Gone savage
for teenagers with
automatic weapons and
boundless love
gone savage for
teenagers who are
aesthetically pleasing
in other words
fly
Los Angeles beckons
the teenagers
to come to her
on buses;
Los Angeles loves
love
Screenwriter's Blues - Soul Coughing

Abstract lyrics can be a lot of fun because they frequently sound great even if the meaning isn't direct; plus, they are sometimes easier for the listener to interpret in any way.

A couple examples:

"I wore it like a badge of teenage film stars
Hash bars, cherry mash and tinfoil tiaras
Dreaming of Maria Callas
Whoever she is
This fame thing, I don't get it
I wrap my hand in plastic to try to look through it
Maybelline eyes and girl-as-boy moves
I can take you far
This star thing, I don't get it

I'll take you over ... aluminum tastes like fear, adrenaline pulls us near"
-- E-bow the Letter by R.E.M.

"In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins and I’m out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray-paint the vegetables
Dog food skulls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin’ with a loser and the cruise control
Baby’s in Reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love-seat
Someone keeps sayin’ I’m insane to complain
About a shotgun wedding and a stain on my shirt
Don’t believe everything that you breathe
You get a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
So shave your face with some mace in the dark
Savin’ all your food stamps and burnin’ down the trailer park

Yo. cut it."
-- Loser by Beck

I love the lyrics to a lot of songs, mostly older songs. And I think that the Beatles are some of the best lyricists of all time. But some of the song lyrics that have been stuck in my head most recently are by Elvis Costello. “Blame it on Cain” is one of my favorites:

“Once upon a time, I had a little money.
Government burglars took it long
before I could mail it to you, but
You are the only one.
Now I can't let it slip away.
So if the man with the ticker tape,
tries to take it,
this is what I'm gonna say.

Blame it on Cain.
Don't blame it on me.
Oh, oh, it's nobody's fault,
but we need somebody to burn”

Can’t say what about that song sticks with me – my favorite part is the reference to government burglars, but I like almost all of it.

Two other great song lyrics that come to mind immediately are “Every New Day” by Five Iron Frenzy, and “Tramp” by Otis Redding and Carla Thomas. They’re very different songs, but I love ‘em both.

"It breaks my heart/it makes me sad/to think of all the times we had/You made me laugh, and you made me cry/And all that I can do is sigh/and wonder why/How will I get through tomorrow/when I can't make it through today?/How will I get through tomorrow/when today is in my way? ... And today just won't go away."

-- MxPx's "Today is in my Way" from the "Chick Magnet" album, 1996

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

A quick line from a Rodney Crowell song,Its hard to kiss the lips at night when you chew my a-- out all day long,doesnt get to much better then that