder why the right words never come"
Nice metaphor and relatable

Desperado:
"Freedom, well that's just some people talking; your prison is walking through this world all alone"
"It may be raining, but there's a rainbow above you"
Both excellent metaphors and messages

Saturday Night
"Someone show me how to tell the dancer from the dance"
Again, lovely metaphor - very poignant

Bitter Creek
"Don't wade too deep in bitter creek"
Fantastic metaphor with a message that hits home

Doolin' Dalton / Desperado Reprise:
"(Is there gonna be anything left, is there gonna be anything?)
You sealed your fate up a long time ago
(Ain't it hard when you're all alone in the center ring?)
Now there's no time left to borrow
(Is there gonna be anything left?)
Only stardust
(Maybe tomorrow)"
These lines are very moving; you can really feel the sorrow and despair there; very clever metaphors, too


Stealing an idea from Dreamer... I'll wait to do more or this post will be overload!

[sodascouts]

-From Hole In The World, "They say that anger is just love disappointed / they say that love is just a state of mind". (Random side note... could that be a throwback to Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac? "Dreams unwind, love's a state of mind" from the very end of Rhiannon... Hmmmm..... Am I the only one who's noticed that??)

I'm a huge Fleetwood Mac fan and I noticed the similarity - he does say "they say..." like it's a common phrase, but really the only person I've heard say it like that is Stevie Nicks. lol Maybe it was a subconscious borrowing.




Waiting in the weeds:
And though I heard some wise man say
That every dog will have his day
He never mentioned that these dog days get so long ...

Always disliked the repetition of the word 'dog' here, otherwise I'd agree with you that most of WITW is worthy of this thread.

I actually like the fact that he chose to extend the metaphor by putting a twist on how it's used. Indeed, I found it quite clever!

[NightMistBlue]

From Wasted Time:

I could have done so many things baby
If I could only stop my mind
From wondering what I left behind
And from worrying 'bout that wasted time

Sadly I think this applies to me occasionally. It didn't take long to get away from it being one liners!

That whole song is devastating (as is The Last Resort). What makes the bit you quoted particularly powerful IMO is that throughout the song he's been quite tough and judgmental towards the woman, but then turns it around on himself and admits to being flawed and full of regret also.

That's how I interpret it anyway.

[sodascouts]

Some more I came up with:

You Never Cry Like a Lover
"Your life goes on like a broken down carousel where somebody left the music on"
I hate this song, but I love the sophistication of this metaphor

My Man
"My man's got it made; he's gone far beyond the pain and we who must remain go on living just the same"
Moving, powerful, relatable message

James Dean
"I know my life would look alright if I could see it on the silver screen"
Love this metaphor and sometimes I think of my life like a movie, weirdly enough, in terms of self-awareness about how I live and how people's perceptions of me would change if they could see all my secrets :wink:; I sometimes imagine what a commentator would say if he observed me; this also plays into the idea that God is constantly watching; it's all very meta, lol

Ol' 55
"Stars beginning to fade and I lead the parade"
This metaphor is open to interpretation and makes you think - what's going through his head? Yet, even though it's a bit myserious, the emotion in the vocal lets you know that whatever he's thinking means a lot to him. I love that.

Best of My Love
"That same old crowd was like a cold, dark cloud that we could never rise above, but here in my heart, I give you the best of my love"
This metaphor really communicates their situation - both cynicism and sincerity wrapped up in one

Already Gone:
"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains but we never even know we have the key"
How freaking true is this? A very resonant lyric

[thelastresort]

I give it until the end of June before we've quoted every Eagles line.

Another one I love that never even made the studio cut was 'Don't know if I'm growing wise, or telling lies' from Tequila Sunrise, I think that can apply a lot to life. And yes, I also keep the 'We may lose...' line from TIE in my head a lot!

Some of the best of the rest for me:
'If you're fast, and if you're lucky, you will never see that hanging tree' - Doolin-Dalton. Sums up the lawless and anything goes nature of the Old West pretty succinctly.

What you get is not quite what you choose. - How Long. As with TS, very telling of life.

'It's like going to Confession every time I hear you speak' - Get Over It. Not one of Don's more gentle lines, but it always makes me smile.

[DJ]

This is a fun thread. I think I could have picked a better name for it though because I didn't really intend this to necessarily be limited to one or two lines. Hey, we're talking Eagles songs here - in some cases a whole verse may be worthy of inclusion. :thumbsup:

In reading everyone's comments, I was thinking that I could probably find a really good lyric in just about everyone of their songs, so I'm going to start at the beginning and post a few at a time that may not have already been mentioned ...

Take It Easy - Heck, this song has so many great lines that we could probably post the entire song, but a few others that stand out to me are the oft quoted "Lighten up while you still can", as well as one of the great double entendres "We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again, so open up I'm climbin' in".

Witchy Woman - I love the imagery of "A restless spirit on an endless flight", as well as, "She drove herself to madness with a silver spoon", although I had no idea what this one meant for the longest time.

Chug All Night - I think there a few really good lines in this one. My favorite is probably "I'm wired for sound. Are you wired for light?" - very clever.

Dreamer I've always loved that lyric from Chug........

[sodascouts]

I like that one, too - can't believe I forgot it!

[GlennLover]

Dreamer I've always loved that lyric from Chug........

I've always loved it too, once I found out what he was singing there. For some reason those words were the only ones in the song that I couldn't understand. I had to look up the lyrics. :laugh:

[AlreadyGone95]

I'm kind of shocked that no one has mentioned the chorus of Lyin Eyes (unless I missed it)
You can't hide your lyin eyes
And your smile is a thin diguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes

Some more I thought of:

LITFL:
- He was brutally handsome and she was terminally pretty
-Eager for action and hot for the game
The coming attraction, the drop of a name
They knew all the right people, they took
all the right pills

Hotel California:
-And I was thinking to myself,
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
- And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"

The Long Run-
- I used to hurry a lot, I used to worry a lot
I used to stay out till the break of day
Oh, that didn't get it,
It was high time I quit it
I just couldn't carry on that way
Oh, I did some damage, I know it's true
- Well, we're scared, but we ain't shakin'
Kinda bent, but we ain't breakin'

Greeks Don't Want No Freaks:
-She was the pride and the passion of Dixie
She did exactly what her daddy had planned.
She was perfect little sister until somebody missed
her and they found her in the bushes with
the boys in the band


Get Over It:
They point their crooked little fingers at everybody else
Spend all their time feelin' sorry for themselves
Victim of this, victim of that
Your momma's too thin; your daddy's too fat


How Long: (can JD's lyrics count?)
- Well I been doin' time in lonesome prison, where the sun don't shine
Just outside, the freedom river runs

Smuggler's Blues:
- I knew the gun was loaded, but I didn't think it'd kill

[Freypower]

New Kid In Town is my favourite Eagles lyric. The best line is 'they will never forget you etc' but I love 'great expectations/everybody's watching you' because I never thought I would hear a rock song which referenced Charles Dickens.

[maryc2130]

What you get is not quite what you choose. - How Long. As with TS, very telling of life.

'It's like going to Confession every time I hear you speak' - Get Over It. Not one of Don's more gentle lines, but it always makes me smile.

The How Long line you quoted kind of reminds me of the line from Desperado: It seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table, but you only want the ones that you can't get.

Both great lines!

The Get Over It line you quoted always makes me think that it should be it's like hearing a confession every time I hear you speak. But maybe I'm missing something!

I'll have to come back later with my favorites, although there are WAY too many of them to try and condense into one post.

[Brooke]

I give it until the end of June before we've quoted every Eagles line.


I had to laugh at this! And you're probably right! There's just too many!

A few more I love:

Oh well, it's been a good day in hell
And tomorrow I'll be glory bound

Contradiction? lol

From Get Over It-The more I think about it, Old Billy was right
Let's kill all the lawyers -- kill 'em tonight

From Waiting in the Weeds-And he's the darling of the chic
The flavor of the week is melting
Down your pretty summer dress
Baby, what a mess you're making

Kills me!

[Jonny Come Lately]

I give it until the end of June before we've quoted every Eagles line.

I might just be able to help with this...

------

There are lyrics, and then there are lyrics. The likes of Eagles songs such as Hotel California, The Last Resort and Desperado have lyrics which are alright, I guess, but there are some examples of songs in the last 50-60 years which I have heard and have truly changed my world and my way of thinking, so powerful are these words.

The first one that springs to my mind is the brilliant 'Listen, I am a physician, and I can handle your condition like a magician' from Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb demo. Sadly these lyrics were not used in the final version, a most regrettable error of judgement on the band's part. The rhyming scheme is fantastic and the mildly comical turn of phrase, doesn't take away from the mood of the song in the slightest, rather it simply adds to the darkness of the song and the lead character's struggle to remain sane.

Similarly, while listening to my Dire Straits albums again I was struck by how clearly superior Walk Of Life is as a piece of writing compared to anything else they've ever done. The lyrics about the songs being played by the busker and in particular its chorus about the Walk Of Life are so vastly superior to the barely believable scenarios, impossible to recognise in normal life, featured in songs such as Sultans Of Swing, Tunnel Of Love and Money For Nothing. I only wish Mark Knopfler had written more choruses like 'You do the walk, you do the walk of life' than comparative tosh like 'And Harry doesn't mind if he doesn't make the scene, he's got a daytime job, he's doing alright'.

Another absolute gem can be found in the lyrics of Champagne Supernova by Oasis. 'Slowly walking down the hall faster than a cannonball' is not, as is widely believed, a throwaway line, instead it is providing a radical reinterpretation of modern physics, putting forward the concept that an object can be moving both rapidly and slowly simultaneously, blowing conventional thinking by Einstein, Schrodinger and others out of the water. The stuff about a champagne supernova was made up as a way of spreading these mind blowing scientific ideas to the masses, which was extremely effective.

However, none of these can match the finest example of songwriting of all time, Neil Young's T-Bone, with its refrains of 'Got mashed potatoes' and 'Ain't got no T-bone'. These words go far beyond what would be expected from rock lyrics and are in the same league as the greatest philosophical tracts. Yes, the lyrics are somewhat repetitive, but when you've hit upon something this profound, it's important to get your message home to your listeners. True enlightenment can be found from Neil's experience of having mashed potatoes and not having T-bone and I am convinced that the answer to life, the universe and everything may yet be found from this song's lyrics.

Fortunately, the Eagles do have some lyrics which match up to these extremely high standards. I will start by highlighting the lyrics from Journey Of The Sorcerer and I Dreamed There Was No War, both of which are pieces of poetry which would stand up without any musical accompaniment. It's just a shame the vocals are so hard to make out. Next I will mention the chorus of Chug All Night, specifically the 'I do believe we can chug all night, I do believe we can hug all night' section, which is much, much better at describing a young man's lust for a woman than the pretentious double entendres used in forgotten throwaways like Take It Easy or Life In The Fast Line, as well as ingeniously rhyming chug with hug.

One other such example is 'Play On El Chingadero' from Visions. Any song which makes use of foreign words is clearly worthy of great praise and even though I do not know what these words mean I am 100% certain that they are extremely deep and meaningful. So too the superb 'You got down and did the gator, and half an hour later you were barfing all over your girlfriend's shoes' from the seminal The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks. Although these lyrics are widely praised, I think special mention must go to the fact that the Eagles avoided such awful terms as vomiting or throwing up and instead opted for the vastly superior and much more mature word barfing.

Lastly, let's not forget the wonderous 'Look at me baby look at me I'm beautiful I'm beautiful I'm somebody' from perhaps the greatest Eagles song of them all, The Disco Strangler. While these lyrics would admittedly not be the same without Felder's superb and not at all repetitive guitar riff and the superb vocal melody, I think these lyrics are absolutely wonderful at capturing the feeling of the time when it was written as well providing a totally balanced consideration of the disco scene, you can still sympathise with the woman in the song for all her failings as she is portrayed as such a highly multi-dimensional character.

------

Anyway, back to the real world... (and I do know what El Chingadero means!)

Thanks for mentioning those GDIH and Get Over It lyrics Brooke -I'd forgotten to mention the Old Billy was right lyric, I love that one too, it's a funny and clever way of referencing that Shakespeare line, and the chorus of GDIH is one of their best. Just another reason why I think it stands as one of the biggest lost classics in the Eagles canon.

I like pretty much all of the literature references actually, I think it is good for bands to read widely, those songwriters that do tend to write better songs (Mark Knopfler being another standout example, for instance Sailing To Philadelphia was inspired by a book he'd read beforehand about Mason and Dixon) whereas those who don't not only have less potential material but also tend to have a weaker vocabulary and therefore their lyrics tend to feature more clichés or obvious 'moon/spoon/June' type rhymes.

[Freypower]

I don't know if we now need a thread for lyrics we don't like or find pretentious. I don't want to veer away from the Eagles but I have to say that while I understand the criticism of Champagne Supernova I love the song so much that those lines don't bother me.

[AlreadyGone95]

"Worst Eagles lyrics" what a thread that would be! :lol:

Lyrics affect people differently. Everybody has different types of lyrics that they like, be they witty or straightforward. To me, the Eagles have written some of the best songs lyrically as shown by my previous posts in this thread. They can be witty,humorous and serious in one song! They most definitely have their bad moments, but they can be overlooked, imo.

[Jonny Come Lately]

I don't really find any of those lyrics pretentious (although I admit the Eagles lyrics I cited are probably not amongst their finer moments IMO), my piece was intended to be satirical and I thought it was quite funny to turn perceptions on their head by praising unpopular lyrics to high heaven while dismissing some of my favourites (give me the clever double entendres of LITFL over 'I do believe we hug all night' any day!). It isn't meant to be serious in the slightest, I mean I praised the lyrics to the instrumentals and described The Disco Strangler as perhaps their greatest song of all - what the heck? :nahnah: :hilarious:

I guess I just share the guys' sick senses of humour...

I don't really mind the Champagne Supernova lyrics although the line I cited does make me laugh a bit (which, it should be said, is infinitely better than making me wince).

[thelastresort]

When I read it originally it never struck me you were being sarky until I got to the JOTS / IDTWNW lyrics comment.

Well played good sir :thumbsup:

[AlreadyGone95]

I thought that your post was meant to be sarcastic and funny, Jonny. Chug All Night better than TIE? :lol:

I do think that a thread of the worst Eagles lyrics would be fun.

[Freypower]

I don't really find any of those lyrics pretentious (although I admit the Eagles lyrics I cited are probably not amongst their finer moments IMO), my piece was intended to be satirical and I thought it was quite funny to turn perceptions on their head by praising unpopular lyrics to high heaven while dismissing some of my favourites (give me the clever double entendres of LITFL over 'I do believe we hug all night' any day!). It isn't meant to be serious in the slightest, I mean I praised the lyrics to the instrumentals and described The Disco Strangler as perhaps their greatest song of all - what the heck? :nahnah: :hilarious:

I guess I just share the guys' sick senses of humour...

I don't really mind the Champagne Supernova lyrics although the line I cited does make me laugh a bit (which, it should be said, is infinitely better than making me wince).

I thought it was a brilliant post but I was somewhat bemused by the examples of non-Eagles lyrics. I could have commented in more detail, especially about Walk Of Life, but I didn't want to get away from the Eagles. That's why I thought a new thread about bad non-Eagles lyrics would be a good idea. I'm not so sure about bad Eagles lyrics though.

[thelastresort]

I'll add my voice too for a non-Eagles version...

(I'll let whoever had the initial idea start it)

[Freypower]

I would start it but I don't know how much interest it would generate. I would also like to start a thread for favourite non-Eagles lyrics but am reluctant to do so for the same reason. It seems at the moment I wish to write much more about other artists than the Eagles themselves mainly because I find I don't have much left to say about the Eagles. It's a dilemma. I don't like threads in which only a couple of people participate.

*Lyin' Eyes has just started playing. :thud:

[maryc2130]

I thought that your post was meant to be sarcastic and funny, Jonny. Chug All Night better than TIE? :lol:

I do think that a thread of the worst Eagles lyrics would be fun.

That's what I thought, too. I mean, to each his own, but to call "I do believe we can chug all night, I do believe we can hug all night" great lyrics? LOLOL!

[AlreadyGone95]

I would start it but I don't know how much interest it would generate. I would also like to start a thread for favourite non-Eagles lyrics but am reluctant to do so for the same reason. It seems at the moment I wish to write much more about other artists than the Eagles themselves mainly because I find I don't have much left to say about the Eagles. It's a dilemma. I don't like threads in which only a couple of people participate.

*Lyin' Eyes has just started playing. :thud:

I think that a favorite non- Eagles lyrics thread would be cool. We all have other bands/artists that we love. I imagine that a thread like that would be popular and diverse.

As for the worst Eagles lyrics, I mainly meant that as a sort of joke. Most of the Eagles lyrics are good. There aren't many duds. Chug All Night being an exception.

ETA: as for a bad lyrics in general thread, I'm in between. I'm sure that we'd all get some laughs, though! :lol:

[NightMistBlue]

"Sometimes I believe in love/sometimes I doubt it." You Never Cry Like a Lover

Pithy or what?

[Ive always been a dreamer]

Okay - I'll continue with more of my favorites from the first album:

Most of Us Are Sad – Love the beautiful imagery of "tell me scarlet sun; I will sing you far away".

Nightingale – "It's just the same old murder movie, But they call it the news" gives us some early insight into how they all perceived the media. This clever little line is Jackson Browne's kindler, gentler approach compared to Don's tongue-lashing in Dirty Laundry.
I also like the imagery of "coming my way down along that devastation trail".

Train Leaves Here This Morning – "And I watched as the smoker passed it on, And I laughed when the joker said, 'Lead on'" - very clever ... Hey Bernie, is he talkin' to YOU? :wink:

Take the Devil – "You are the one. Oh, how could you be so blind? The devil preys on runaways. He's never far behind." I can't really pinpoint what I like about these lyrics - maybe just because it serves as a good warning to always watch your back.

[sodascouts]

In honor of OOTN, some favorites from that album:

My fave song Take it to the Limit:
But the dreams I've seen lately keep on turning out and burning out and turning out the same
So many can relate to this!

So put me on a highway and show me a sign
People use the highway as a metaphor a lot, but you don't see the sign brought in as much. It adds another level to it.

After the Thrill is Gone
Same dances in the same old shoes

Empty pages and a frozen pen

Such clever metaphors!

I Wish You Peace
When storms are high and your dreams are low, I wish you the strength to let love grow

I've said elsewhere I appreciate this song, and I also appreciate this lyric. Very comforting.

[Jonny Come Lately]

That's what I thought, too. I mean, to each his own, but to call "I do believe we can chug all night, I do believe we can hug all night" great lyrics? LOLOL!

Thank you, glad it made you smile!

(I would also point out that I said that TIE and LITFL were 'forgotten throwaways'. No way!)

It was the only way some of those lyrics were ever going to get a mention in this thread... especially the ones from JOTS and IDTWNW. :p

Essentially anything that I criticised in that piece I actually really like, anything that I praised makes me laugh (the rhyming sequence from the Comfortably Numb demo had me in stitches when I first heard it). The non-Eagles lyrics were included to provide a bit more of a context, all of the ones I mentioned are by favourite bands of mine which I have discussed elsewhere except Champagne Supernova which is probably one of Britain's favourite 'bad' lyrics.

A couple more that I'd like to (genuinely) praise from LROOE:

'Monuments to arrogance reach for the sky' (Business As Usual)
- I was listening to this the other day and was reminded of how great this image was, kind of like 'Put up a bunch of ugly boxes' from The Last Resort. It's a different way of looking at the modern world and food for thought - are all these tall buildings entirely necessary or are they just an elaborate vanity project?

'Even if one of them was to read a newspaper from cover to cover, that ain't what's going on, journalism dead and gone' (Frail Grasp On The Big Picture)
- I must admit I am a big fan of this song, it is one of my favourites from LROOE even though I am aware some people really don't like it. I think the social commentary hits the spot and this section in particular is great because it (IMO rightly) dismisses newspapers which publish celebrity obsessed gossip and dumb down stories instead of providing proper news. I also think it could possibly be attacking even the more highbrow papers for failing to cover the real issues in modern society.

[cynd1231]

I've been reading thru this thread and applaud the choices and the reasonings behind each one. I think we all hear the same thing but we also hear something unique and those different interpretations give us new perspectives. Hotel California is probably THE MOST classic example of individual insights and interpretations and no matter how many times Don gives the 'underbelly' explanation, we still each find our own meaning in the lyrics.

There are few, if any, lyrics these guys have written that can't be considered great and I will post later with some of my specific favorites. I think much of what they wrote in the earlier days evolved from real life experience and as they've grown so too has their outlook. But Henley is a master wordsmith and always has been. He seems so philosophical on a bad day that on a good day he's pure genius! The man can turn a phrase!!! LROOE and WITW are perfect examples, to quickly name a few. To be quite honest, he could put the phone book to music and manage give a mind pause for thought! (I don't say that to diminish the writing skills and talents of the others, but IMO Don does seem to be the leader of the pack in that regard.)

I'll try to get my list together soon. (Having surgery Tuesday and my left appendage will be out of commission for several days. Maybe I'll use my recovery time to listen to the catalog and pick out my prime favorites. I can make notes with my good hand. Only need one when using paper and pen!)